Best Time to Go

Spring and fall are the ideal times to visit Atlanta. The weather is mild in the spring and the blossoming flowers are beautiful this time of year. Fall is bustling, as many of the area colleges are welcoming their students after a long break.

Airport

The colossal Hartsfield International Airport (tel 404/530-6600), the busiest passenger airport in the US, is ten miles south of downtown Atlanta, just inside I-285 ("the perimeter").

Road shuttle services such as the Atlanta Airport Shuttle (daily every 15-20min 7am-11pm; tel 404/524-3400) run into the city for around $14, $22 round-trip good for thirty days, or a little more to get to Buckhead. The airport is also the southern terminus of the south line of the subway , fifteen minutes' ride from downtown ($1.75). If you need a taxi to get downtown, call Checker Cab ($18 for one passenger, $19 between two, $24 for three or more; tel 404/351-1111).

The Amtrak station, at 1688 Peachtree St, is too far north of downtown to walk to: take a taxi or bus #23 to the Arts Center subway stop, N5 on the northern line. Greyhound buses arrive south of downtown at 232 Forsyth St, near the Garnett Street subway station.

Transportation

Atlanta's subway and wide network of buses are run by the Metropolitan Area Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA; tel 404/848-4711), and are clean, reliable and pretty safe, operating between 5am and 1am weekdays and Saturdays, and from 6am until 12.30am on Sundays. Fares are $1.75 per journey (daily pass $3.50, Fri-Sun pass $9, weekly pass $13).

Weather in Atlanta