It feels like only a few days ago; I was spending a long weekend exploring Atlanta with my girlfriend and fellow blogger, Lauren or Lauren Myers & Co. We love traveling together, exploring local eats, and discovering new places. After discussing where our next trip should be we quickly landed on Atlanta, and while I’ve been there a few times and Lauren lives there, we thought it would be fun to explore new places together that’s she’s been wanting to check out + she thought it would help me get a better understanding of the City. I can honestly say, I fell in love with Atlanta while on vacation! The City is vibrant and historical, the food scene is fantastic, and all the coffee places we visited were on point. *This post contains sponsored content, please note all our opinions and words shared are our own.
Together we’ve created The Girlfriends Guide to Atlanta, sharing a four day itinerary covering all the Atlanta musts! This is our Fifth Trip Guide we’ve created and honestly it’s one of my FAVORITES!! Our guide is the ultimate guide in exploring Atlanta with your girlfriend, sharing our favorite Coffee Spots, Best Brunch Places & Food Spots, Must-Visit Museums + Getting around the city the fun way! Lauren is kicking off days 1-2, and then I’m rounding out days 3-4
THE GIRLFRIENDS GUIDE TO ATLANTA: FOUR DAY ITINERARY
Lauren // The great thing about Georgia is that there are so many cities to explore. It’s a widespread state which makes it nice because you can explore many different areas without leaving too far from the Atlanta area. Every city has its gems and unique places to explore. This is nice since everything is so spread out. You are no longer forced to go to the city of Atlanta to have different restaurant options and fun things to do. When Katrina decided to come to Atlanta, I was excited not only because I was going to see my friend again after nearly a year, but also because I got to play tour guide and show her around the different areas of Atlanta and the Metro area.
DAY ONE // Southern Staples & Exploring Duluth
When Katrina came in town on Thursday the first thing we did was go to Waffle House - a staple in Georgia!
After breakfast, we ventured to one of my favorite local spots, Mac Lab Bakery, and had delicious lattes and fresh made macarons.
After getting caffeinated, we headed to the City of Duluth / Historic Duluth. Duluth is a city that is around 30 miles outside of Atlanta, and the downtown area has various shops and restaurants as well as gorgeous historic homes. It is the perfect place to explore, walk, eat, shop and enjoy a cocktail.
We had lunch at Nacho Daddy which specializes in gourmet nachos! They offer so many types of nachos, tacos, etc. There is truly something for everybody because their menu includes vegan options as well. Insider Tip: Happy hour specials are from 3-6 Monday-Friday and all day Sunday! They also have reverse happy hour from 10pm-close.
A great place to grab a small, sweet treat is Simply Done Donuts. They specialize in creative mini cake donuts such as french toast, butterfinger and cookies and cream. They also serve delicious lattes and flavored nitro cold brew (blueberry and basil - my personal favorite!).
With historic cities comes historic homes. We walked around the neighborhoods to admire the beautiful homes. Historic Duluth is a small section of the city, but there is so much to explore; you can easily spend a few hours there. The town center regularly hosts different festivals and has Food Truck Fridays in the spring and summer months.
DAY TWO // Exploring Roswell + Soul Food and Must Visit Museums
The next day we ventured to a different city, Roswell, to get breakfast and lattes and to explore their historic district. Roswell is around 20 miles from Atlanta and the historic area is full of great restaurants and shops as well. The first stop was Crazy Love Coffee House which is a historic home converted into a coffee shop. After the coffee shop, we walked down the main strip and saw the various shops and restaurants that the city has to offer.
We then drove a short distance to the Marta station to ride the train into Atlanta to have our next cultural experience at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. This is a fairly new attraction in Atlanta and walks you through key points of the civil rights movement. It was quite an emotional experience. There were exhibits that explained various events that took place during the civil rights movement, key individuals that helped to form and lead the movement, various scenes and examples of injustices that black people faced and physical experiences such as the lunch counter sit-in simulation. The United States has a dark history that still bleeds over into current times. It is important to acknowledge the past and continue to make a conscious effort to make the country more equal and just. Our trip to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights is one that we will never forget.
After leaving the Center, we took a short Lyft ride to have dinner at Mary Mac’s Tea Room, a traditional southern restaurant with an amazing, friendly staff that opened in 1945. The atmosphere of the restaurant was great - the restaurant is a converted home, but the rooms and walls are still in place. There are various dining areas which were the original rooms in the home.
After dinner, we walked through Midtown Atlanta to the Marta train station making sure to take a route passing the iconic Fox Theater.
Our last stop for the evening was a visit to the High Museum of Art, the Southeast’s leading art museum. It happened to be the first Friday of the month, so it was their monthly event, “First Fridays at the High”. On these days, the museum has drop-in art making, live performances, and cocktails for purchase from 6 to 9 p.m. When we went, there was a DJ spinning in the main wing. The vibe is great because you can hear the music throughout each floor while viewing the exhibits. It’s a must-do if you are in Atlanta on the first Friday of the month!
