Georgia (USA)

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Introduction

Atlanta Downtown bei Nacht

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. Named after King George II of Great Britain, Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 21, 1861, and was one of the original seven Confederate states. It was the last state to be restored to the Union, on July 15, 1870. Georgia is the 24th most extensive and the 9th most populous of the 50 United States.

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Geography

Georgia is bordered on the south by Florida; on the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina; on the west by Alabama; and on the north by Tennessee and North Carolina. The northern part of the state is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a mountain range in the Appalachian Mountains system. The central Piedmont extends from the foothills to the fall line, where the rivers cascade down in elevation to the continental coastal plain of the southern part of the state. The highest point in Georgia is Brasstown Bald, 1,458 metres; the lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean. Georgia is the most extensive state east of the Mississippi River in terms of land area, although it is the fourth most extensive (after Michigan, Florida, and Wisconsin) in total area, a term which includes expanses of water which are part of state territory.

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Cities

Athens - home of the University of Georgia's main campus.
Atlanta is the state's capital and largest city. Home of CNN, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, UPS, and a myriad of other smaller national companies.
Augusta - home of Augusta National Golf Club, site of the Masters.
Columbus - home of Columbus State University, the Chattahoochee RiverWalk, and the National Civil War Naval Museum.
Dahlonega - One of the first cities in the USA during the first major gold rush in 1829. The city has transformed itself into a tourist town because of the vineyards, mountain view, and arts community.
Dalton - carpet capital of the world and home to the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center, which showcases the Georgia Athletic Coaches' Hall of Fame.
Macon - cherry blossom capital of Georgia and home of the Allman Brothers Band Museum.
Savannah - Georgia's first established city, the first state capital, and a heartland of colonial culture. Savannah was the host city for the sailing competitions during the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta.
Tybee Island - Tybee Island is about 18 miles and a 20-minute drive from the historic city of Savannah. The city is an island barrier that has about 22 miles of land with five miles of public beaches.

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Sights and Activities

Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Blue Ridge - Gateway to the mountains and the Toccoa River
Cumberland Island National Seashore
Amicalola Falls
Jekyll Island
Lake Chatuge
Oconee National Forest
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
Saint Simons Island
Tybee Island - A small barrier island with great beaches and a family-friendly atmosphere.
Georgia Aquarium - Near to the Centennial Olympic Park and Coca-Cola World in downtown Atlanta. It is one of the largest aquariums in the world. There's no better place to explore sea creatures, including everything from beluga and whale sharks to penguins and sea lions.
Gold Mining - The first major U.S. Gold Rush was located in Dahlonega and the town has converted to the center of Georgia Wine Country, just an hour north of Atlanta, Dahlonega offers an authentic mountain getaway.
Rock City - Located at the top of Lookout Mountain, Georgia, Rock City Gardens is a beautiful, 4,100-foot walking trail just six miles from downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, featuring towering rock formations, caves, and lush gardens. This natural wonder is visited each year by nearly half a million tourists from all over the world.
The Atlanta Botanical Garden, in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, is about a 30-acre botanical garden close to Piedmont Park.
CNN Center - In Atlanta, the CNN Center is CNN's global headquarters. In the building are the central newsrooms and studios for many of CNN's news outlets.

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Events and Festivals

Holidays

New Year’s Eve - The US celebrates the outgoing of the old year and incoming of the New Year quite dramatically. Every state boasts its own parties to ring in the New Year, but none is more extravagant than New York’s Time Square, which sees people overflowing into the neighboring restaurants, bars, parks, beaches, and neighborhoods.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day (officially Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. and sometimes referred to as MLK Day) is an American federal holiday marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around King's birthday, January 15. The holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. The earliest Monday for this holiday is January 15 and the latest is January 21. King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law.
St Patrick’s Day - March 17 celebrates the US’s large Irish population. Many cities around the country boast boisterous parades and Irish-themed parties, especially New York and Chicago, where the river is dyed green. Be wary of the drunkenness that dominates as this is definitely a party-day.
Memorial Day - Memorial Day is an important holiday throughout the United States, but not for crazy festivities. Parades commemorating wartime heroes are often held and the day is also the ‘unofficial’ start of summer. Most visitors follow the crowds to parks and beaches, which are capped off with informal BBQs.
Independence Day - Also known as the Fourth of July, Independence Day celebrates the US’s break from the British during the 18th century. Barbecues, street parties, beach trips, and weekend getaways are commonplace to appreciate freedom.
Labor Day is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country. It is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend. It is recognized as a federal holiday. Beginning in the late 19th century, as the trade union and labor movements grew, trade unionists proposed that a day be set aside to celebrate labor.
Halloween - Halloween is a fun holiday on October 31 for all generations to dress up in costumes and relive their youth. Children walk around the neighborhood trick-or-treating for candy, while adults attend parties. Other seasonal events include haunted houses, pumpkin farms and carving, and corn mazes.
Thanksgiving - On the fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving is held in almost every home in the US. Tourists will have a hard time finding anything to do as the country essentially shuts down in observation. A typical Thanksgiving meal consists of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie commemorating the original Pilgrim’s feast at Plymouth Rock.
Christmas - On December 25, Christians celebrate Christmas as the pinnacle of their calendar by attending church and opening gifts from Santa Claus. Almost everything shuts down to promote family togetherness. The northern regions hope to experience a “white Christmas,” with trees and festive lights blanketed by snow.

