Best Things to Do in Atlanta with Kids (2026 Guide)

Atlanta is home to much more than the busiest airport in the world. The city has plenty of activities to experience with your children.

Hanging out in Atlanta, Georgia with kids — *Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta can be a nice walk*

Georgia Aquarium

Link to official site: https://www.georgiaaquarium.org/
Good for ages: All ages
Nearest MARTA station: Peachtree Center (12 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: Yes

Perhaps one of the better known aquariums in the country is located in Centennial Olympic Park. The Georgia Aquarium is a nice place to spend the day. But you should be warned that this aquarium is one of the most expensive out there (between $43 and $65). You might wonder if paying as much as $65 per person to come here is worth it. This is an aquarium after all.

I’d say to also consider getting the Atlanta CityPASS if you have a desire to see other attractions too. But don’t do it unless you have real plans to visit the other activities anyways.

Giant penguin outside Georgia Aquarium — *Posing with a penguin at entry*

Thankfully, there is a lot to do once you’re inside. You’ll find a wide variety of habitats to explore. I had single parent duties with Alex, Char, and their cousins, and they seemed to be engaged throughout our stay here.

Inside Georgia Aquarium — *The kids liked checking out each exhibit*

There are also many showings of the choreographed dolphin and sea lion shows throughout the day. However, you need to make a reservation to be able to see the show. The first thing you should do once you’re inside is to go scan the QR code posted throughout the aquarium or you might miss out on your preferred time.

The show guaranteed to make kids smile, and I’d say it’s reminiscent of a SeaWorld show. By that metric, perhaps you’d think the entry price to the aquarium is more reasonable than the price of going to SeaWorld Orlando (between $90 and $110). But I would just think SeaWorld is just overpriced.

Watching the dolphin show — *The dolphin show is impressive*

Dining at the Atlanta Aquarium

There is a restaurant inside the aquarium called Coastline Cafe. There can be lengthy lines, so I’d recommend you go early if you want to avoid the crowds. The food is overpriced for what you get–but you should already expect that given the price of entry. Most of the food is fine, but I would avoid the orange chicken–Panda Express just does it better.

Coastline Cafe at Georgia Aquarium — *Coastline Cafe*

Dining at Coastline Cafe — *The kids made short work of the food here*

If you decide to come here, make a full day out of it. That’s what we did and the kids seemed to have a great time here.

World of Coca-Cola

Link to official site: https://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/
Good for ages: 6 and up
Nearest MARTA station: Peachtree Center (12 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: Yes

Found right next to the Georgia Aquarium is the World of Coca-Cola. The price of the visit is a little friendlier to your wallet than the aquarium is, sitting at $23-$26/adult and a $4 discount for kids. As you might imagine, you’re going to get the most value out of this if you’re a fan of soda. Part of the tour does involve tasting samples of Coke from all over the world. If you don’t like soda, you’re not going to get much out of that.

Outside the World of Coca-Cola — *World of Coca-Cola*

On top of the global variants of Coke, expect to be blasted with all sorts of Coke propaganda. You’ll see the origins of Coke, a short film, pose with the polar bear, and see other relics from Coke’s past. And there are plenty of opportunities to pose with Coke memorabilia.

Posing by the Coke bottles — *Posing for the camera*

Unfortunately, you’ll need to prepare yourself for crowds and more crowds. It’s practically impossible to check out the tasting areas without squeezing your way between others. And don’t get us started about how sticky the floor is.

Crowds at the drink stations — *Tons of people in the tasting room*

On the plus side, there are plenty of interactive games to play, geared more for the kids. That’s ultimately the reason why we think kids as young as 6 could come here. It’s not the soda that attracts the kids–it’s the games to play.

SkyView Atlanta

Link to official site: https://www.skyviewatlanta.com/
Good for ages: All ages
Nearest MARTA station: Peachtree Center (12 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: No

Also in the same area as the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola is the SkyView Atlanta. Tickets are $19.50/adult or $14.50/child. I’ll admit that I debated bringing the kids here after visiting the Aquarium, but the kids were pretty exhausted and I didn’t get the chance. Perhaps next time!

The giant Ferris wheel boasts a view of about 20 stories high when at its peak, which sounds impressive. But if you happen to be staying nearby (like at the Marriott Marquis Atlanta), you might get a comparable view from your hotel room. In general, I like Ferris wheels if there is a lot to see when you’re at the top, but some of the appeal goes away if you are in a sea of tall buildings, which feels like the case here. I might have a different opinion when we get up there though.

Lego Discovery Center Atlanta

Link to official site: https://www.legodiscoverycenter.com/atlanta/
Good for ages: All ages
Nearest MARTA station: Lenox (19 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: Yes

Over in Buckhead you’ll find the Lego Discovery Center at the Phipps Plaza. The center is up on the third floor in the mall. Tickets are between $30 and $33 per person for general admission. However, when we went we instead did the combo package that includes the Behind the Brick Tour (now $50/child and $27/adult).

The Behind the Brick Tour

Child pricing includes building a minifigure and placing it in Miniland, adding Legos to a keepsake picture frame, getting a lunch, and receiving a ticket for the VR ride. The adult pricing is cheaper because they won’t get the extra goodies that come with the tour experience; it just includes entry. We had to arrive early for the full experience, which meant getting to the discovery center before it opened.

Outside LEGO Discovery Center — *Arriving at the center before it opens*

The team at the discovery center was very friendly and patient. On top of that, they all seemed to be huge Lego nerds, which is a good thing because their enthusiasm is infectious. The kids posed for a photo before entering, and that would eventually become the photo they would frame with Legos to take home.

Check-in for LEGO — *Checking in to the experience*

Once the kids created their minifigure, they were encouraged to place it anywhere they wanted in the display. Staff assisted the kids with placing it exactly where they wanted it to go.

Choosing a spot to place a minifigure — *Placing their figures in their desired spot*

After that, we were given a tour of the back office where lots of Legos awaited the kids. They then spent some time to perfect their picture frames. If there is something you’d like to add to your picture frame, just ask the staff. Alex decided to build a house around the picture and one of the staff members enthusiastically ran off and created a toilet for him to place in his house.

This is also where the tour officially ended and the rest of the normal experience took place. We were handed boxed lunches for the kids and we were on our way.

Building a picture frame — *Building their frames*

Posing with picture frameef — *Alex posing with his frame*

Lunch box — *The box lunch included with the tour (with a neat Lego box to take home)*

The rest of the visit

This wasn’t the first time we had been to a Legoland Discovery Center, and if you have been to other locations, it will feel very familiar to you. You’ll find a ride where you can shoot the targets to get the highest score possible. Most of the light guns worked as expected, but some seemed to need calibration (or at least that’s what I told myself).

Kingdom Quest — *The one true ride here where you compete for a high score*

You’ll also find a playground in the back where kids can run around. We spent a lot of time in here.

Pirate Adventure Island — *The indoor playground, Lego style*

You can also build a rocket and then fly it in space. I’m a fan of the level of interactivity with this exhibit. Alex kept coming back here throughout our visit, so clearly he was a fan too.

On top of the above, there are several other Lego displays where you can race cars you build. If you’re interested in watching a movie, you’ll find a Lego theater that plays a different movie every half an hour. And the VR ride is available (but this one costs $6/ride extra). You’ll get a free ticket to the VR ride with your Behind the Brick Tour.

The Great LEGO Race — *The VR experience*

Dining

There is a small area inside the Lego Discovery Center where you can buy food. Don’t expect anything fancy here and you won’t be disappointed. Perhaps what I liked the most was that the cost of the food wasn’t all that bad. For $8, you can choose an entree (pizza, hot dog, or Uncrustables), a bag of chips, and a kids drink. This was much more reasonably priced than what we paid at the Georgia Aquarium.

Reasonable prices — *Prices aren’t too bad here*

And of course this is an excellent place to eat the box lunches received from the tour. The kids liked sitting at the table with one of the Lego characters.

Dining with large minifigure — *Eating lunch with Lego figures*

If your children are young enough (I’d say you’re probably safe with ages 9 and younger), I’d recommend coming to pay a visit. If you do, I’d recommend doing the Behind the Brick Tour. The workers here told me they are still re-tooling the experience and really welcome feedback to see if it can expand to other centers. The service here was much better than expected and I enjoy that the adult tickets are actually cheaper than regular admission, making it an easier sell for me to do it.

Zoo Atlanta

Link to official site: https://zooatlanta.org/
Good for ages: 0 to 12
Nearest bus stop: Memorial Dr @ Cherokee Ave (19 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: Yes

If you like visiting animals at the zoo, you’ll find enjoyment here at Zoo Atlanta. Tickets will cost you $30-38/adult and $24-30/child aged 3-11.

Outside Zoo Atlanta — *Here at the zoo with the family*

All your typical animals can be found here, including the massive elephants. These were always Alex’s favorite animals as a young kid. Being able to watch them try to get some food out of a hanging hay bale makes for a fun watch.

*Watching the elephants in their non-natural habitat*

On top of there being a regular zoo, there’s also a petting zoo here. Char loved this area the most as she loves brushing the sheep. There is a handwash station nearby in case you need it (you probably will if you come here).

