Best City View

For years, people have gathered on the Jackson Street Bridge with camera gear in tow. There, standing over Freedom Parkway’s exit and entrance ramps, they gather with engaged couples, Segway tourists, and dozens of others to point their cameras at the Downtown skyline on display. They all know that this Downtown panorama — even its Photoshopped version on the promotional poster for”The Walking Dead” — where you can spot new, retro, and historic buildings framed by Atlanta’s beautiful sunsets, is the best view of Atlanta. less...

You can get higher than the 19 floors occupied by the newer wing of the GEORGIAN TERRACE HOTEL, but you’ll likely be looking out a plate-glass window. The top of the near-century-old, Beaux Arts hotel at the corner of Peachtree Street and Ponce de Leon Avenue, however, is the only place from which you can admire Midtown from above while enjoying the breeze in your hair, sipping a cocktail and dipping your toes in a rooftop pool. And when you dry off, you can head downstairs for drinks in the lobby bar or dinner in the brasserie-style Livingston restaurant. 659 Peachtree St. 800-651-2316. www.thegeorgianterrace.com. less...

Follow us up Stone Mountain. It’s a good hike, one that’ll strengthen your quads and pump up your heart rate. But hurry now, because the sun’s setting. OK, now turn around. See all the trees? They’re everywhere! A sea of trees! And there, 16 miles away, is Atlanta - a sparkling city rising from a sea of trees. Who are these whiny environmentalists, anyway? Now, look: Watch the sky around the city as the sun drops. Gold, red, pink, orange - wow, even some purple and green! Watch how the light plays off the hydro-carbons in the air, the ones we added to by driving here. Smog makes for good sunsets, so drive with a clear conscience. After all, sausages taste good, so who gives a shit how they’re made? less...