College Life
30,000 College Students and a great town are just 75 miles north of Atlanta. Athens, Georgia means several different things to different people, a center of higher learning, football, music, and arts to others.
It's a great place to spend the day or the weekend if you're in the Atlanta area.
Once you pull into town, park along Clayton Street- the middle of downtown Athens, where there are over 60 shops and over 50 restaurants, bars and clubs. On any given night there will be 10 to 20 bands playing for nothing more than a small coverage charge at the door. For a pleasant way to stretch your legs, cross over Broad Street into old campus, where you can relive your college memories as you pass underneath the old oaks and historic white column halls.
If your hungry, eat at the Grit at 199 Prince Street, where fantastic vegetarian food awaits. You can't go wrong with the Golden Bowl or the vegetables of the day on the black chalkboard. If your willing to spend more, try 5&10 or the National, both owned by chef Hugh Acheson, voted at Food & Wines top chefs in years past. Hugh focuses on fresh/seasonal ingredients with a menu that changes often and specials are gone forever once they are ordered up.
Getting there is easy, but very boring....as there is nothing to see along "Highway" 316.
Take I-85 north to eastbound Ga. 316. The Ga. 10 loop circles Athens. Hop on the loop from Ga. 316 and head east. Take Exit 8 and turn left. Turn right at North Lumpkin Street and right again at East Hancock Avenue.