Finding Your Way
Atlanta: Travel Tips
Although Atlanta has a densely developed downtown area with the requisite quiver of modern office towers, the city's present layout, cultivated during a period of rapid growth in the late 1900s, is more reminiscent of low-rise Los Angeles than high-rise Manhattan. The fashionable Buckhead district several miles to the north now rivals downtown Atlanta as a favorite destination for shopping, entertainment and major hotels, and many of the city's top attractions are scattered throughout what has become a textbook example of suburban sprawl.
Navigating the city's winding avenues and frequently congested freeways and expressways by car requires patience and a good map. Whenever possible, print out point-to-point driving directions from the web, and keep your cell phone handy in case you need to call for directions. Parking can be difficult and/or expensive in parts of downtown Atlanta and the adjacent Midtown district, but most shopping areas and attractions outside of these central areas have free lots.
Finding your way on the city's efficient MARTA rail system is easy if you know the nearest station to your destination, but MARTA lines only reach limited parts of the city, and you might have transfer to a bus or taxi to reach your final destination.
Finally, if you're looking for any address that includes the word "peachtree," a little caution is in order. Atlanta has an astonishing collection of roadways and buildings named for the tree that bears the official state fruit of Georgia, often abbreviated by locals as "P'tree." To make matters worse, the city uses compass directions to designate addresses in different quadrants of town. The results can be truly mind-boggling, like the junction where Peachtree Street NE intersects West Peachtree Street NW, not to be confused with the nearby corner of West Peachtree Street NW and Peachtree Place NE. No kidding — these intersections really do exist!
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