Atlanta City Highlights Trolley Tour with Live Guide

Martin Luther King Jr. sites and Sweet Auburn

Atlanta is the birthplace of Dr Martin Luther King Jr., born here in 1929, and the Sweet Auburn neighbourhood holds many places linked to his life. The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park includes his birth home, the Ebenezer Baptist Church where he preached and the King Center, where he and his wife Coretta Scott King are laid to rest. Visitors who search for Martin Luther King Jr. sites in Atlanta will find the trolley tour a helpful introduction.

The guide explains the history of the Civil Rights movement and how Atlanta became a centre of Black business and education. After the tour, you can return on your own to walk the park, visit the church and the visitor centre, and spend more time at each site.

Centennial Olympic Park and downtown

Centennial Olympic Park was built for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games and now anchors downtown Atlanta. Around it stand major attractions including the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola, the College Football Hall of Fame and the CNN complex. The Coca-Cola drink was invented in Atlanta in 1886, a story the guide shares along the way.

If you are looking for Atlanta downtown attractions or the best things to do near Centennial Olympic Park, this stretch of the tour gives you a clear map. Look for the Olympic rings fountain, the skyscrapers and the sports arenas, and note which attractions you want to return to for a full visit.

Old Fourth Ward and the BeltLine

The Old Fourth Ward is one of Atlanta's most interesting neighbourhoods, mixing historic brick buildings with new restaurants, murals and parks. It was the home area of Martin Luther King Jr., and today it also has Historic Fourth Ward Park and the Atlanta BeltLine, a former railway corridor turned into a popular trail with public art.

Ponce City Market, a huge former Sears building converted into a food hall and shopping centre, is nearby and is a favourite stop for a longer visit later in your trip. The trolley shows you the area's character so that you can decide where to spend your free time.

The trolley tour experience

The trolley ride lasts about 90 minutes, which is short enough to fit into a busy schedule and long enough to cover the main districts. A live guide gives commentary and answers questions, and the vehicle is comfortable for a mixed group of families, couples and solo travellers.

This is a boarding-ticket tour with no hotel pickup, food or drink included. It works well as a first-morning orientation to the city: you will hear about Atlanta's history, its business and film industries, and its role as a hub of the American South, and leave with a shortlist of places to see on your own.