A great choice for your SutureStar workshop is Atlanta, the ninth-largest metropolitan area in the country. It is a major world commerce hub; an educational, sports, and cultural center; and 134 square miles big. So how do you even get started?
To get your bearings, take a guided tour. A two-minute walk from our SutureStar Workshop hotel gets you to a departure point for the 90-minute Electric Car Tour, in which a tour guide will take you past such sites as the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King, the Fabulous Fox Theatre, and the house where Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind. Or you can tour some of Atlanta’s historic and eclectic neighborhoods on a Segway personal transportation vehicle. (Rain or shine; ponchos are provided!)
Flatiron Building, downtown Atlanta
Elsewhere in the city you can find bike tours focused on history, street artists and civil rights. And car tours of film locations for the TV shows “The Walking Dead” and “Stranger Things,” not to mention the Superhero Movie Tour. Who knew so many TV shows and movies were filmed in Atlanta?
Or create your own walking tour. Within a few blocks of the hotel is the Fairlie-Poplar Historic District, the central business district that was known in the last 19th century as “Atlanta’s new modern fireproof business district.” There you will see commercial and office buildings from around the turn of the last century that represent Renaissance Revival, Neoclassical, Art Deco and Victorian Eclectic styles.
Fountain of Rings at Centennial Olympic Park
Centennial Olympic Park is just 15 minutes away by foot and right on the way to several attractions. A 21-acre park, it was built for the 1996 Summer Olympics and features the Fountain of Rings, an interactive, zero-depth fountain; a Ferris wheel, an amphitheatre and several sculptures.
Don’t miss the Georgia Aquarium—one of the largest and finest aquariums in the world. Containing 10 million gallons of water, the aquarium showcases aquatic biodiversity through seven exhibit galleries that feature different environments for everything from delicate tropical fish to sharks, dolphins and whales. Plan on spending at least three hours at this amazing place. Most days they are open until 9pm.
People watching a whale shark at the Georgia Aquarium
The Atlanta Botanical Garden is an urban oasis in the heart of Midtown. It includes 30 acres of outdoor gardens, an award-winning Children’s Garden, the picturesque Skyline Garden and the Earth Goddess shown here: each year, 18,000 annuals are planted in this living sculpture.
Earth Goddess sculpture at the Atlanta Botanical Garden
With some 300 restaurants in downtown Atlanta, you won’t go hungry. Within a 5-minute walk of the hotel there are two takes on Southern cooking: Pittypat’s Porch Southern Dining has been serving up fried chicken, Georgia catfish, BBQ ribs, and homemade biscuits since 1967; Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint, located in the former Macy’s building, serves “dressed-up soul food,” including smothered pork chops, Georgia trout, chicken and waffles, plus live entertainment almost every night. Just as close by are Alma Cocina, serving contemporary Mexican cuisine with a focus on bright, fresh ingredients, and Aamar Indian cuisine, a tiny, counter-serve restaurant with delicious Indian food and late hours.
For night life, check out Blind Willie’s, a small and iconic blues club, or any one of dozens of night clubs, dance clubs and lounges. Some offer arcade games, and one place even offers ping pong! There’s also theater, comedy clubs, and a top-rated magic show. Finally, the Atlanta area has seen a serious boom in new craft breweries, many of which offer tours and tasting rooms.
Call 800-922-7747 for availability and register today! Note: SutureStar Workshops fill up fast (specialty workshops, such as CV and OB, are even more limited).
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