DAY THREE // Morning Coffee, Best Tacos in ATL, Krog Street Market + Shopping at Westside Provisions
Katrina // Our third day in Atlanta was another full day filled with lots of good coffee, amazing street tacos, foodie heaven and shopping! We kicked off our morning with coffee at East Pole Coffee. I love that ATL has so many unique coffee spots!
Love hanging out with this girl! We had such a blast chatting over coffee while at East Pole Coffee. Lauren had a vanilla latte and I had an oat milk latte and I splurged and also had a sweet potato biscuit!
After coffee, we drove to Inman Park. I loved the area. It’s super walkable with shops and places to dine all over + it’s filled with cute houses! We had lunch at Bartaco - simply put, the best taco combinations in Atlanta! The tacos were bomb.com and we also loved the corn fritters! By far, the best seats in the house are outside near the fireplace - they give you the best views!
After Bar Taco, we did a little shopping and then headed to Queen of Cream, Atlanta’s best small batch ice cream parlor. Everything is made in-house and from scratch.
After ice cream, we walked to the BeltLine and headed to Krog Street Market, basically it’s a foodies dream! In addition to all the yummy food, there’s lots of little shops to check out full of unique finds.
Next we headed to Westside Provisions District for shopping, coffee at Brash Coffee and dinner at Little Trouble, a Japanese Restaurant serving up small bites with big taste! It’s such a cool restaurant with a laid back after hours vibe.
Dessert is always a good idea right? On the way back to Lauren’s house we stopped at Sublime Donuts. They’re so good and they stay open 24 Hours! Basically, the donuts ruined me for life. I only want donuts from there; nothing else can compare lol.
DAY FOUR // Brunch Vibes with views & Biking the Beltline
Lauren and I are huge coffee drinkers, and I’m happy to report together we experienced some amazing coffee spots in Atlanta. We kicked off our day at Valor Coffee in Downtown Alpharetta; the coffee was so good! I ordered my go-to Almond Latte and loved every single sip.
BRUNCH: After grabbing a coffee-to-go a visit to 9 Mile Station for brunch is an absolute MUST! The elevated beer garden restaurant is located on the roof-top of Ponce City Market. This spot has it all; the food is incredible with a mixture of brunch + lunch items and amazing drinks to kick-off your day! The restaurant is lovely and includes a large open patio area, several fire pits and the best views of Atlanta! With the weather being perfect, we sat outside and soaked up the sights and indulged in a few drinks and good eats!
Lauren had the Eggs Benedict with a side of fresh fruit; the Benedict was next level thanks to the pretzel croissant. For brunch, I enjoyed the 9 Mile Patty Melt with a side of crispy potatoes and cheesy grits! When in the South, grits as a side for me is a must. Check out the entire brunch menu here. For drinks, we both said cheers with an Aperol Spritz and then Lauren had the My Best Life drink, which she loved. I also said why not to another drink and loved my 9 Mile Mule.
*Insider tip: Reservations are a must and can be made easily here.
After brunch, we headed to Skyline Park, a rooftop amusement park with fun for the whole family! Some of the games include: midway games, mini gold, a huge slide and much more!
PONCE CITY MARKET // After brunch and rooftop games, head to Ponce City Market for shopping. The market is filled with so many boutique shopping experiences and stores celebrating the ATL. In addition there is a huge food hall with something for everyone.
BIKING THE BELT-LINE: The slogan of the BeltLine, is ‘Where Atlanta Comes Together’ and it’s true! The BeltLine is a multi-use family friendly trail running throughout the heart of the city, connecting many neighborhoods. Along the trail there are bike rentals, scooter rentals and places to take lots of #Instagram moments! Read more about the BeltLine here. We biked the BeltLine on JUMP Bikes starting at Ponce City Market riding all the way to Krog Street Tunnel. It was such a pretty day and just an FYI on pretty days in Atlanta everyone is on the BeltLine, roller skating, biking, riding scooters and walking-it!
Afternoon coffee at Dancing Goats
Best Coffee in Atlanta? Gilly’s Brew Bar for the Win!!
Hands down the best coffee in the Greater ATL and just outside the perimeter is Gilly Brew Bar located in Stone Mountain Village. It’s an elevated coffee experience, like NEXT LEVEL. The presentation of our coffee alone had our mouths all pop open!
We met our friend Brandy there, and instantly the three of us were in awe! I had the Honey Latte (peep the honey comb on my spoon) Brandi had the Iced Lavender Coffee and Lauren the Rose Latte. Can you even?? My latte was incredible.
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We hope you enjoyed our post and that it helps plan your next trip to Atlanta or if you’re local try a few of our recommendations and see some new sights and check out the coffee spots and restaurants we loved! Atlanta is such a huge city and visiting the Metro Area of Atlanta really helped me get a sense of the vibe of the city. From the neighborhoods and shopping in all the places we went, it was so easy to fall in love with Atlanta. I’m excited to return in a few months! Looking for more city guides and trip ideas + how to travel to Europe for under $400 round trip? Check out these posts on my blog.
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