Petting the sheep — *Petting the animals is fun too*

And then naturally there is also a large play area for kids. The top area is a treetop course (extra cost) where you can move along as you’re suspended with a safety rope. Underneath is a play area that isn’t crowded right at opening but it can get pretty crowded later in the day.

Large play area for kids (free and paid) — *Lots of time can be spent playing here*

The food is fairly average for a zoo. If you get hungry, it’s only natural to seek out some food but it did feel excessively priced for what you ultimately get. You might want to consider bringing your own food if you’re looking to save money. You won’t be missing much.

Pizza and chicken tenders — *The food at Zoo Atlanta is fine but nothing to write home about*

The Roof at Ponce City Market

Link to official site: https://poncecityroof.com/
Good for ages: 2 and up
Nearest bus stop: Ponce De Leon Ave NE @ 675 (1 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: Yes

The Ponce City Market is a collection of shops in the city all contained within one building. But head on up to the top floor to check out some nice views of the city, plus enjoy games to play while you do it. Tickets will run you $20/adult and $12/child aged 4-12. Be prepared for a lengthy line to come up here, especially if you’re stopping by on a weekend.

Hanging out by the welcome sign — *Posing by the welcome sign for the holidays*

Once you’re up here, you’ll find mini-golf and some slides. The course itself is pretty basic–expect it to be comparable to your average cruise ship mini-golf course. But at least it’s included in the price of admission.

Char playing mini-golf — *Playing mini-golf with the kids*

Or, make your way over to the other side of the roof and have fun ice skating in their outdoor rink. As with the mini-golf course, it’s not the nicest quality. The ice can be a bit rough, especially with the sheer numbers of people using it. But what do you expect? Go figure that after they tried smoothing out the ice, the kids said it somehow felt worse?

Ice skating up on the roof — *Enjoying time on the ice*

Perhaps the biggest disappointment are the boardwalk games. They’re free to play, so we can’t fault them for that. And they have the possibility of handing out prizes if you perform well, but that’s where kids just get disappointed because it’s nearly impossible to win:

The horse derby requires you to win three times in a row to get a prize.
Skee-ball requires getting a 50-point hole 8 out of 9 throws.
Basketball requires three baskets in a row.
Whiffle ball only pays out if you get the colored ball into the same-colored hole.

If you don’t care for the prizes, it’s nice to just play. But try telling that to your kids, who will be undoubtedly disappointed when they don’t win doing nearly impossible tasks. Oh, and some of the machines/seats are broken.

In total, it’s fine. But set your expectations appropriately.

Free boardwalk games — *Good luck winning this game!*

The Delta Flight Museum

Link to official site: https://www.deltamuseum.org/
Good for ages: All ages
Nearest bus stop: Virginia Ave @ Delta Blvd (7 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: Yes

Atlanta is the headquarters for several companies, but we’ll spend a little more time today talking about Delta. If you’re here on a long layover, you might want to consider stopping by the Delta Flight Museum to check out some history. There are several hangars worth of planes here, including two massive planes that you can enter and explore. This visit is at your own pace, but we spent about 2 hours.

On top of historical artifacts, kids will enjoy the many interactive exhibits and play structure. No need to feel guilty about dragging the little ones to a boring old museum here.

*Entering the first hangar to see the planes and interactive exhibits*

Don’t forget to board both the 767 and 747 when you’re here. The 767 below was nicknamed “The Spirit of Delta” and was a historic plane among Delta’s fleet. You can experience what first class was like back when it was in service or check out the many informative displays in the back.

The first class cabin on the 767 — *Kids enjoying the 767*

Or, walk inside a 747 that has been gutted, offering interesting perspective on what’s above and below you in the aircraft. This plane is parked outside in the parking lot, so be sure not to miss it if you come.

Seeing the guts of the 747 — *Checking out the interior of the 747*

Aviation fans will probably find more enjoyment out of this one, but it’s still fun even if you’re not. Check out more detail about our visit here.

Chick-fil-A Backstage Tour

Link to official site: https://www.chick-fil-a.com/backstage-tour
Good for ages: 6 and up
Nearest bus stop: Buffington Rd @ Naturally Fresh (17 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: No

Looking to check out some behind-the-scenes information at the Chick-fil-A Backstage Tour? Well, the good news is you can do it for a relatively cheap price (up to $10/person). If you have either Red or Signature elite status with Chick-fil-A, you and 5 others can come here for free.

Once inside, you’ll take an hour-long tour that brings you through the life of founder S. Truett Cathy, including some of his other attempts at restaurants. One such restaurant is The Dwarf Grill, forever preserved in all its glory below.

