Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
IATA Code: ATLLocation: The airport is situated 10 miles (16km) south of downtown Atlanta.
Time: GMT -5 (GMT -4 from March to November).
Contacts: Tel: +1 404 209 1910 or 530 7300.
Transfer between terminals: The two terminals and six concourses are connected by a one-mile (1.6km) underground mall. Travellers can choose to walk, step onto a moving sidewalk or board the innovative transit system.
Transfer to the city: The airport is serviced quickly and conveniently by the trains and buses of the local Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). Single tickets to downtown Atlanta cost $1.75 and the journey takes around 20 minutes. Other options like taxis, shuttles and limousines are all available at the Ground Transportation Center, located near the baggage claim area of the arrival's lobby. CityHoppa runs shuttle vans and private cars to from the airport to Atlanta city centre.
Taxis: Taxis are available at the Ground Transportation Center, located near the baggage claim area of the arrivals lobby. The fixed fare from the airport to the city centre is US$32 and a special per-person rate applies for two or more passengers.
Car rental: Car rental companies represented at the airport include Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National and Thrifty.
Facilities: Hartsfield Atlanta is the world's busiest airport and has just about every facility you could hope for. With more than 200 concessions for services, food, beverages, and retail shopping, there are restaurants, bars and cafes to suit most tastes, and enough shops to keep even the most avid shopaholics busy. Bureaux de change and ATMs are situated throughout the airport. There are business traveller services in the Atrium and in most of the six concourses with telephone, fax and Internet access, meeting rooms and cell phone hire. Other facilities include an interfaith chapel, smoking lounges, a post office and concierge services. Disabled facilities are excellent; those with special needs should contact their airline or travel agent in advance.
Parking: The hourly parking lots located in front of each terminal, are the most convenient parking for picking up or dropping off. There are also daily lots adjacent to the airport's main terminal and economy lots nearby. The Park & Ride lots are the cheapest option and are connected by regular shuttle buses.
Departure tax: None.
Website: www.atlanta-airport.com
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Atlanta
Back in 1837 Atlanta was little more than a hamlet existing to serve as a railway terminus; then came the Civil War that saw the town burned to the ground. Undaunted, 135 years later Atlanta bustles with more than three million people, and has been chosen by numerous leading international companies as the home of their corporate or regional headquarters. The lively, thriving city styles itself as the capital of the 'New South', and its dramatic skyline is littered with gleaming skyscrapers.
Atlanta attracts visitors both for holidays and business, with its plethora of entertainment, shopping and cultural attractions as well as innumerable top class convention and accommodation venues. The downtown Peachtree Centre pedestrianised precinct covers 14 blocks of retail space, including three massive hotels, dozens of restaurants and imposing office towers. There are also plenty of museums, galleries and centres for performing arts, as well as the world's largest aquarium.
Atlanta has not lost its pioneering southern spirit or charm despite its modern guise, and the city's symbol of the phoenix serves as enduring reminder of its troubled past and bright future. The energy that was embodied in its famous sons, Martin Luther King, Jr and Ted Turner (founder of CNN) still crackles in the air and the genteel olde-world atmosphere still lingers in the residential neighbourhoods. Above all, Atlanta radiates a warm welcome in the true tradition of Southern hospitality.
