Atlanta/Midtown

Midtown is a major financial and residential district of Atlanta, and an area for dining and nightlife. In other words, it is an area to work, live, and play, with many sites and activities.

View of Midtown from Westin Peachtree

Understand

Midtown is a large area of Atlanta immediately north of Downtown. The skyscraper district aligns Peachtree Street. To the east of Peachtree Street is Piedmont Park, and to the west is Spring Street and West Peachtree Street. This area is rapidly growing with new high-rise apartments and condominiums, creating an urban living experience.

Get in

Midtown is where Interstate 75 and Interstate 85 join a single corridor of I-75/85, also known as the Downtown Connector. Midtown can also be accessed by MARTA trains and several bus routes. Both the red and gold lines (the North-South lines) of the MARTA rail stop at three stations in Midtown: North Avenue Station (N3), Midtown Station (N4), and Arts Center Station (N5). MARTA bus 110, "the Peach," runs North-South on Peachtree Street through the entire length of Midtown (connecting to Downtown to the South and Buckhead to the North), running approximately every 15 or 30 minutes depending on the time of day.

Atlantic Station is accessible by a free shuttle provided that departs from the MARTA Arts Center Station approximately every 5-15 minutes. The MARTA Bus Route #113 also serves Atlantic Station. By car, from Interstate 75/85 Northbound exit at 14th Street, from Interstate 75 Southbound exit at 16th Street, and from Interstate 85 Southbound exit at 17th Street.

See

• 🌍 Atlanta Botanical Gardens, 1345 Piedmont Ave. NE, ☎ [phone]. April–October: Tu–Su 9AM–7PM; November–March: Tu-Su 9AM–4PM, M closed.. This peaceful oasis includes 30 acres of garden, an urban forest, wildflower trails, the Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory and a 10,000 square-foot Fuqua Orchid Center. The Garden also offers visitors a wealth of year-round special events, exhibits, and educational workshops. $19 (adult); $13 (under 12); free (under 3). 

Fox Theatre

• 🌍 Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St, NE, ☎ [phone]. Tours available M, W-Th 10AM; Sa 10AM and 11AM. A fabulous and historic Moorish style cinema and theater dating from the 1920s and now designated a National Historic Landmark. $10 (adult); $5 (senior/student). 
• 🌍 High Museum of Art, 1280 Peachtree St, NE, ☎ +1 404 733-HIGH (4444). The High Museum of Art is one of the leading art museums in the South, where visitors can see a variety of works from 19th and 20th century American, European, African and African-American artists, as well as decorative arts, photography, and modern and contemporary art. 
• 🌍 Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA), 1315 Peachtree Street, NE (at 16th Street, near Arts Center Station). Tu-Sa 10AM - 5PM, Su noon - 5PM. A small, but densely packed museum. Offers various rotating design exhibits that are quite good. Check the website for regular special events, including "Drink in Design" Thursdays where the museum opens in the evening with special talks, drinks, and music. $10 (adult); $8 (senior, military, educators), $5 (youth up to 17, students with ID). 
• 🌍 Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, 535 Means Street NW (Bus 1 from near North Avenue Station or from Five Points Station, or 20 minute walk from North Avenue Station). Tu W F Sa 11AM - 5PM, Th 11AM - 8PM, Suy noon - 5PM. Rotating contemporary art exhibitions. Check the website for closures due to installation. $5 (general), $3 (students, seniors), free on Thursdays and for children under 5. 
• 🌍 Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA), 75 Bennett Street, Suite A2 (Take bus 110 north from anywhere on Peachtree Street, get off at Peachtree Park Drive). Tu-Sa 10AM - 5PM. Hosts both a permanent collection and temporary exhibitions with a focus on artists from the state of Georgia. $5 (general), $1 (students and seniors), free for military with ID. 

Margaret Mitchell House

• 🌍 William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum, 1440 Spring St, NW, ☎ [phone]. Through its exhibitions, publications, and resources, the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum of the Atlanta Jewish Federation explores Jewish heritage in general and as it relates to other cultures and religions. 
• 🌍 Margaret Mitchell House and Museum, 990 Peachtree St, ☎ [phone]. M-Sa 10AM-5:30PM, Su noon-5:30PM; closed Jan 1, Thanksgiving Day, Dec 24-25. Tours on the half-hour, from 30 minutes after opening until 4:30PM. A museum dedicated to Margaret Mitchell, the author of Gone with the Wind featuring her original home where she lived from 1925 to 1932 and wrote her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Those looking for a more complete Gone with the Wind experience should check out the Gone with the Wind Museum in Marietta. $13 (adult); $10 (senior/student); $8.50 (child). (updated Apr 2017)
• 🌍 Rhodes Hall, 1516 Peachtree Street, NW, ☎ [phone]. Sa 10AM-2PM. $5 per person for a guided tour of the 1st floor $7 Behind-the-Scenes tour brings visitors to all 3 floors. (updated Sep 2015)
• Federal Reserve Bank Money Museum, 1000 Peachtree Street, N.E.. M-F 9AM-4PM. (updated May 2016)
• 🌍 Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking, 500 10th Street NW. M-F 9AM-5PM. Free. (updated Jun 2016)
• Crescent Avenue. Area off Peachtree near the Margaret Mitchell house. Just north of the Federal Reserve Building at 10th St. Lots of hip nightclubs and restaurants in renovated homes on side streets. With Virginia-Highland, has taken much of the nightlife from the Buckhead area which mostly attracts hip-hoppers now. 

Do

Midtown skyline from Piedmont Park

• 🌍 Center for Puppetry Arts, 1404 Spring St. NW, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. The Center for Puppetry Arts is the largest organization in North America dedicated to the art of puppetry. Located in Midtown, the center offers performances from the Family Series for everyone and New Directions for adults. An interactive museum, Puppets: The Power of Wonder, is the largest puppetry museum in the United States. 
• 🌍 Georgia Institute of Technology. Visit the Georgia Tech campus to watch the Yellow Jackets play a football or basketball game, attend a robotics competition, or check out the latest showing at the Ferst Center of the Arts. 

Lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park

• 🌍 Piedmont Park. Founded in 1904 and comprising more than 180 acres, Piedmont Park is situated between 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue in Midtown. The park features woods, sports fields, Lake Clara Meed, picnic spots, walking and skating paths and annual events including the Atlanta Dogwood Festival and Bark in the Park.  
• 🌍 Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse, 499 Peachtree St, NE, ☎ [phone]. They tout themselves as "a place out of time" which only begins to describe the atmosphere at the Shakespeare Tavern. Live music, hand-crafted period costumes, and outrageous sword fights sweep the visitor into the passion and poetry of the spoken word. An authentic British Pub Menu and a broad selection of British and Irish ales and premium brews will help keep your physical soul nourished as well. 

Buy

Midtown has stores catering to young urban professionals and to the gay crowd, including hip furniture stores and a few trendy clothing boutiques. The city has planned the "Midtown Mile," a mile-long retail shopping district on Peachtree Street, and retail shops are popping up all over midtown, seemingly on a weekly basis. A few notable stores are:

• 🌍 Fab'rik, 1114 W Peachtree St., ☎ [phone]. M-Sa 11AM-7PM, Su noon-5PM. Adorable clothes for men and women at affordable prices. 
• 🌍 Twelve, 860 Peachtree St, Ste F., ☎ [phone]. M-Sa 10AM-7PM, Su noon-4PM. Unique gift shop carrying a mix of original artwork, home accessories, handbags, and handcrafted jewelry. 