A look into Chick-fil-A history — *The Dwarf Grill*

Then, make your way upstairs where you can see his office that’s still in use today. You can take a picture from behind the desk but you’re not able to remove the cow in his chair. That’s reserved for owners to sign their paperwork as they “graduate” operator school here at the campus.

Posing for the camera behind the desk — *Saying cheese next to one of the cows*

We had a blast here, and you’ll even walk away with a free sandwich to use at any Chick-fil-A across the nation. Check out more about our visit here.

Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Link to official site: https://www.fernbankmuseum.org/
Good for ages: All ages
Nearest bus stop: Ponce De Leon Ave NE @ Clifton (5 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: Yes

If you have kids who love dinosaurs and natural history, you’re going to love coming to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. There are a total of three levels for you to explore with a rather large dinosaur greeting you at the central staircase. Tickets cost $26-28/adult and $24-26/child aged 3-12.

Dinosaur fossils in the center staircase — *Say hello to the inhabitants who used to roam the earth*

Beyond just looking at educational exhibits (or checking out the free movie), there are a ton of interactive science-based exhibits on the top floor. As a father and an uncle, one of the things I approve of the most is when educational topics are presented in a fun way. That’s definitely the case here. Kids will love learning about earthquakes, aerodynamics, and pulleys without even realizing class is in session.

Launching birds and planes — *Launching airplanes and birds out of a cannon*

Then, if your kids need some fresh air, step outside and go check out the large outdoor structure. I can speak from experience that the kids will run around in this area for a long time until you tell them time’s up. There are rope bridges, tunnels, ladders, and more. Kids will love running around and playing tag. Parents will love that there’s only one way into and out of this area, making it easy to keep tabs on them as they play.

Extensive outdoor play structure — *Large outdoor play area*

And then when it’s time to eat, you can relax in the cafe. The food is fairly average for a museum, so don’t expect much and you’ll be fine. If you want a whole pizza, you’re going to have to wait for them to cook it, which can be a painful wait for kids. You might want to consider sending a parent here first to order the pizza to reduce the perceived wait.

Eating at the food court — *A whole pizza for the family*

College Football Hall of Fame

Link to official site: https://www.cfbhall.com/
Good for ages: All ages
Nearest MARTA station: Five Points (12 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: Yes

If you’re a college football fan, the College Football Hall of Fame is worth a pitstop. I took Alex here during one of our visits to Atlanta (when he didn’t want to get a manicure with the girls). Tickets cost $38/adult and $27/child aged 3-12. At admission, you get these cards that you can use to load your preferred team, identify some of your favorite things, and take pictures of yourself. That’s right–this place has gone all-out with integrating AI.

Entering the College Football Hall of Fame — *Alex proudly holding the tickets at entry*

There are plenty of non-AI exhibits here, thankfully, like this exhibit where you can see past Heisman winners. Yeah, there are plenty of jerseys from all sorts of teams here.

Heisman jerseys — *Past Heisman winners*

How about some games? There are some video games you can play with a buddy. No Minecraft here, it’s all College Football (what did you expect?).

Play Xbox anyone? — *Play against the computer or someone else*

Jumping to the end for a moment, you’ll get a single chance to complete a pass and kick a field goal. Once you’re done, you can show yourself to the exit, so make your attempt count. For the record, neither Alex or I were successful. Whoops.

Test your real skills at the end — *Or, try your hand at kicking a field goal and passing*

And back to the AI stuff for a moment. Can I admit I don’t really care for it? You scan your card at these panels and then your picture appears with you doing something. Here, it’s me apparently eating more ribs than exist in a cow.

Of course, all the typical AI slop is here in the image. Did you notice that I’m missing a finger? If you think the index finger is just behind the rib, try holding something in that manner and see if it’s possible.

Or, how about Alex’s hand holding a pizza like no human would? Perhaps we don’t need to worry about AI enslaving humanity if it can’t get hands and fingers right.

Alex has a weird hand — *Don’t ask me what’s going on here*

What we plan to do next time

Sadly, we weren’t able to do everything we wanted on our last visit to Atlanta. Some of the things we planned to do but didn’t get a chance to try out are the following:

Stone Mountain Park

Link to official site: https://stonemountainpark.com/
Good for ages: All ages
Nearest bus stop: Main St @ James B Rivers (13 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: No

Jenn and I have been to Stone Mountain before and hope to bring the kids the next time we’re in town. From what we remember, there is plenty of outdoor adventure in store for families here.

