Atlanta, Georgia, is a bustling city that offers tourists and residents alike a wide selection of exciting places to visit, including the Georgia Aquarium and Zoo Atlanta. This southern city is also rich in green spaces which make it easy for health-conscious individuals to enjoy an active lifestyle.
Swim with Sharks
The Georgia Aquarium's Journey with Gentle Giants program offers certified open-water divers the opportunity to swim with whale sharks, the largest fish species in the world, in the Ocean Voyager exhibit. Thrill-seekers who are not certified can participate in the swim program and snorkel on the surface of this exhibit. The aquarium's six major exhibits feature marine creatures of all shapes and sizes from seahorses to beluga whales. Interactive galleries include touch pools with sea anemones, horseshoe crabs, shrimp, sea stars and stingrays.
Out of the Ordinary
You'll have to rely on senses other than sight when you visit Dialog in the Dark. Visually-impaired guides lead you through darkened galleries where you'll experience sounds, wind, textures and temperatures without the use of your eyes. Woodruff Park offers a selection of books, newspapers and periodicals for you to read at its open-air Reading Room, located in the northern section of the park. Explore Atlanta for free by geocaching, a scavenger hunt for hidden caches that can be found all over the world. Visit the Official Global GPS Cache Hunt site to access clues for the more than 2,400 hidden caches in Atlanta and start hunting.
Sleep at the Zoo
Spend the night at Zoo Atlanta and get an after-hours, behind-the-scenes peek at the animals. Or walk the intricate maze of pathways to view more than 1,000 animals during the daytime, including giant pandas and their offspring, sun bears, silverback gorillas and other primates running free in the African Rain Forest. Families can participate in monthly mysteries and help out Detective Clue Spotter the Otter while navigating the zoo.
Climbing
Try rock climbing at a number of indoor rock climbing gyms around Atlanta. You can participate in a weekly Climb Off on Wednesday evenings at Atlanta Rocks, or choose to climb the 60-foot high walls at Stone Summit. At the latter, you can rock climb, go bouldering, strengthen yourself in the yoga studio, participate in a spinning class or work out in the fitness center. You'll find 2,000 square-feet of climbing space at Georgia Tech's Campus Recreation Center. Camp Highland Outpost located in popular Stone Mountain Park offers a variety of climbing activities, including rock walls, a low ropes course and Sky Hike, a family adventure course through the treetops.
Biking
You can explore Atlanta while enjoying the outdoors on a bicycle. Freedom Park, in southeast Atlanta, is a 45-acre park with six miles of biking and walking paths that weave through eight neighborhoods. While biking through Freedom Park, you'll have the opportunity to view a number of Atlanta attractions, including the Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site, Inman Park, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and the upscale neighborhood of Little Five Points. You can rent a bike from Skate Escape on Piedmont Avenue and cycle the main roadway and the 10th Street Meadow paths at 189-acre Piedmont Park in downtown Atlanta. Pack a picnic lunch or stop at a downtown restaurant to replenish your energy.
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