Visiting April 7-11

I will be visiting for a trade show at GWCC, and staying at the Days Inn Downtown (only place I could get on those dates, everything downtown is sold out). I plan on using the MARTA and not renting a car. I have looked at the train routes, and plan to explore off of them to see the area. Any thoughts on any areas to go by bus, or should I not do that. I would like to get an idea of the area.

I have been reading all the places to go on this and other websites, and have a few ideas. I may check out the dogwood festival, and the Fox theatere has a tour Sat. morning I may check out. I may check the aquariun on Monday.

Are there any Bus or trolley tours like they have in Boston or NY?

Scott

Visiting April 7-11

MARTA Rail can get you to the Fox and within easy walking distance of Piedmont Park for the Dogwood festival. The Days Inn is within easy walking distance of the aquarium (I highly recommend all three). There are shuttle bus tours of Atlanta, but I don%26#39;t know any specific companies. Google %26#39;Atlanta Tours%26#39;. Even though I%26#39;m a local, something I plan on doing this spring or summer is one of the group Segway tours. It sounds like a lot of fun. Check it out at,

http://www.citysegwaytours.com/atlanta/

Visiting April 7-11

All the plans you%26#39;ve mentioned sound wonderful. The Dogwood Festival is awesome...when the weather cooperates and there%26#39;s no rain! Hopefully, it will be sunny. A tour of the Fox is definitely worth the time. Very enjoyable and full of cool stories about the history of that legendary place. The Aquarium is also a must do.

MARTA is fine for getting around. You can get to all of those sites that way.

In addition to the tour site that Nuke mentiones, you might check into Grayline tours. I%26#39;ve seen their buses over by the Margaret Mitchell house.

I checked Gray line tours, they offer 2 tours, and a combined tour. No real big deal.

What about the bus lines rather then rail. Is there anywhere worth going to see from the MARTA buses?

Beauty and the beast is at the Fox over the weekend, so they may not have tours.

The dogwood festival, what is there?

northeaster, check out

http://www.dogwood.org/

The Dogwood Festival gets unbelievably crowded but it has every type of artist you can imagine. Great family fun if you like big crowds. Great shopping if you like original art and wear comfy shoes because you%26#39;ll be doing a lot of walking. Don%26#39;t plan on finding a parking spot either so you%26#39;ll want to take MARTA for sure. Every year I tell myself that I won%26#39;t go back because of the crowds but I keep going back anyway. Thanks for reminded me.

You asked about buses and I%26#39;m not sure I can really help much. I have never ridden the buses and I%26#39;ve found that for some reason people who have no problem taking the trains would not consider riding a bus. They look fairly nice, but are just not widely utilized. I think there%26#39;s the perception that people who take the train do so for convenience and to reduce congestion, while people who take buses do so because they don%26#39;t have cars. My understanding of the bus circuit, though, is that buses generally operate from a train station, and that rather than transporting people around town they transport people from areas around a train station to the train station, and vice versa. I guess thats the long way of saying that buses are used to get to trains, so you won%26#39;t get very far on a simple bus ride. You can go to www. itsmarta.com to see the bus routes. Also, taxis in town are not too expensive if you want to go somewhere that%26#39;s not near a train station like the Virginia Highlands or Little Five Points.

One other cool place to check out is Atlantic Station which can be accessed via a shuttle from the Arts Center Station. I have lived in ATL for a while now and while I do take the trains for convenience sake...I have never taken a bus. I really don%26#39;t know why not, but just wanted to offer my thoughts....

You certainly can walk to Piedmont Park for the Dogwood Festival from the train station. Bring a large purse or shopping bag to put all your goodies in. The walk is about a mile or mile %26amp; a half from the station. I do it every year at the end of the Peachtree Road Race. It%26#39;s really a nice walk. Hopefully, we have real spring weather and some sun shine for a change. See ya there.

ACtually, if your going to Piedmont Park from the Arts Center Station, it%26#39;s only about a 5 block walk to the 14th Street entrance. If you go from the 10th Street station, it%26#39;s a little further because you have to walk through the park to get to the location of the festival.

Thanks for all the grat info, now all I need is good weather!!