100 Epic Things to Do in Georgia, USA

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Before moving to Georgia, I was a West Coast gal. I had no idea what Georgia really had to offer for travelers. But, when I moved there for grad school, I was so pleasantly surprised! Georgia is a fantastic US travel destination because it has a little bit of everything – big cities, small college towns, even a Bavarian village, plus mountains, countryside, swamps, and beaches!

Georgia has a packed history too as an important place for the Civil Rights Movement and is home to a former president (Jimmy Carter). Not to mention there are a ton of whacky and fun facts about Georgia that will make you want to add it to your ultimate bucket list like did you know that almost all of Georgia’s lakes are artificial and one is even thought to be haunted! Needless to say, there are lots of fun and interesting activities to do as a traveler so keep reading for 100 epic things to do in Georgia!

Things to Do in Atlanta

Best Atlanta Attractions

1. Georgia Aquarium – $34 per person, boasts huge indoor aquariums and family friendly shows

2. World of Coca Cola – $17 entry, try different Coca Cola’s from around the world
3. Atlanta Botanical Garden – $22 entry, go for the large topiary sculptures (right now, they’re Alice in Wonderland themed)

4. Zoo Atlanta – $25 entry, check out their cool events like Zoo yoga where you can do yoga in front of elephants!
5. High Museum of Art – $15 entry, 17,000 works of art from Africa, Europe, and the Americas
6. Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum & Library – $12 entry (student, military, and senior discount available), houses documents of the Carter administration and has some awesome events
7. Atlanta History Center – $20 entry, includes Margaret Mitchell House and Swan House

8. National Center for Civil and Human Rights – learn about how the American civil rights movement connects to the global human rights movement
9. CNN Studio Tour – $16.50 (student & senior discount available), see how a broadcast is produced
10. Breman Museum – $12 entry (student and senior discount available), Atlanta’s one and only Jewish museum
11. Center for Puppetry Arts – $15, dedicated to puppetry art form and has live shows and workshops
12. Skyview Atlanta – $14.50 (student and senior discount available), ferris wheel by Centennial Park
13. College Football Hall of Fame – $23 (student discount available), attraction devoted to college football
14. CDC Museum – guided tours by reservation only, affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution you can learn about the science, history, and mysteries surrounding diseases
15. Stone Mountain Park – $20, a mountain with a carved sculpture on the side…catch the laser show that projects onto the sculpture bringing it to life

Free Things to Do in Atlanta

16. Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Park – includes historic buildings like MLK Jr’s childhood home, the church where he was a pastor, and a museum
17. Atlanta Beltline – a paved loop surrounding Atlanta perfect for walking, jogging, biking, or rollerskating…plus check out the many murals along the way

18. Piedmont Park – a HUGE park in the center of Atlanta with numerous fields, beautiful skyline views, and athletic courts

19. Krog Street Tunnel – come see ever-changing street art in this tunnel where graffiti is encouraged! Try to spot the Tiny Doors of Atlanta here too!

20. Jackson Street Bridge – for the “Walking Dead” view of Atlanta
21. Centennial Olympic Park – remnant of the Atlanta Olympics, play in the fountains and see the Olympic rings
22. Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Temple – a massive white temple that looks like it came straight from India
23. Berry College (main campus and the Old Mill) – take a stroll through the beautiful campus and be sure to see the Old Mill

Food to Try in Atlanta

24. Ponce City Market – indoor market with 10’s of restaurants to choose from (try Five Daughter’s Bakery for 100 layer donuts, Botiwalla for Indian street food, Tap on Ponce for 100 beers on tap, and Hop’s Chicken for delish fried chicken)

25. Krog Street Market – another indoor market but less popular than Ponce (try Richard’s Southern Fried for hot fried chicken and bomb mac and cheese, Jenni’s Splendid Ice Cream, and Gu’s Dumplings for delicious Szechuan food including Zhong dumplings) 

26. Original Chik Fil A – it’s the original…’nuff said
27. The Varsity – greasy food, but an Atlanta classic, plus the original location has stellar views of the city skyline
28. The Vortex – *not kid friendly but has crazy cocktail and burger concoctions like the Triple Bypass Burger

29. King of Pops – Atlanta’s famous popsicles that you can find all over the city (my favorites are the chocolate sea salt, strawberry lemonade, and cookies n cream with actual full size cookies in them)

