To some, it is the thriving capital of the New South and the home of such blue-chip businesses as Coca-Cola and UPS. To others, it is the cradle of the civil rights movement, where the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., lives on in the city's burgeoning black middle class. To the less charitable, it is a case study in urban sprawl as its perimeter edges ever farther into the surrounding Georgia countryside. Atlanta lacks the grandeur of New York or Chicago, the glamour of Los Angeles or Miami, and the beauty of San Francisco or Seattle. While it is unlikely to ever become the truly great international city of its civic boosters' aspirations, it would be equally wrong to dismiss Atlanta as a characterless expanse. The city's yearning for recognition and respect backfired in 1996, when it hosted an uninspiring Olympics that served only to highlight its deficiencies. But for the business traveller expecting little but a big airport and a slew of corporate headquarters, Atlanta can be a surprisingly rewarding place to work and play.
Where to Sleep
Downtown Atlanta, like the centers of many American cities, can be desolate after commuters have left for the suburbs each evening. The local government has tried to regenerate the area by cracking down on crime and panhandling and encouraging the development of new leisure attractions, but the results have been mixed so far. For business travelers attending conventions in Atlanta, a downtown hotel will usually be most convenient. Choices include the Marriott Marquis, the Hyatt Regency, the Westin, and the Omni.
If your destination is Coca-Cola's global headquarters on North Avenue, you can choose between a cluster of hotels in nearby Midtown, including the Four Seasons, the Sheraton, and the Wyndham. Another Midtown option is Twelve, a swank hotel in a lively new commercial and residential development called Atlantic Station. Farther north, the W Atlanta at Perimeter Center is convenient for visitors to UPS's headquarters in Sandy Springs.
Where to Eat
For those staying downtown, the revolving Sun Dial restaurant, on the seventy-second floor of the Westin, offers great views. Most of the best places to eat, however, are outside the city center. Buckhead, an upscale commercial and residential district about six miles north of downtown, is a reliable option for business meals, with the Blue Ridge Grill and Chops among the favorites of local executives. If you're looking for something less formal, try Café Dupri, a small Buckhead bar and restaurant owned by Jermaine Dupri, the rap star and producer. Virginia Highland, a leafy neighborhood near Midtown, caters to a younger crowd of twentysomething professionals with its eclectic mix of cuisines, including Southwestern at Noche and Italian at Sotto Sotto. Atlantic Station is the hottest and hippest new spot in Atlanta dining, with Rosa Mexicano and Dolce—franchises imported from New York and Los Angeles, respectively—offering the highest quality.
Where to See and Be Seen
It used to be Atlanta's version of Bourbon Street, but many of the bars and nightclubs that once lined Buckhead's Peachtree Road have been shuttered in recent years after a clampdown on late-night drinking and crime. Buckhead still offers numerous lively bars clustered around its upscale hotels and shopping malls, but it is not the party zone it once was. Some of the fun has shifted to Atlantic Station, where Twelve and Dolce have become hangouts for the young, hip, and wealthy. Midtown and Virginia Highland offer a more bohemian choice of bars and restaurants, including a thriving gay scene.
Where to Close a Deal
For 124 years, the great and good of Atlanta's business community have been wheeling and dealing in the Capital City Club, the oldest private club in the South. Members have included Asa Candler, founder of Coca-Cola, and John Portman, the renowned real estate developer said to have inspired A Man in Full, Tom Wolfe's biting satire. Non-members need an invitation to gain access. For a more understated setting, try the White House, a traditional Buckhead diner, where the city's business and political elite enjoy breakfast and the morning papers.
Local Codes
For all its attempts to promote itself as diverse and internationally minded, Atlanta remains rooted in the South. Its business culture is clubby and conservative, with a jacket and tie typically worn by men even in the height of summer. Atlanta prides itself on being "the city too busy to hate," having largely avoided the civil rights-era riots encountered elsewhere in the region. The overwhelmingly white business community and black-dominated political leadership have long worked together to ease racial tensions and promote economic growth. As a result, Atlanta has one of the biggest and wealthiest black middle classes in the United States. Race, however, remains a thorny issue. While most workplaces are racially diverse, the rest of Atlanta society is much less well integrated. The city is starkly divided between the largely white north and mostly black south.
Airport Intelligence
Many, perhaps most, business travelers pass through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International without setting foot in the city. The airport is America's busiest hub, with 2,700 takeoffs and landings a day—twice the traffic of London Heathrow. Hartsfield deals surprisingly well with its 86 million annual passengers, and a new fifth runway (opened last year) has further increased capacity. But the two terminals—adjacent to each other in a single building—are severely strained at peak times. A new international terminal is under construction but will not open until 2010 at the earliest. The airport is a 20-minute ride from downtown on MARTA, the city's light-rail system, but a rental car is necessary for most destinations beyond the main business district.
The Three-Hour Tour
Pay homage to Dr. King by visiting his childhood home and final resting place and by peeking inside Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the civil rights leader preached. All three sights can be reached on foot from the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site visitors center, in the Sweet Auburn district, minutes from downtown. MLK's archives—bought by the city government from the King family last year for $32 million—are on display at the Atlanta History Center, in Buckhead, including an early draft of his "I Have a Dream" speech. The papers will form the centerpiece of a planned civil rights museum.
