Poncey-Highland

For a relatively small neighborhood, Poncey-Highland has a hell of a lot going on: movies at the deco-chic Plaza Theatre, drinks at true-blue political haunt Manuel's Tavern; meals post-midnight at the Majestic Diner. There's a never-ending supply of colorful street characters along Ponce de Leon Avenue, or at the Clermont Lounge, the long-time strip club and forever home of Blondie ? the ageless stripper will crush your beer can between her iconic breasts and autograph it for you. The Lounge, once housed in the basement of the Clermont Hotel, a disheveled, $30-a-night fleabag group of rooms, now occupies the basement of the Clermont Hotel, a modern five-story with a rooftop bar and countless amenities, selling out nights at up to ten times the former price. In Poncey-Highland you?ll also find King of Pops, selling delicious handmade popsicles in front of Buddy?s, and the seemingly immortal movie-rental store Videodrome. Searching for inner peace? Tucked away at the Carter Center, the home of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, is a Japanese garden with 40 varieties of roses, sculptures, and waterfalls. Once you?ve made your peace, get into a rowdy political discussion over a pint at Manuel's Tavern, a Poncey-Highland institution, and home away from home to politicians, artists, madmen, and acquired characters ? the same clientele it's drawn for decades.