useful links

web-site for the convention hotel: Sheraton Atlanta Hotel

for up-to-date event information concerning music, art, theater and other entertainment happenings around the city, check the local arts and entertainment magazine: Creative Loafing

local taxi services: Checker Cab, Style Taxi, Yellow Cab: 404-521-0200, Buckhead Safety Cab: 404-233-1152

MARTA is the local public transportation system. Please note that the rail map on this web-site is far more accurate than MARTA's own map.

local areas of interest:
Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site, includes a museum of the history of the civil rights movement, Dr. King's birthplace and tomb, and is across the street from Ebenezer Baptist Church, from whose pulpit Dr. King preached.
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, a beautiful and serene river bank park just four miles northwest of downtown Atlanta. Offers excellent hiking and trout fishing and is easy to forget that it is still within the city of Atlanta.
Stone Mountain Park, a large granite dome rising 700 feet above the surrounding land six miles east of downtown. Its "Old South" flavor can be a bit over-the-top (portraits of Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee are carved into the north face of the rock Mt. Rushmore-style), but it still offers a nice hike and an excellent view of Atlanta from the top.
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, a foothill of the Blue Ridge Mountains about fifteen miles northwest of downtown. This was the site of a major battle in Sherman's Atlanta campaign in 1864. The battlefield has been preserved (i.e. not reforested) and there are about seventeen miles of hiking trails on and around the mountain.
Etowah Mounds Historic Site, a group of three pre-Columbian earthen pyramids about thirty miles north of Atlanta in a very quiet setting on the banks of the Etowah River in Cartersville, Georgia. The top of the tallest pyramid affords a fabulous view of Plant Bowen, largest point source for sulfate and NOx emissions in the southeast.
Zoo Atlanta and the Cyclorama Museum, located in Grant Park (named for a different General Grant), Zoo Atlanta has many species of rare animals, including a pair of giant pandas. Next door to the zoo is the Atlanta Cylcorama and Civil War Museum. The museum shows every half hour a surprisingly unbiased documentary about Sherman's Atlanta campaign of 1864 narrated by James Earl Jones. The cyclorama itself is a huge 360 degree painting of the Battle of Atlanta.
The Fernbank Museum, located off of Ponce de Leon between Atlanta and Decatur is a museum of natural history and a science center. The Fernbank also has an IMAX theater and Friday night martini's and IMAX are very popular.

community web-sites:
Little Five Points, the intersections of Moreland, Euclid and McClendon Avenues, not to be confused with Five Points downtown. L5P is a collection of eclectic and somewhat trendy shops and restaurants less than a mile from downtown. Just a short walk from the Inman Park/Reynoldstown station on the east MARTA line.
Midtown, a vaguely defined area between downtown and Buckhead. In fact, anything cool north of downtown will claim to be in Midtown. This is a very diverse area ranging from upscale, trendy, wait-behind-the-velvet-rope establishments on Crescent Avenue to authentic hip-hop and urban music venues such as the Apache on Third Street.
East Atlanta, located at the intersection of Glenwood and Flat Shoals about a mile east of downtown. East Atlanta is often said to be a not-as-trendy version of Little Five Points. It boasts a quite a few interesting shops and restaurants, music venues such as the E.A.R.L. and the Echo Lounge, and is generally a nice place to hang out.
Decatur, located about three miles east of downtown Atlanta. Although it is very close to Atlanta, Decatur is an independent city in a different county and has its own character and feel. There are many excellent restaurants on the square, and it is easily reached by MARTA. Since it is a separate city, Decatur is not subject to Atlanta's recently enacted 3 a.m. last call.

a few local art galleries:
MoCA GA, the Museum of Contemporary Art on Peachtree in Midtown.
The Contemporary, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, off of Marietta Street behind Georgia Tech.
Saltworks, a gallery specializing in conceptual art off of Glen Iris between Downtown and Midtown.
Eyedrum, a gallery just east of downtown, also shows local films and musical acts.