Museums

Atlanta Cyclorama & Civil War Museum
In the 1880s, before there were epic motion pictures, there were Cycloramas. This 42-foot-high cylindrical oil painting depicts the Battle of Atlanta in 1864. Viewed from a 360-degree rotating platform, the vivid details of this historic Civil War battle are now restored and enhanced with music, narration and sound effects. Accompanying the Cyclorama is the Civil War Museum, highlighted by a steam locomotive from 1862.

Margaret Mitchell House and Museum
Margaret Mitchell's one and only novel, "Gone with the Wind," was born in an apartment in this turn-of-the-century Tudor Revival mansion. Now a museum on the National Register of Historic Places, the house offers visitors a 90-minute guided tour that tells the story of the author, the Pulitzer Prize-winning book and the making of the movie.

High Museum of Art
This stunning, porcelain-enameled building was designed by famed architect Richard Meier and is rivaled only by the art inside. Featuring American, European and African art, as well as decorative art and photography, the High Museum boasts a permanent collection of over 11,000 pieces, many of which can be viewed from different levels of the four-story, glass atrium.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History
One of the largest natural history museums in the U.S., the Fernbank's architecture is as intriguing as the fascinating exhibits inside. The building has spiraling staircases, huge columns, a brick atrium and windows looking out onto the forest that it borders. The exhibits are spectacular and include a life-sized kaleidoscope, a skeleton of the largest dinosaur ever discovered, an IMAX theater and a "Walk Through Time in Georgia," a story of the earth's development, complete with sound effects and recreated landscapes of a swamp, cavern, marsh and plateau.


Atlanta History Center
Get a glimpse into the lives of Georgian farmers at the Tullie Smith Farm and of wealthy Atlantans at the Swan House Mansion, and visit the museum which traces Atlanta's as well as Georgia's history through Civil War artifacts, photographs, and decorative arts. The 33-acre center contains forests and gardens, including the mile-long Swan Woods Trail.

Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta
This sanctuary became a spiritual haven for civil rights activists when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as senior pastor in the 1960s. On the self-guided audio tour, King's inspirational sermons will take visitors back in time, while the new Horizon Sanctuary across the street is home to the present day congregation, highlighted by its traditional tabernacle choir.

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site
Start at the visitor center and then work your way around the three main sites in this historic park: the home in which the leader of the Civil Rights movement in America was born, the church where he preached and the memorial site where he is buried. A major Atlanta attraction, the park draws some 500,000 visitors each year.

Oakland Cemetery
This historical park is the final resting place for many Civil War soldiers, golfing legend Bobby Jones, and "Gone With the Wind" author Margaret Mitchell. In 2003, the cemetery began a 5-year, $15 million restoration project.