Top Events in Atlanta

30. Shaky Beats (May) – an predominantly EDM music festival featuring bands like Odesza, The Chainsmokers, Carnage, Kaskade, Kygo, Marshmello, and Zedd
31. Shaky Knees (May) – an alternative rock music festival that’s had bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Jack White, Tenacious D, Cage the Elephant, Tame Impala, Beck, Incubus, the 1975, and the Strokes
32. Atlanta Ice Cream Festival (July) – the only festival anyone should be going to in the summer is an ice cream festival
33. Dragon Con (September) – Atlanta’s version of Comic Con where over 80,000 people come (many dressed in cosplays) and in the past they’ve had guests like David Tennant, George Takei, Lana Parilla, and Zachary Levi among many, many others!
34. Music Midtown (September) – the biggest music festival in Atlanta, which has big name musicians like Imagine Dragons, Post Malone, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, Panic! at the Disco, Billie Eilish, and Vampire Weekend (the last four were the headliners for 2019)
35. Atlanta Summer Beer Festival (September) – Okay, I guess other than ice cream, beer is an acceptable summer festival
36. Taste of Atlanta (October) – food, food, and more food! I’ve discovered some amazing Atlanta eateries by taste testing my way through this festival (plus most alcohol tastings are free)
37. Illuminate Chinese Lantern Festival (December) – these beautiful lit up lanterns glow at night and are an incredible winter spectacle

Things to Do in the North Georgia Mountains

38. Hike in Chattahoochee National Forest
39. Visit a vineyard/winery (The Cottage, Yonah Mountain, Kaya, etc.)
40. See where Cabbage Patch Kids are born at Babyland Hospital – free

Waterfalls in North Georgia

41. Toccoa Falls – $2-3 entry
42. Tallulah Gorge – $5 parking (State Park)

43. Minnehaha Falls – free
44. Anna Ruby Falls – $3 per person, tell the gate worker that you’re at Unicoi State Park for the falls and they will replace the state park fee for the Anna Ruby Falls fee
45. Amicalola Falls – $5 parking (State Park)

46. Lula Land Trust – $15 per car to enter. Reservations are required as public entry is only on the first and last weekends of the month.
47. Horsetrough Falls – free
48. Estatoah Falls – free
49. DeSoto Falls – $5 parking

Things to Do in Helen

50. Oktoberfest Festivities – it’s no surprise that Georgia’s Bavarian alpine village has an awesome Oktoberfest celebration every year
51. Shoot the Hooch – take an inner tube down the Chattahoochee River starting in Helen
52. Eat at Bodensee for authentic German food like bratwurst

Things to Do in Ellijay

53. Apple Picking – pay for what you pick and check the orchard’s website for which apples are in season when you visit (my favorites are the Rome Beauty apples in October, but you can pick apples from June to November)
54. Try apple cider donuts – just trust me on this one…I’m a donut fiend.

Epic Views in the North Georgia Mountains

55. Lookout Mountain – you can go hang gliding here and from the Rock City viewpoint ($22) you can see 7 states!
56. Blue Ridge Railway – $57 per person, a scenic train trip that travels through the North Georgia mountains for some beautiful views, especially in the fall

57. Sky Valley Overlook – an incredible view, but not somewhere that you can spend all day
58. Black Rock Mountain State Park – $5 parking, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, it’s Georgia’s highest state park and it has hiking trails
59. Cloudland Canyon State Park – $5 parking, on the edge of Lookout Mountain but a star in its own right with beautiful cascading waterfalls and ample hiking
60. Brasstown Bald – $5 parking, the highest point in Georgia

Related read >> Things to do in Georgia during autumn

Things to Do on the Southern Coast of Georgia

Things to Do in Savannah

61. Wormsloe Historic Site – $10 per person, go for the Spanish moss covered oak trees that line the 1.5 mile road in! It’s breathtaking!
62. Forsyth Park – free, beautiful fountains and more trees to die for
63. Bonaventure Cemetery – free, over 100 acres of graves
64. Tour the historic district, which is filled with mansions, churches, and beautiful architecture
65. River Street quite literally borders the river and here you’ll find shops, restaurants, pubs, and great views
66. Fort Pulaski National Monument – $10 per person, historic in the American Civil War for being the test site of rifled cannons (a cannon on wheels)

Things to Do in Tybee Island

67. Cockspur Island Lighthouse (built in the mid-1800’s) – closed to the public but you can still view it from an overlook trail
68. Walk the pier – free
69. Light Station and Museum – $10 per person, learn about the colonial era lighthouse that still stands

Things to Do in St. Simons Island

70. Lighthouse Museum – $12 per person, South Georgia really loves their lighthouses!
71. Massengale Park – free, a nice spot to relax, picnic, and go to the public beach if desired
72. Avenue of the Oaks – free, if you love Wormsloe’s trees then this should be on your list too…plus it’s free

Things to Do in Jekyll Island

Parking on Jekyll Island is $8 per day to access the entire island.