Eat

Budget

• 🌍 Fat Matt's Rib Shack, 1811 Piedmont Ave, ☎ [phone]. Tourist-favorite BBQ destination located toward the Midtown side of the industrial section of town between Midtown and Buckhead where heaping portions of cheap ribs and chicken are served up in a literal shack. 
• 🌍 Joe's on Juniper, 1049 Juniper St, ☎ [phone]. Fun bar and grill blaring 80s music with energetic gay servers (though clientele is mixed) and juicy burgers. 
• J.R. Crickets, 129 North Ave, ☎ [phone]. Su-Th 11AM-2AM, F Sa 11AM-3AM. Their status as "best wings in Georgia" is debatable — they're definitely more "homestyle" than "gourmet", if that helps swing your vote — but they're probably the most well-known. Their new location (after a 2013 fire destroyed the old one) is brighter and more spacious, but retains the dive bar feel that makes J.R. Crickets so characterful. The traditional order used to be plain buffalo wings (hot, medium, or mild; you can also get them "swimming" in extra sauce for $0.75). Thanks to a very quotable scene from the popular TV show Atlanta, the new popular order is "lemon pepper wet" (actually a questionable combination of buffalo sauce and lemon pepper seasoning). 10 wings $9.99, 20 wings $17.99; add $0.59 for lemon pepper. 
• 🌍 Las Palmeras, 368 5th St, ☎ [phone]. Charming local Cuban favorite tucked away in a residential neighborhood. 
• Spoon, 768 Marietta St (just south of Georgia Tech's west campus), ☎ [phone]. M-F 11AM-10PM, Sa 5PM-10PM. Authentic Thai food in a classy setting. 

The Varsity

• 🌍 The Varsity, 61 North Ave (at Spring St), ☎ [phone]. Su-Th 10AM-11:30PM, F Sa 10AM-12:30AM. As the world's largest drive-in restaurant, to some people the Varsity is the last bastion of chili cheese dogs and onion rings, staying true to their heritage with their brusque "What'll ya have?" greeting. To others, it's a overrated place that serves greasy, heartburn-inducing food on a dodgy street corner troubled by thugs and panhandlers. But everyone agrees that the F.O. (Frosted Orange, a sort of orange creamsicle slushie) is unbeatable. 
• 🌍 Willy's Mexicana Grill, 1071 Piedmont Ave (West edge of Piedmont Park), ☎ [phone]. This Atlanta chain serves California-style burritos that are rolled up in front of you and has a popular outdoor seating section (where it is not uncommon to see dogs leashed to the tables). (updated Mar 2019)
• Taco Mac. Local bar chain featuring rotating taps and excellent wings. Multiple locations throughout Atlanta. 
• 🌍 Eats, 600 Ponce de Leon Avenue (at Glen Iris Drive just east of Monroe Drive / Boulevard, 12 minute bus ride via route 2 from North Avenue Station departing about every 15 minutes). This is in a nearby neighborhood, between Poncey Highlands and Midtown, but sort of in a grey area. Cheap ($8 meat and three veg with cornbread included), amazing, Caribbean-leaning soul food. Get the jerk chicken or the chicken chili, as those are their most distinctive dishes. Go for a ginger beer as well if you get the jerk chicken. $8-10. 

Mid-range

Plate of fried chicken, cheese grits, and fried okra with sweet tea at Mary Mac's