Tellus Science Museum

Link to official site: https://tellusmuseum.org/
Good for ages: All ages
Nearest bus stop: N/A
Stroller-friendly: Yes

This one technically is not within the Atlanta city limit, but it’s close enough to be worth a detour. You’re not going to find public transportation that will take you from Atlanta to this science museum, so it’s best to take an Uber or rent a car.

Children’s Museum of Atlanta

Link to official site: https://childrensmuseumatlanta.org/
Good for ages: 0 to 8
Nearest MARTA station: Peachtree Center (9 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: No

Our kids might be hitting the age limit on what they will enjoy here, but the younger ones might still have interest. Children’s museums are best for those kids in the single-digit age range, and the enjoyment starts to fade once they’re public school age.

Atlanta Beltline

Link to official site: https://beltline.org/visit/
Good for ages: All ages
Nearest bus stop: N/A
Stroller-friendly: Yes

This is a large walking route through the city, so there’s not a single entry point to the Beltline. It also runs right through Ponce City Market, so you could consider pairing the two together. Some parts of the Beltline are allegedly better than others, so we’ll have to figure out the optimal start point the next time we’re in town.

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park

Link to official site: https://www.nps.gov/malu/index.htm
Good for ages: 6 and up
Nearest bus stop: Jackson St NE @ Old Wheat St NE (2 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: Yes

Learning about history is important, and we’d like our kids to come visit where MLK lived. Alex is at least in the age range where is interested in this part of US history, but we think there’s also value here for those slightly younger too. We’ll get a better sense of that once we’re there.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Link to official site: https://www.atlantafed.org/who-we-are/visit
Good for ages: 6 and up
Nearest MARTA station: Midtown (4 minute walk)
Stroller-friendly: No

Who doesn’t like money? The kids certainly seem to enjoy it. Fellow numismatists will enjoy checking out the Federal Reserve, and it’ll be neat for them to come check it out.

Sample 3-day Atlanta itinerary

If you only have three days in Atlatna with kids, what are the things you should do? Our recommendation would be the following:

Day 1

Morning: Georgia Aquarium
Afternoon: World of Coca-Cola or College Football Hall of Fame
Evening: SkyView Atlanta

All of these are in the Centennial Park area, which makes for an easy visit all around. Starting the day with the Georgia Aquarium seems best so you can grab an early entry to the dolphin show. If you show up late, you might find it challenging to get a show ticket. Lunch could be at the Coastline Cafe if you’re here long enough, but just watch the lines at noon.

You could then either go to the World of Coca-Cola or the College Football Hall of Fame. Again, both are in walking distance of the Georgia Aquarium. Which one you’ll enjoy more depends on what your party likes to do. Sports fans will probably get more out of the Hall of Fame while soda lovers might prefer World of Coca-Cola. There’s no right answer, so choose what you prefer.

Ending the day on the SkyView feels like the easy answer. It will give you some nice views of the surrounding area and put a nice finish to the day.

Day 2

Morning: Chick-fil-A Backstage Tour
Afternoon: Delta Flight Museum
Evening: Atlanta Beltline

If you’re good at snagging tickets, consider grabbing tickets to the Chick-fil-A Backstage Tour (they sell out with regularity). Kids will enjoy the fun of wandering around their headquarters and learn a bit of history too. Maybe they will be inspired by S. Truett Cathy’s humble beginnings selling bottles of Coke and start their own business too? After the tour ends, you can use the free entree towards lunch at one of their many Chick-fil-A restaurants. Or, you can check out some of the special locations (like the luau-themed Chick-fil-A).

Afterwards, since you’re near the airport already, head over to the Delta Flight Museum. This will give the kids plenty of opportunity to run around, especially in the museum’s newly created kids areas. Exploring the two jumbo jets is also a treat. Kids are going to be too young to enjoy the flight simulator but perhaps they can watch the parents do it from the outside?

The end of the day can be a peaceful stroll around the Atlanta Beltline. Ending the day with some light exercise always appeals to us.

Day 3

Morning: Zoo Altnata
Afternoon: Fernbank Natural History Museum
Evening: Ponce City Market

We’ll start day 3 with a visit to the zoo. Honestly, that’s probably a smart idea given the midday temperatures will make you sweat a bit. Plus, crowds are typically calmer right at the start. Wander around to see the animals, pet some of the animals, and enjoy the expansive playground area.

After the zoo, head across town to the Fernbank Natural History Museum. Kids will enjoy looking at what Atlanta used to look like well before humans settled here. And when they need a bit of an energy boost, head up to the top floor for the science section. Or step outside and have them run around in the giant play structure.

We’ll say a nice end to the day is at the Ponce City Market. It’s up to you if you want to go up to the roof, but just visiting the rest of the building is free. Check out the vendors and find some food that will suit you.

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