The list keeps growing. The picks stay opinionated.
6 picks from Atlanta.
A college town that figured out how to feed people between band practice and football Saturdays. REM's hometown has a coffee scene that puts most cities to shame, a BBQ spot where the pitmaster used to play drums, and a hotel in a century-old foundry that makes you forget you drove 70 minutes from Atlanta.
Two hours north of Atlanta, a riverfront city that fixed itself without turning into Asheville. Rock City if you're into that, but the real move is the St. Elmo neighborhood for dinner, a night at the Dwell Hotel, and a morning coffee at Velo that makes you wonder why you don't leave town more often.
Four hours through the Smokies to a mountain town that figured out beer and breakfast before the rest of the South caught up. Two nights gets you the Biltmore if you want it, the breweries if you don't, and a Sunday morning drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway when it's still yours.
A city where the moss hangs low and the restaurants close at 10pm because nobody's in a hurry. Forsyth Park in the morning, oysters at The Grey for lunch, bourbon on a second-floor porch after dark. Three nights gets you past the trolley tours and into the squares that actually matter.
Three nights in Colombia's walled city where the heat slows you down in the right way. Ceviche at lunch, rum on a rooftop at dusk, cobblestones that turn gold at sunset. Direct from Atlanta means you're sitting in the Old Town by dinner.
A mountain town at 4,118 feet where Atlanta people go to disappear for a weekend. Main Street antiques, waterfalls that require actual hiking boots, and the Old Edwards Inn holding down the center like it has since 1878. Go in October when the fog rolls in at 4pm and the town earns its name.
