<p>My family will be in Atlanta for 10 days in July attending the US Fencing National Championships. Yikes!!! The walk from the downtown hotels to the Convention Center is less than a mile, but uphill in both directions. Every other street in Atlanta is called “Peachtree”. So directions from the hotel to the Convention Center and back are the same. It goes something like this:</p>
<p>Go uphill on Peachtree about two blocks, then turn left on Peachtree, when you cross the Marta line you;ll want to make a U-turn on Peachtree, go two blocks, stop for Momosas, rinse, repeat.</p>
<p>Atlanta must have hired M C Escher as an urban planner.</p>
<p>Here are a couple of maps of Atlanta:</p>
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<p>Rant over.</p>
<p>Seriously, an extremely helpful CC Atlanta parent has given me incredibly helpful Atlanta advice already. Thank you.</p>
<p>If anyone else has any advice about Atlanta in July, please share. Thanks.</p>
<p>Sherpa, it’s not quite as bad as you are thinking. One of the streets you are thinking of is actually “West” Peachtree. When you say the convention center, do you mean the World Congress Center? If so, don’t worry, you can walk across the street and frolick in the fountains in Centennial Olympic Park with all the little kiddies. They have those kind that squirt out of the ground when you step on them. If you are going to be carrying any kind of bag/tote with you, I would get one of those water bottles with the fan on them. It will be extremely hot and muggy, and I’m betting you will be catching a cab after the first day, I know I would!</p>
<p>Yes, it’s the GWCC. Just a few short steps (LOL) from the MARTA Station. I’m planning on staying in an expended stay suite hotel near the Perimeter Mall, using Marta, but planning to taxi from 5 Points to the GWCC rather than transferring lines and doing the long walk to the venue.</p>
<p>If you transfer to the other line in the 5 points station, the first stop goes directly to the Congress Center. It might be easier to do that than to get out of the 5 points station and get a cab to the CC, especially if there is any traffic. You could try it both ways and see which works.</p>
<p>Remember it is HOT in Atlanta in July. I would not want to carry any heavy fencing bags around for more than a very short distance (I guess now is the time to invest in a wheeled bag if you haven’t done so yet.) The Perimeter is quite a ways from downtown. If I were going, I think I might want to stay closer to the event, even if it meant less space. Remember to see the sites if you have time between rounds. Seriously, the fencing doesn’t last 10 days does it? I think a hotel with a swimming pool would be nice, if you like that kind of thing.</p>
<p>Be certain to know which ‘Peachtree Street’ that you’ll be looking for. Wear a hat in the sun. Wear comfortable walking shoes. If you have your own car or are renting, be advised that the hotel parking lots downtown tend to be full by the evening. I stayed at the Sheraton downtown (there’s probably more than one), returned from a visit with relatives at about 9pm on a Saturday night only to find NO PARKING STALLS available. Had to park across the street in a commercial gararge. $$$. Can’t remember if Sheraton reimbursed me or not.</p>
<p>You exaggerate. They aren’t all plain Peachtree. There is Peachtree Circle, Peachtree Industrial Way, West Peachtree, Peachtree St. NE, Old Peachtree, and so on. ;)</p>
<p>Also be sure to know which “town” you are in. We live here, but we have gotten lost simply because we thought we were heading to Peachtree in one town, when we’d actually crossed the border into another and didn’t know it. So we get to the right street number, and the place we’re heading to is nowhere to be found.</p>
<p>When we first moved to Atlanta, we stayed in an extended-stay hotel near Perimeter mall - wonder if it’s the same one. It has changed hands several times. It was new then, but that was 25 years ago!</p>
<p>July in Atlanta is very pleasant. Unless you go outside.</p>
<p>Try to visit the High Museum of Art (on Peachtree ;)), the historic, beautiful Swan House in Buckhead, and the Varsity Drive-In for milkshakes. Retreat to air-conditioned malls Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square (also on Peachtree) for cooler temps, and great shopping.</p>
<p>The new aquarium is really nice, too. If you’re into CNN, it’s right there, you might as well take the tour. Also, it’s the home of Coca Cola so go on that tour, too. They will tell you the secret formula. (NOT) Notice I am telling you all the indoor things. Take a hint. You can cook an egg on the sidewalk in July. We have humidity too. I’m with the rest of the group, the heat really takes it out of you and you will not want to be toting (that’s a southern word) much around and traveling for long distances.</p>
When you say the convention center, do you mean the World Congress Center? If so, don’t worry, you can walk across the street and frolick in the fountains in Centennial Olympic Park with all the little kiddies. They have those kind that squirt out of the ground when you step on them. If you are going to be carrying any kind of bag/tote with you, I would get one of those water bottles with the fan on them. It will be extremely hot and muggy, and I’m betting you will be catching a cab after the first day, I know I would!</p>