Piedmont Park

Piedmont Park is Atlanta’s flagship and second-oldest urban park. The land was originally a private driving club, and later the city’s exposition grounds. It was finally turned over to the city in the first decade of the 20th century, when it was improved according to a plan made by the firm founded by one of America’s greatest landscape architects, Frederick Law Olmsted.

Piedmont Park offers a range of amenities and attractions, including an aquatic center, large lake and sports facilities, and is also the site of the Atlanta Botanical Garden, located on the western edge of the grounds. The park is very conveniently accessed from the Midtown neighborhood, from which it provides a restful and scenic respite.

Piedmont Park is also one of Atlanta’s prime outdoor event spaces, and hosts many of the city’s biggest annual arts, music and food festivals from spring through fall, with a weekly farmers market too.

→ See also: Events in Piedmont Park

Grant Park

Grant Park is Atlanta’s oldest surviving urban park, donated to the city in 1882 by Lemuel P Grant. Most tourists go to Grant Park to visit Zoo Atlanta, currently located in the southern part of the grounds, but the park’s shaded walks and natural scenery make it popular with residents too as a place to exercise or relax.

Grant Park hosts a weekly farmers market, and is also the venue for several major annual festivals, including the arts-focused Summer Shade Festival. One of Atlanta’s oldest historic neighborhoods, the Grant Park Historic District, is right next to the park, and the 1850s Oakland Cemetery is also nearby.

Centennial Olympic Park

The 21-acre Centennial Olympic Park was built as part of Atlanta’s preparations for the 1996 Summer Olympics. It is now a public park, located to the west of downtown. It serves as a spot for recreation and relaxation for millions each year, and is also the site of seasonal special events.

The park is conveniently located close to several of Atlanta’s major attractions, including the Georgia Aquarium, World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia World Congress Center and the Center for Civil and Human Rights.

The northern part of the park consists of walks and open grass and play spaces, with smaller plazas and a more shaded garden walk to its east.

The centerpiece of Centennial Olympic Park is its Fountain of Rings, a water sculpture depicting the five interconnecting rings of the Olympic Symbol. The fountain is located in a large plaza area to the south of the park. Shade trees and flags from Olympic participating nations adorn the area.

Atlanta BeltLine

The Atlanta BeltLine is a major park development project which hopes to create tens of miles of trails and interconnected park space in a giant loop around the city. So far, several sections of the BeltLine have been opened, with more areas undergoing development and due to open over the next few years.

One open section is the Eastside BeltLine Trail, which offers a cycling and walking trail connecting several of Atlanta’s major parks and eastern intown neighborhoods such as Inman Park, Virginia-Highland, Historic Fourth Ward and Midtown.

Bus and walking tours of the BeltLine project and its completed sections are often available. See details