• RA Sushi, 1080 Peachtree Street #8. A trendy, lounge-like sushi restaurant great for its inventive sushi rolls and cocktails. Has a great outdoor patio and excellent happy hour deals.
• Baraonda, Peachtree and 3rd St. This little Italian restaurant just a few steps away from the Fox Theatre offers some of the best pastas and gourmet thin-crust pizzas in town. 
• Mary Mac's Tea Room, 224 Ponce De Leon Ave NE, ☎ [phone]. Daily 11AM-9PM. A landmark of old Atlanta cooking, this meat-and-three on Ponce has become an old Atlanta institution. 
• Flying Biscuit Cafe. Serves breakfast all day everyday and famous for brunch. Great place for kosher and vegetarian eaters as they have no beef or pork products - just free-range chicken, "soysauge", and turkey bacon. Long waits on the weekend so get there early when they open at 7AM. 
• The Globe, 1005 Piedmont Ave, ☎ [phone]. Trendy restaurant offering simple continental fare in Georgia Tech's pedestrian-friendly Technology Square. 
• 🌍 Cypress Street Pint and Plate, 817 West Peachtree Street (at the back of the building with this address, at 5th Street and Cypress Street, five to ten minute walk from either Midtown or North Avenue Station). Nice burger and beer place with pub food and a good beer selection. $10-15. 
• 🌍 Pasta da Pulcinella, 1123 Peachtree Walk (at 13th Street just east of West Peachtree Street, five to ten minute walk from either Arts Center Station or Midtown Station). Great little Italian restaurant. $15-20. 
• 🌍 Babs, 814 Juniper Street (at 6th Street, ten minute walk from Midtown Station). Amazing brunch spot with some creative dishes and exceptionally friendly service. Cute, cozy spot as well. $10-20. 

Splurge

• Nan Thai Restaurant, 1350 Spring St, NW, ☎ [phone]. One of the most beautifully appointed restaurants in the city, where sexy Asian servers attend to elegantly-dressed couples and businessmen. The food served up by the husband and wife chef team of Charlie and Nan Niyomkul, who run both Nan and its more casual sister restaurant, Tamarind, is a favorite of many celebrities, including Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Brooke Shields. 
• 🌍 South City Kitchen, 1144 Crescent Ave, ☎ [phone]. M-Th Su 11AM-3:30PM & 5PM-10PM, F Sa 11AM-3:30PM & 5PM-10:30PM. South City Kitchen provides an accurate reflection of contemporary new Southern cuisine with a sophisticated spin. The restaurant is consistently recognized for its award-winning food, wine list and service including being listed in the top 10 of Atlanta’s best 100 restaurants by Jezebel Magazine as well as Best Restaurant in Midtown by Atlanta Magazine. $15-$28. 
• 🌍 Empire State South, 999 Peachtree Street (at 10th Street, about a block away from Midtown Station). Empire State South is another promising option for those seeking contemporary Southern cuisine. $15-28. 
• 🌍 Ecco, 40 7th Street (at Cypress Street, five minute walk from Midtown Station). Great contemporary American food and cuisine with “European-inspired” influences with especially nice atmosphere inside, a large wine list, and some interesting cocktail selections, $15-28. 

Drink

Midtown is the destination for trendsetters and fashionistas, though due to increasing pressures to keep the area more upscale and to reduce noise at night, the legislature has begun to enact ordinances which have had the result of pushing club activity downtown. Several bars and clubs are within hopping-distance of one another on Crescent Street, and others are scattered about the area.

• Park Tavern. Relax on the largest patio in Midtown, bordering Piedmont Park. This popular spot offers hand-crafted beers, $1 pints when it rains and live music events. 
• Twisted Taco. Tasty Tex-Mex, margarita pitchers and late-night snacks. 
• Loca Luna. Known for its Latin influenced house band, tropical decor and diverse Brazilian menu, including 30 different tapas. 
• Smithe's Olde Bar. Laid-back bar and music venue that has showcased great musicians before they became famous; features a MTV Unplugged-like circular stage. 
• Churchill Grounds. Serious live jazz, laid-back locals, and a knowledgeable bartender makes this bar worth visiting. 
• Tap, 1180 Peachtree Street (at 14th Street, five to ten minute walk from Arts Center Station or ten minute walk from Midtown Station). The food here is average, but the beer tap selection is very good. 35 rotating beers on tap of high quality with good variety. Best beer selection in this part of town. 

