Georgia in the southeastern USA connects the metropolis of Atlanta with a tranquil Atlantic coast full of marshland and barrier islands.
Georgia in the southeastern USA connects the metropolis of Atlanta with a tranquil Atlantic coast full of marshland and barrier islands. You travel here for Savannah, for the history of the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta, and for nature not typically expected in the Southeast: the Okefenokee Swamp and undeveloped islands like Cumberland Island.In Atlanta, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park commemorates the USA's most famous civil rights leader, who was born and preached here. Along the coast, historical sites and nature alternate: Jekyll Island was a hunting ground for the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts in the late 19th century and is now a State Park, while on Cumberland Island, wild horses roam the dunes. In the southeast of the state lies the Okefenokee, a vast wetland and source of the Suwannee and St. Marys Rivers.Georgia was one of the 13 founding colonies and later part of the Confederacy. The traces of slavery, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights Movement still shape many places you visit today.
Savannah, on the Savannah River, just before its mouth into the Atlantic and directly on the border with South Carolina, is Georgia's oldest city. You come for its 22 shady squares under oaks draped with Spanish moss, its 19th-century mansions, and an Old Town you can easily explore on foot.Its street grid with its squares dates back to city founder James Oglethorpe and remains intact today. To the south of the Historic District lies Forsyth Park with its famous fountain; to the north, River Street with old cotton warehouses by the river. On the city's outskirts, Bonaventure Cemetery and the oak alley of Wormsloe await.Like Charleston, Savannah was built on the riches of slave labor. At the Owens-Thomas House and in Wormsloe, you can learn how enslaved people lived in the city and on plantations.
Sights in Georgia
Discover the most important sights and attractions
Museum
Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historical Park
Around Atlanta's Auburn Avenue, you'll find Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthplace, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and his tomb at the reflecting pool. Birthplace tours begin at historic Fire Station No. 6 in small groups.
The protected area protects the Okefenokee Swamp, an internationally protected wetland, and is headwaters of the Suwannee and St. Marys Rivers. At the Suwannee Canal entrance near Folkston, paddle among cypress trees; alligators are almost guaranteed here.
The barrier island off St. Marys in the far southeast of Georgia can only be reached by ferry from St. Marys. There are neither shops nor restaurants, but instead secluded beaches, ruins of a mansion, and wild horses.
Jekyll Island's beach features bleached, toppled logs. Initially a late 19th-century hunting club for wealthy families like Rockefeller, Morgan, and Vanderbilt, the island has been a State Park since 1947.
AirportsHartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) is the main hub in the Southeast with direct flights from Europe. For the coast, Savannah/Hilton Head Airport (SAV) is the better choice.Train and BusAmtrak stops in Savannah with the Palmetto, Silver Meteor, and Silver Star. Outside of cities, the network is sparse; for islands and nature reserves, you'll need your own vehicle.CarInterstate 75 crosses Georgia from north to south, I-16 connects Macon with Savannah, and I-95 runs along the coast to the Golden Isles and Florida. You can only reach Cumberland Island by ferry from St. Marys, which you should reserve in advance.
