Neighborhoods - Grant Park

This leafy neighborhood boasts one of Atlanta’s grandest parks, close proximity to downtown and Turner Field, and a collection of some of the city’s oldest and best-maintained houses. While Grant Park is oddly short on retail and dining amenities, its residential streets get plenty of weekend traffic, thanks to the presence of Zoo Atlanta. Bounded on two sides by the Beltline, the historic ‘hood can have the cozy, genteel feel of a small town in the middle of the big city.

Things to do in Grant Park

Comparison-shop for fixie accessories

With two hardcore fixed-gear bike shops, Grant Park is the go-to destination for tricking out your sick ride. In addition to offering repair service and selling new and used bikes, both the venerable No Brakes and newcomer Loose Nuts Cycles stock leather saddles, handlebar baskets, branded T-shirts, and other hipster accoutrements.

Enjoy a beverage and pastry at Octane Coffee

Coffee nerds already know that Octane makes single-origin brew one cup at a time using the meticulous pour-over method. Its sunlight-filled Grant Park outpost also houses the Little Tart Bakeshop, which offers yummy breakfast sweets, lunch savories, and tasty tarts aplenty. But the game-changer is the bar, which serves serious cocktails until midnight. Order a Red Hook and tell ‘em CL sent ya.

Stroll the Grant Park Historic District

Grant Park is one of Atlanta’s oldest neighborhoods and the city’s largest historic district, containing hundreds of well-tended Craftsman bungalows, colorful Queen Anne-style homes, quaint cottages, and Victorian mansions. Every street offers architectural ogling for house-porn enthusiasts, but we recommend the grand manses overlooking the park along Cherokee Avenue and the century-old showplaces on Grant Street.

Relive the Civil War, intown-style

Instead of driving out to the suburbs to see a battlefield or read a plaque, you can drop in on the Atlanta Cyclorama and see the entire Battle of Atlanta played out before you in semi-3-D from the comfort of a theater seat. This most bizarre of tourist attractions features a rotating 15,000-square-foot oil painting and diorama showing the Confederacy getting its ass whupped. Pass the popcorn.

Take in a show at Grocery on Home

Every other week or so, this tiny music venue located in, yes, a former neighborhood grocery store hosts a concert by a touring singer/songwriter that feels as intimate as a listening party in your own living room.