73. Driftwood Beach – free, an otherworldly beach with huge white trees that drifted onto the beach (this is a great spot for photographers)
74. Georgia Sea Turtle Center – $9 per person, where all proceeds go to offset operational costs including the rehabilitation of sea turtles

Related read >> Things to do on Jekyll Island

Things to Do in Cumberland Island

Take a ferry to get there – $15 each way

75. Tour the Stafford Plantation – $45 per person for a whole tour of the island including the plantation (the ferry company linked above runs the tours as well)
76. See the wild horses

Other Regions of Georgia to Visit

84. Providence Canyon State Park – $5 parking, a mini Grand Canyon…in Georgia! Who knew!
85. Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, GA – again who would have thought Georgia had blooming cherry blossoms
86. Georgia Guidestones – free, a kind of weird, huge sculpture of what look like the 10 commandment stone tablet
87. School bus graveyard – free, these are old school buses covered in fun street art, which makes for some great photos!
88. Goats on the Roof – quite literally goats on the roof…it’s a fun tourist attraction
89. Pick some peaches (May-August)
90. Pexcho’s American Dime Museum (one of the best things to do in Augusta) – the last one of its kind in the whole world

Things to Do in Athens, Georgia

90. Go to a University of Georgia football game
91. Georgia Arch – the iconic symbol of Georgia, but if you’re a UGA student it’s bad luck to walk under it until you’ve graduated
92. Watkins Mill Bridge State Park – $5 parking, one of the last covered wooden bridges in Georgia where you can play in the water
93. Sample the incredible Athens local food

Georgia Filming Locations

77. Walking Dead Tour (Senoia, GA) – town used as Alexandria
78. Tour Covington, Georgia (aka Mystic Falls of the Vampire Diaries)
79. Bisham Manor (LaGrange, GA) – haunting of Hill House
80. Hawkins Middle School (Stockbridge, GA) – Stranger Things
81. Jackson, GA (downtown Hawkins from Stranger Things)
82. Gwinnett Place Mall is Starcourt Mall from Stranger Things
83. Atlanta Mariott Marquis – used for Hunger Games, Spider-Man:Homecoming, and Loki

*Other filming locations already mentioned include: Swan House (Hunger Games), Jekyll Island beaches (Glory), Forsyth Park (Forrest Gump), Jackson Street Bridge (Walking Dead), and a fun fact is that the beer Thor drinks in Avengers: Endgame is from Creature Comforts Brewery in Athens, Georgia!

Food You Have to Try in Georgia

94. Boiled peanuts
95. Authentic sweet tea
96. Biscuit sandwiches
97. Fried green tomatoes
98. BBQ
99. Pecan pie
100. Fried chicken and mac & cheese

My Travel Essentials

• Travel Insurance – Going on an international trip? Don’t forget travel and medical insurance with SafetyWing.
• Travel Card – If you’re new to travel hacking, fear not! My favorite card for beginners gives you $750 in rewards when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months, plus lounge access, 10x points on hotel bookings, and free TSA pre-check!
• Get Your Guide – Check out Get Your Guide for a one-stop-shop for booking travel activities.
• Booking.com – This is my favorite hotel search aggregator, specifically for reading reviews. On Booking.com, the reviews can be searched for keywords like WiFi, breakfast, pool, amenities, etc.! So helpful!
• Anti-pickpocket bag – Worried about having your valuables swiped? PacSafe makes the best travel bags with zippers and straps that lock and with mesh steel enforced fabric.
• Give the Gift of Travel – This is the perfect gift for travelers in your life! Tinggly allows you to gift experiences around the world, perfect for birthdays, weddings, or anniversaries.
• Staycation Idea – Check out Resort Pass, which gives you day passes to resorts so you can use their pool, spa, and fitness center, a great staycation idea!

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