Spend a day discovering Atlanta's dynamic neighborhoods, including Viginia-Highland, where you can grab a cone at Paolo's Gelato Italiano.
Castleberry Hill
A surviving patch of Atlanta’s original urban fabric where old railroad warehouses have been converted for loft living. Several of the city’s boldest art galleries have located there, including
Wertz Contemporary, which specializes in art of the African diaspora and includes the ultra-cool nightclub Café Noir. For dinner, try
No Mas! Cantina, which serves exuberant Mexican food and doubles as a showroom for striking handcrafted furnishings.
Virginia-Highland
Developed in the early 1900s, this neighborhood is made up of seven distinct commercial areas with blocks of charming bungalow homes. Start the morning with an amazingly good bagel at
Belly General Store. Set out for a stroll on leafy North Highland Avenue to find some of the city’s most distinctive shops, ranging from organic lifestyle boutique
Eco-Bella to woodworking mecca
Highland Woodworking to eclectic gift shop
Festivity. To recharge between retail exertions, get a cone at
Paolo’s Gelato Italiano and sit on the bench out front, watching the people parade.
Little Five Points
Where flower power meets punk and multiple piercings and weird outfits are always in style. But there’s substance below the surface. Nationally recognized
7 Stages Theatre promotes international and new American plays.
A Cappella Books, of that vanishing species the independent bookstore, sells both new and used titles but specializes in rare and out-of-print ones, with particular strength in ’60s history and rock, jazz and blues studies. Finally, check out
Criminal Records, which has the city’s coolest selection of comics and magazines.
This article has been adapted from the original, which was published in December 2008 by MSP Communications.