ATHENS VISITORS GUIDE HERItaGE / FOOD & DRINK / MUSIC & ARTS VisitAthensGA.com 800.653.0603 706.357.4430 Before you arrive ... PLAN YOUR VISIT, FIND DEALS, AND SIGN UP FOR E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS FOR TIPS, PACKAGES & SPECIALS, AND BIG EVENT NOTICES. Plan ahead VisitAthensGA..com Plan your visit, find deals, sign up for e-mail newsletters for tips, packages & specials, and big events notices. Find @ VisitAthensGA on: HOMETOWN VisitAthensGA.com COVERAGE OF UGA ATHLETICS brought to you by: LOCAL EXPERTS Contents on the go in person Top 10 6 ATHENS CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU 300 N. Thomas St. Inside the historic fire hall at The Classic Center Music 8 800-653-0603 706-357-4430 VisitAthensGA.com Craft Beer 9 Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Downtown Map, D3 Arts 10 ATHENS WELCOME CENTER 280 E. Dougherty St., Athens, GA 30601 Culture 11 Inside the Church-Waddel-Brumby house museum Heritage 12 706-353-1820, toll free 866-455-1820 AthensWelcomeCenter.com Gardens 13 VisitAthensGA.com is Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–5 p.m. your connection to the Sun. noon–5 p.m. most comprehensive, most Downtown Map, D2 UGA Sports 14 up-to-date information Stop in for expert advice, free brochures & maps, and self-guided about Athens, including tours. Outdoors 15 It’S the BIRthPLACE OF SOME event listings and insight- Operating from the Athens Welcome Center, Classic City Tours OF the best MUSIC eveR LAID ful blog articles to experi- provides guided tours by reservation as well as podcast and ence Athens like a local. audio tours. See map, p. 17 for coupon and tour schedule! Maps 16 DOWN! AND YOU neveR KNOW All-new design helps you When YOu’lL be abLE TO saY... stay on top of the Athens Dining 20 I saW them When... OnLY IN scene from your phone, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA tablet, or laptop. VISITORS CENTER Athens! — JasON M. VIA FACEBOOK Four Towers Building, More Info 22 405 College Station Rd., Athens, GA 30602 706-542-0842 Attraction Listings 23 connect with athens Visit.UGA.edu Mon.–Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., @VisitAthensGA Select Saturdays 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Hotels 29 Closed on Sundays, UGA holidays, & home football gamedays. Visit Athens, Georgia UGA Map, D6 Events 31 @VisitAthensGA Selfie Free guided tours daily; reservations strongly suggested. Visit Athens GA The Athens Visitors Guide is produced by the Athens Convention & Visitors spot! Bureau. Although every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, we cannot AthensLifeUnleashed Look for these Selfie Spots throughout the Guide. guarantee that errors have not occurred or that dates, times, phone numbers, Snap away, and tag us with #SeeAthensGA! and other information have not changed. Published August 2016. Cover photo illustration by Kristen Morales. 4 4 Life Unleashed Savor Local 1 Flavors 3 Athens is a rising star on the food scene with Top Chef Hugh Acheson among Celebrate Festivals! our many talented 2 Catch the sights and sounds of chefs creating Athens at seasonal festivals such exceptional menus as summer music & arts at Ath- from local, Fest, a Halloween Wild Rumpus seasonal, and Walk Back in Time parade through downtown streets, sustainable Athens Cross over Broad Street and venture back two centuries to the early days holiday ice skating at The Classic fare. of America’s first state-chartered college, the University of Georgia. Historic Center, Wine Weekend to warm North Campus is modeled after Yale University. The Athens Welcome up your winter, and the Athens Center offers self-guided tours of our historic house museums and Twilight Criterium each spring. neighborhoods, as well as guided excursions by Classic City Tours. Cheer on the Dawgs TOP 10 Athens’ population doubles on home football weekends, but 6 that’s not the only time to catch some top sports action. UGA is home to 19 Division I sports teams, plus club teams such Sip a Local Brew as the Ice Dogs (yes, ice hockey in Athens!). Athens has been called the “Next Great Craft- 5 Brew Town” by FirstWeFeast.com. Learn how award-winning beer is made and sample various styles and flavors at a tour of Terrapin Beer Co., Creature Comforts Brewing Co., and Southern 4 Explore Brewing Company. These local favorites and hundreds more are available at hot spots like Downtown Trappeze Pub and The Globe, or check out what’s Our restored historic downtown district is on tap at Copper Creek Brewing Company. teeming with local shops, restaurants, and music venues. You’ll uncover vintage and locally made goods plus other choice finds Feel the at shops like Agora, Masada, and Frontier. Get Your Stroll through Browse for records at Wuxtry, where mem- Creative bers of R.E.M. first met. 7 Groove On 8 a Garden 10 Athens has been called “Live 9 Energy The State Botanical Garden of Georgia Music Central” by The New Athens is home to the Georgia features 313 acres of themed gardens, York Times, and the best col- Museum of Art, the state’s plus nature trails for hiking and birding lege music scene by Rolling official museum, along with nu- and a stunning tropical conservatory. Venture Out Stone. Perhaps best known as merous galleries showcasing Other local gardens display the best Take a walk (or hike, or climb, or home to R.E.M., the B-52’s, and th the work of local, regional, na- of 19 -century plantings all the way kayak) that’s a bit off the beaten Widespread Panic. Athens is tional, and international artists. to today’s “Athens Best” at the Trial path at Athens’ expansive selection still called home by hundreds of Be here on Third Thursdays Gardens at UGA. of athletic facilities, natural resourc- bands. See live music nightly at when galleries offer extended es, parks, and recreation areas. acclaimed venues like the Geor- evening hours and special 6 6 Life Unleashed 800.653.0603 | VisitAthensGA.com 7 gia Theatre and 40 Watt Club. events! GET MORE! GET MORE! Locate venues and download a music history walking tour Brewery tour schedules and special events VisitAthensGA.com/live-music VisitAthensGA.com/craftbeer BANDS + BREWS Spend a night out in one of the best music scenes in America, plus sample some of the most exciting craft brews going. Your Itinerary At hens Music Walking Tour Download this tour of local Retro Vibes Craft Brewery Tour & Tastings Dinner musical heritage spots from Grab Some Gear Head to the UGA Special Collec- Spend happy hour at the source of good times and The National is just across Hancock Street from Creature Browse through a real VisitAthensGA.com/music- tions galleries for interactive exhibits good beer, with a tour, tastings, and live music at Comforts and is one of Athens’ most notable dining destina- record store! Wuxtry tour, or pick up a copy at the on all things Georgia, including broad- Terrapin Brewery, Creature Comforts Brewing tions. Continue with the craft beer theme at Trappeze Pub, is where members of Athens Welcome Center or cast media and music. Company, and Southern Brewing Company. with an on-point food menu plus extensive selection of beer R.E.M. first met. Seek Convention & Visitors Bureau. on tap. Or, dine atop the rooftop of the Georgia Theatre for out more hard-to-find breathtaking sunset and city skyline views. albums and local “I LOve the band tees at Lo Yo Lunch Yo Stuff and Atomic Athens Stop off for a bite at Weaver D’s, Athens vintage. Score whose soul food counter service AUDIENCE. some hot new threads inspired R.E.M.’s album title, “Auto- along Clayton Street’s They’rE NOT matic for the People.” Dine along- boutiques and more side local musicians at Mama’s Selfie PRetentIOUS, Selfie Live Music & Club Crawl vintage shops on Jack- Boy or The Grit. Start out at earlier shows you’ll find at The Foundry or a special son Street. spot! BUT theY spot! Imagine Head to performance at The Classic Center or UGA’s Performing your name DO have HIGH Dudley Park to Arts Center. Stay out late with a national touring act, regional in lights on check out the draw, or local favorite in Athens’ acclaimed clubs such as the the iconic railroad trestle Georgia Theatre, 40 Watt Club, The World Famous, and Georgia stanDARDS.” from the back Theatre MUSICIAN KISHI BASHI of R.E.M.’s Caledonia Lounge. 8 8 Life Unleashed marquee. Murmur album. 800.653.0603 | VisitAthensGA.com 9 #seeathensga #seeathensga GET MORE! GET MORE! Find current exhibit and performance schedules. Explore other hip areas like VisitAthensGA.com/events Normaltown, Boulevard, and Five Points. VisitAthensGA.com/neighborhoods Selfie spot! Head up to the rooftop of the Georgia Theatre and catch your gaze overlooking ARTS + CULTURE downtown. Art is everywhere in Athens, from the #seeathensga state’s official art museum to local galleries and studios to lining the walls in restaurants and shops. There are even galleries inside our convention Downtown Shopping center and at Hotel Indigo. Walk down Clayton Street for shop after shop Your itinerary filled with one-of-a-kind and locally made prod- ucts. Look for R. Wood ceramics to grace your table, Bee Natural luminaries for any décor, and hand-crafted leather goods at Masada. Native Lunch: Pulaski America and Frontier are other shops with local flair. Heights BBQ Georgia Museum of Art Grab some UGA Bulldogs gear to mark your time in Explore the state’s permanent collection Head a few Explore t he Athens. Bonus: A college town makes for some of the with strengths in American painting and Take some blocks outside downtown warehouse best vintage shopping around, so check out Atomic Southern decorative arts, plus exhibitions home to this spot known not The Chase Athens, Agora Vintage, Community, and others.