Clubs

• Ravine. Midtown's newest club which opened in 2018. Often hosts big name DJs such as Steve Aoki.
• Compound. An Atlanta hotspot and was voted by aolcityguide.com as the “Best Dance Club in Atlanta 2006,” and “Best Conversation Bar” by cityguide.com. 
• CosmoLava. A three-level club with a VIP floor, a dancing floor and cocktail lounge floor, offering the most intimate spot to relax in town. 
• Leopard Lounge. Here guests can enjoy the patio area for mingling with Atlanta’s party crowd. Popular among the early 20s crowd. 
• Opera. A unique club inside what used to be Atlanta's Opera house. The new and improved Opera boasts a $2 million renovation with bigger dance floors, second-floor opera boxes and a new DJ booth. 
• Primal. A large club with a variety of rooms, including a stage area for live music, the Guitar Bar, and the Sky Bar at the top. 
• Sutra Lounge. Sexual and seductive lounge for singles to mingle and flirt. 

Gay and Lesbian

Midtown is arguably the heart of gay life in Atlanta, particularly centered around the corner of 10th and Piedmont/Juniper.

• Blake's on the Park, 227 10th St, ☎ [phone]. Serves gay southern hospitality like no other with two levels serving food, DJs and drag shows. 
• Bulldog Bar, 893 Peachtree St, NE, ☎ [phone]. A Midtown institution that draws a largely African-American crowd. (updated Jan 2019)
• Oscar's, 1510 Piedmont Ave, NE, ☎ [phone]. Glam Midtown bar offers a throwback to old Hollywood. 

Sleep

Budget

Mid-range

• Crowne Plaza Atlanta - Midtown, 590 West Peachtree St NW. 
• 🌍 Hotel Indigo, 683 Peachtree St, NE, ☎ [phone]. Hip midtown hotel with nouveau New England decor across from the Fox Theatre and close to the MARTA train. Includes events like a doggie happy hour. 
• 🌍 Twelve Hotel, 361 17th St, NW, ☎ [phone]. Located in Atlantic Station, this sleek, contemporary all-suite hotel features stainless steel appliances and LCD televisions, and is located amidst the Atlantic Station shopping district. WiFi, 24-hour room service, and swimming pool. US$175-$350. 
• 🌍 Regency Suites Hotel, 975 West Peachtree St, ☎ [phone]. A boutique hotel in the heart of midtown with a mix of European charm and down-home southern hospitality. 
• Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center, 800 Spring St, NW, ☎ [phone]. Located in the pedestrian-friendly area of Midtown on Tech Square surrounded by shops and restaurants. Features extensive state-of-the-art meeting and conference facilities. 

Splurge

• 🌍 Four Seasons Hotel Atlanta, 75 14th St, NE, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. This luxurious Midtown hotel is in the lower third of the GLG Grand tower and within walking distance of Piedmont Park. 
• Georgian Terrace Hotel, 659 Peachtree St, NE, ☎ [phone]. Southern charm abounds at this grandly-appointed historical hotel across from the Fox Theatre. 
• 🌍 W Atlanta Midtown, 188 14th St, NE, ☎ [phone]. This new hotel offers luxury rooms with post-modern decor, and a short walk to Piedmont Park and numerous pubs, bars, and clubs. 
• Hyatt Atlanta Midtown, 125 10th Street NE, ☎ [phone]. The Hyatt Atlanta Midtown is a luxury hotel in Midtown Atlanta adjacent to 10th Street Park. (updated Sep 2016)
• Stonehurst Place, 923 Piedmont Ave NE, ☎ [phone]. Stonehurst Place is a luxury boutique hotel and bed and breakfast in Midtown Atlanta. The hotel features six suites, and wedding facilities. (updated Jul 2018)

Connect

Go next

Routes through Midtown

Doraville ← Buckhead ←	N  S	→ Downtown → Hartsfield-Jackson ATL
Sandy Springs ← Buckhead ←	N  S	→ Downtown → Hartsfield-Jackson ATL