Unlikely as it seems, landlocked Atlanta is home to one of the world's biggest and best aquariums: the Georgia Aquarium, opened in 2005 with a $250 million gift from Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Atlanta-based Home Depot. Buy a ticket in advance, and, if visiting on a weekend, be prepared for long lines for headliners such as the giant whale sharks (the biggest fish on the planet). Across from the aquarium on the south end of Centennial Olympic Park, a pleasant city-center green that represents one of the few visible legacies of the 1996 Games, is CNN Center, where visitors can take a tour of the cable news station's global headquarters.
Downtown Atlanta, like the centers of many American cities, can be desolate after commuters have left for the suburbs each evening. The local government has tried to regenerate the area by cracking down on crime and panhandling and encouraging the development of new leisure attractions, but the results have been mixed so far. For business travelers attending conventions in Atlanta, a downtown hotel will usually be most convenient. Choices include the Marriott Marquis, the Hyatt Regency, the Westin, and the Omni.
If your destination is Coca-Cola's global headquarters on North Avenue, you can choose between a cluster of hotels in nearby Midtown, including the Four Seasons, the Sheraton, and the Wyndham. Another Midtown option is Twelve, a swank hotel in a lively new commercial and residential development called Atlantic Station. Farther north, the W Atlanta at Perimeter Center is convenient for visitors to UPS's headquarters in Sandy Springs.
Where to Eat
For those staying downtown, the revolving Sun Dial restaurant, on the seventy-second floor of the Westin, offers great views. Most of the best places to eat, however, are outside the city center. Buckhead, an upscale commercial and residential district about six miles north of downtown, is a reliable option for business meals, with the Blue Ridge Grill and Chops among the favorites of local executives. If you're looking for something less formal, try Café Dupri, a small Buckhead bar and restaurant owned by Jermaine Dupri, the rap star and producer. Virginia Highland, a leafy neighborhood near Midtown, caters to a younger crowd of twentysomething professionals with its eclectic mix of cuisines, including Southwestern at Noche and Italian at Sotto Sotto. Atlantic Station is the hottest and hippest new spot in Atlanta dining, with Rosa Mexicano and Dolce—franchises imported from New York and Los Angeles, respectively—offering the highest quality.
Where to See and Be Seen
It used to be Atlanta's version of Bourbon Street, but many of the bars and nightclubs that once lined Buckhead's Peachtree Road have been shuttered in recent years after a clampdown on late-night drinking and crime. Buckhead still offers numerous lively bars clustered around its upscale hotels and shopping malls, but it is not the party zone it once was. Some of the fun has shifted to Atlantic Station, where Twelve and Dolce have become hangouts for the young, hip, and wealthy. Midtown and Virginia Highland offer a more bohemian choice of bars and restaurants, including a thriving gay scene.
Where to Close a Deal
For 124 years, the great and good of Atlanta's business community have been wheeling and dealing in the Capital City Club, the oldest private club in the South. Members have included Asa Candler, founder of Coca-Cola, and John Portman, the renowned real estate developer said to have inspired A Man in Full, Tom Wolfe's biting satire. Non-members need an invitation to gain access. For a more understated setting, try the White House, a traditional Buckhead diner, where the city's business and political elite enjoy breakfast and the morning papers.
Local Codes
For all its attempts to promote itself as diverse and internationally minded, Atlanta remains rooted in the South. Its business culture is clubby and conservative, with a jacket and tie typically worn by men even in the height of summer. Atlanta prides itself on being "the city too busy to hate," having largely avoided the civil rights-era riots encountered elsewhere in the region. The overwhelmingly white business community and black-dominated political leadership have long worked together to ease racial tensions and promote economic growth. As a result, Atlanta has one of the biggest and wealthiest black middle classes in the United States. Race, however, remains a thorny issue. While most workplaces are racially diverse, the rest of Atlanta society is much less well integrated. The city is starkly divided between the largely white north and mostly black south.
Airport Intelligence
Many, perhaps most, business travelers pass through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International without setting foot in the city. The airport is America's busiest hub, with 2,700 takeoffs and landings a day—twice the traffic of London Heathrow. Hartsfield deals surprisingly well with its 86 million annual passengers, and a new fifth runway (opened last year) has further increased capacity. But the two terminals—adjacent to each other in a single building—are severely strained at peak times. A new international terminal is under construction but will not open until 2010 at the earliest. The airport is a 20-minute ride from downtown on MARTA, the city's light-rail system, but a rental car is necessary for most destinations beyond the main business district.
The Three-Hour Tour
Pay homage to Dr. King by visiting his childhood home and final resting place and by peeking inside Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the civil rights leader preached. All three sights can be reached on foot from the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site visitors center, in the Sweet Auburn district, minutes from downtown. MLK's archives—bought by the city government from the King family last year for $32 million—are on display at the Atlanta History Center, in Buckhead, including an early draft of his "I Have a Dream" speech. The papers will form the centerpiece of a planned civil rights museum.
Unlikely as it seems, landlocked Atlanta is home to one of the world's biggest and best aquariums: the Georgia Aquarium, opened in 2005 with a $250 million gift from Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Atlanta-based Home Depot. Buy a ticket in advance, and, if visiting on a weekend, be prepared for long lines for headliners such as the giant whale sharks (the biggest fish on the planet). Across from the aquarium on the south end of Centennial Olympic Park, a pleasant city-center green that represents one of the few visible legacies of the 1996 Games, is CNN Center, where visitors can take a tour of the cable news station's global headquarters.
Labels: TRAVEL
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