Sport

Super Bowl Sunday - the world’s most watched sporting event and one of the highest grossing TV days of the year, Superbowl Sunday is a spectacular extravaganza. Held the first Sunday in February, the Superbowl is the final playoff game between the NFL’s top two teams. The venue rotates every year around America, yet the local parties seem to remain. Pubs, bars and restaurants are great places to enjoy the Superbowl or locals throw their own parties with different variations of betting.
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in North America, contested since 1903 between the American League (AL) champion team and the National League (NL) champion team. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff, and the winning team is awarded the Commissioner's Trophy. As the series is played during the fall season in North America, it is sometimes referred to as the Fall Classic.

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Weather

The majority of the state is primarily a humid subtropical climate. Hot and humid summers are typical, except at the highest elevations. The entire state, including the north Georgia mountains, receives moderate to heavy precipitation, which varies from 1,150 mm in central Georgia to approximately 1,900 mm around the northeast part of the state. The highest temperature ever recorded is 44.4 °C at Louisville on July 24, 1952, while the lowest is -27.2 °C at northern Floyd County on January 27, 1940. Georgia is one of the leading states in frequency of tornadoes, though they rarely are stronger than F1. A tornado hit downtown Atlanta on March 14, 2008, causing moderate to severe damage. With a coastline on the Atlantic Ocean, Georgia is also vulnerable to hurricanes, although direct hurricane strikes were rare during the 20th century. Georgia often is affected by hurricanes that strike the Florida panhandle, weaken over land, and bring strong tropical storm winds and heavy rain to the interior, as well as hurricanes that come close to the Georgia coastline, brushing the coast on their way north.

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Getting There

By Plane

Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is the gateway to Georgia and is located about 7 miles (11 kilometres) from downtown Atlanta. Since more than a decade it has been the busiest airport in the world regarding the number of flights and number of passengers, with currently around 88 million passengers a year! Regarding international passengers, it's way lower though.

To/from the airport:

Rail: Hartsfield–Jackson has its own train station on the city's rapid transit system, MARTA. The above-ground station is inside in the main building, between the north and south terminals on the west end. The Airport train station is currently the southernmost station in the MARTA system.
A four-lane roadway across Interstate 85 connects the Hartsfield–Jackson Rental Car Center to the existing airport road network.

Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV) has flights to/from Atlanta, Dallas, Detroit, New York, Newark, Chicago, Houston, Charlotte, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.

By Train

Two trains travel to and from Georgia, passing cities like Atlanta (Crescent) and Savannah (Silver Service/Palmetto). The trains include:

The Crescent between New York and New Orleans, stopping in Atlanta.
The Silver Service/Palmetto between New York and Tampa/Miami, stopping in Savannah.

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Getting Around

By Car

Many international rental companies have a wide selection of rental cars and these include Hertz, Avis, Dollar, Thrifty, Enterprise, Budget and Alamo/National. Most companies will require you are at least 25 years of age, although younger people might be able to rent cars at slightly higher rates and with some insurance differences as well. A national driver's license is usually enough, but an additional international one is recommended. Also note that it usually costs more to include lots of other extra things. For example extra drivers, GPS, the first full tank, SLI (Supplemental Liability Insurance), PAI (Personal Accident Insurance, usually covered already at home), road assistance/service plan, and drop-off costs for one-way rentals.
If you want to book a car, it is recommended that you book your car before arriving in the USA. This is almost always (much) cheaper compared to just showing up. Also, try and book with a so-called 'broker', which usually works together with a few or many car rental companies and can offer the best deal. Some examples include Holidayautos, Holidaycars and Sunny Cars. Some of the cheapest deals to book from Europe, includes Drive-USA, which also has a German version.

For more information and tips about renting cars and campers, additional costs, insurance, traffic rules, scenic routes and getting maps and fuel it is advised to check the USA Getting Around section.

Georgia has a number of National Scenic Byways which offer a great way to explore the state crossing beautiful landscapes. Mostly, there are lots of national parks, state parks or monuments along the way and it's generally a better alternative than the faster but boring Interstate Highways.

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Drink

Coca-Cola was invented in Georgia, and as a result is very popular
Mint julep is a combination of mint, bourbon, sugar and water, popular in the South.
Have a glass of sweet tea. Sweet tea is a staple of the South and is served everywhere, from fast food chains to Atlanta's high-end restaurants. Varieties of sweet tea include mint, raspberry and lemonade flavorings.

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Sleep

Hotel and Motel Chains

There are dozens of hotel and motel chains, ranging from budget to top end. Allthough they are not the most charming accommodations, they usually have a very decent midrange service with good rooms and are generally good value. At least you know what to expect and in some cases they are either the only or the best option in the area. Some of them include: