Atlanta, GA

The capital of Georgia, Atlanta is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country and boasts a population of around 520,000. A thriving center of business and trade, the city is home to a number of large corporations, including Coca-Cola, BellSouth, Delta Airlines, and Home Depot. Eschewing the Old South style of architecture, the city is famous for its modern skyline and boasts buildings by world-renown architects such as Michael Graves and Renzo Piano.

ECONOMY AND INDUSTRIES

The metro Atlanta area is home to 13 Fortune 500 and 24 Fortune 1000 headquarters. Approximately 72 percent of workers from the city work for companies, 12 percent work for the government and 6 percent are self-employed.

Some of the companies that have their headquarters in or near Atlanta are Newell Rubbermaid, The Coca-Cola Company, Cox Communications, CNN, Equifax, Georgia Gulf, Novelis and Intercontinental Exchange.

NEIGHBORHOODS AND DISTRICTS

Atlanta is composed of a complex network of neighborhoods and districts. Despite demographic and developmental changes, urban renewal efforts, and gentrification, most Atlanta neighborhoods have preserved their historic flavor and charm. And unlike some other large cities, Atlanta's attractions are fairly evenly distributed among its neighborhoods. Prominent areas in Atlanta include:

• Downtown: The downtown skyline is dominated by skyscraper hotels and office buildings. Atlanta's most prestigious business addresses - including the Coca-Cola world headquarters - as well as most major chain hotels are represented here. The Georgia State Capitol Building, recognizable by its golden dome, is located in the southern corner of downtown. And one of the world's largest convention facilities, the Georgia World Congress Center, can also be found in this district.
• Buckhead: The most renowned and fashionable of Atlanta's neighborhoods, Buckhead is known for its lively nightlife in the Peachtree and Bolling Way neighborhoods. Buckhead's downtown area at the intersection of Peachtree and Paces Ferry Roads is more peaceful, as the home to many fine restaurants, shops, and day spas. Residential developments in Buckhead include luxury high-rise apartments and premium condos.
• Midtown: This diverse and lively neighborhood is sandwiched between downtown and Buckhead, and borders the Georgia Tech campus on its western edge. Midtown is known for its diversity and has long been home to a large population of Atlanta's gay community. This neighborhood is artistic center of the city, due largely to the presence of several major performance venues: the Fox Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center, the High Museum of Art, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the 14th Street Playhouse.
• Little Five Points: Named for the five points created by the intersection of Euclid Avenue, McLendon Avenue, and Moreland Avenue, this neighborhood is known locally as ""L5P."" The area has a reputation for its alternative culture, thanks to a large collection of secondhand shops, piercing parlors, funky bars and music venues in the area.
• Vinings: Located in the far northwest corner of the city, Vinings has more of a suburban feel than most Atlanta neighborhoods. This upscale region's proximity to Buckhead has helped increase its popularity in recent years, which has led to a housing boom.
• Virginia Highlands: Originally built as a lower-middle income neighborhood in the 1920s, the primarily residential Virginia-Highland area now attracts middle-upper-class young couples.
• East Atlanta: This is the most affordable of Atlanta's neighborhoods, largely because it is on the mend after decades of neglect. While a business district has formed at the intersection of Flat Shoals and Glenwood Avenues, the surrounding area is continually striving to improve.

Atlanta accommodates about 187,000 houses with an occupancy ratio that is a little less than 90 percent. Out of occupied houses, owners occupy about 73,470 houses and renters occupy about 94,760 houses.

FOR VISITORS

• Georgia Aquarium: Located on Baker Street, the Georgia Aquarium is the largest in the world. It is a favorite destination for both locals and tourists.
• Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta: Designed especially for children ages eight and under, Imagine It! The Children's Museum of Atlanta offers a wide variety of hands-on exhibits that encourage children to learn as they play and explore. The museum is located in Centennial Olympic Park.
• Atlanta Botanical Garden: The Atlanta Botanic Garden feature trails, forest, and roughly 30 acres of gardens. It is also home to the Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory and the Fuqua Orchid Center.
• Fernbank Museum of Natural History: With an extensive collection of fossils and life-sized dinosaur replicas, the Fernbank Museum of Natural History is a popular learning experience for both tourists and Atlanta residents. The museum features a number of interactive science exhibits as well as an IMAX theater. It also hosts special events throughout the year, and features a café and gift shop.
• Margaret Mitchell House & Museum: Located in midtown Atlanta, the home of famed Gone with the Wind author Margaret Mitchell is open to visitors. It features a museum and shop, and hosts a popular literature series featuring Southern authors.

FAMILY FUN

• Candler Park Golf Course: Located in downtown Atlanta, the Candler Park Golf Course is a favorite among locals.
• Bessie Branham Park: Bessie Branham Park is just one of Atlanta's many parks. It offers basketball and tennis courts, baseball and soccer fields, a picnic area and playground, and a popular Urban Tree House.
• Alfred Tup Holmes Golf Course: Built on the site of a Civil War battlefield, Alfred Tup Holmes Golf Course was named for a civil rights pioneer. This 18-hole course is conveniently located near Hartsfield Airport.

ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

• High Museum of Art: Recognized as one of the top museums in the Southeast, the High Museum of Art houses an extensive collection of both American and European paintings, as well as photography, interactive exhibits, and folk art. It also draws prestigious exhibits from around the globe.
• Atlanta Ballet: The nation's oldest dance company, the Atlanta Ballet is headquartered at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre. Under the artistic direction of John McFall, the company gives a number of classical and contemporary performances each season.
• Alliance Theatre: Atlanta's Alliance Theatre is one of the country's largest regional theaters. The recipient of a 2007 Regional Theater Tony Award, it offers a season of diverse performances including dramas, comedies, musicals, and children's events.
• Atlanta Symphony Orchestra: The Grammy Award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra gives more than 200 performances each year. Under the direction of Robert Spano, the symphony performs at three different venues in the city: Atlanta Symphony Hall, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park, and Chastain Park Amphitheater.
• William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum: The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum preserves and celebrates Jewish Heritage with its extensive collection of photographs, family records, and other important historical documents.

EVENTS

• Atlanta Underground Film Festival: Held each summer, the Atlanta Underground Film Festival brings together cinema fans to enjoy a variety of independent films from around the world. In addition to film screenings, the festival also features live music, parties, special events, and art displays.
• Atlanta Steeplechase: Held at Kingston Downs, the Atlanta Steeplechase bills itself as Georgia's ""biggest and best lawn party."" The event includes horse racing, parties, pony and hay rides, and live music.

EDUCATION

Atlanta is home to a number of institutions of higher education including the famed Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University, the John Marshall Law School, and a campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design.

The Atlanta University Center is a consortium of traditionally African-American schools that includes Morehouse College, Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and the Morehouse School of Medicine. It is the largest consortium of its kind in the United States.

SPORTS TEAMS

The city of Atlanta is home to a number of professional sports teams, including:

• Atlanta Braves: The Atlanta Braves are the city's popular professional baseball team. The Braves play at Turner Field, where fans can visit the team's museum.
• Atlanta Falcons: The Atlanta Falcons are a professional football team housed at the Georgia Dome, a venue that has hosted two Super Bowls, the NCAA Men's Final Four in 2007, and Olympic events in 1996.
• Atlanta Hawks: The Atlanta Hawks are a National Basketball Association team. The team plays at Philips Arena.
• Atlanta Thrashers: The Thrasher's are Atlanta's National Hockey League team. Games are held at Philips Arena.
• Atlanta Dream: The Atlanta Dream is a Women's National Basketball Association team that shares Philips Arena with the Hawks and the Thrashers.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Atlanta's classic Renaissance style Statehouse is topped by a gilded dome. The 43 ounces of gold were mined in Georgia and donated by residents, not once, but twice.
• Playwright and screenwriter Alfred Uhry, author of "Driving Miss Daisy," was born in Atlanta in 1938.
• Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman) was born in Macon, Georgia.
• Little Richard, aka "the Georgia Peach," won his first recording contract while performing in Atlanta, thanks to WGST disc jockey Zenas Sears.
• Novelist and poet Alice Walker, author of "The Color Purple," is a Georgia native. Walker attended Spellman College in Atlanta.
• Ludacris, aka Christopher Bridges, moved to Atlanta with his family when he was a teenager. While working as a disc jockey at an Atlanta radio station he honed his rapping skills.
• Writer, producer, filmmaker and performer Tyler Perry has called Atlanta home since 1992. His first play, "I Know I've Been Changed," was staged at Atlanta's 14th Street Playhouse.
• The Allman Brothers, Outkast, B52s, R.E.M., Usher, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Otis Redding and music producer Jermaine Dupri have their roots in the red Georgia clay in and around Atlanta.
• "Swamp Gravy," Georgia's official folk-life play, takes place every year from July to October. The play started in 1992 and is performed in a renovated cotton warehouse in Colquitt.
• Winter in northern Georgia is mull season. Mull is a slow-cooked stew made with ground chicken, vegetables, meat broth and milk and butter. In southern Georgia it's called chicken jallop.
• The oldest pottery in North America, Stallings Pottery, comes from Stallings Island, Georgia. The island is a national historic landmark.
• Stallings Island was home to Late Archaic Native Americans from 4,500 to 3,500 BC.
• Cable news channel CNN, the world's first 24-hour news station, broadcasts from its headquarters in downtown Atlanta.
• CNN was founded by Ted Turner, who is also the founder of the Goodwill Games.
• Georgia, the 13th colony, was founded by James Oglethorpe on Feb. 12, 1733, and named for King George II.
• Zoo Atlanta began when a traveling circus ran out of money in 1889 and abandoned its caged animals. A businessman bought the collection at auction and donated it to the city of Atlanta.
• Baseball legend Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves holds the records for runs batted in (2,297) and extra base hits (1,477). Aaron is also in the top five for home runs (2,174).
• The peanut is not Georgia's most valuable commodity crop. Chicken is. In 2008, Georgia produced almost $6 billion worth of chicken. Peanuts are No. 4 with $582 million.
• Coca Cola was invented by Atlanta physician John Pemberton, who marketed the drink as a tonic to ward off fatigue. The original formula contained cocaine and extract of kola berries.
• In Georgia, it's against the law to slap a man on the back (or front), illegal to spread a false rumor and illegal for barbers to advertise their prices.
• Atlanta is home to the world's largest 10k race, the Peachtree Road Race. For the 2011 edition, the city expected 60,000 runners.
• With 71 streets, drives, avenues, alleys and roads with the word "Peachtree" in their names, finding addresses in Atlanta is not easy picking.
• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has been the world's busiest passenger airport since 1998.
• Georgia became the fourth state on Jan. 2, 1788.