The 5 Biggest Tourist Traps In Atlanta, According To Travelers

Bursting with history, alive with the sound of music, and surprisingly green for the largest city in the southeast, Atlanta, Georgia, has more than enough sights and attractions to keep tourists happy. As the 12th most visited city in the U.S., welcoming over 765,000 international visitors each year, Atlanta has enough museums, tours, attractions, and award-winning restaurants to keep history buffs, sports fans, film enthusiasts, and food lovers happy for days, if not weeks.

You may associate Atlanta with the birthplace of the civil rights movement, the home of the Falcons or Braves (depending on your sports loyalties), and a music scene that's shaped global hip-hop and R&B. But what you may not know is that it's also home to the busiest airport in the U.S, has some of the worst congestion, can get oppressively hot in August, and has 71 streets with the name Peach Tree in them just to confuse first time visitors.

If that doesn't put you off, some of the tourist attractions might. Frequently described by travelers as overrated, overpriced, or simply disappointing, the following places have earned a reputation (per online reviews, social media posts, and news articles) as some of the biggest tourist traps in Atlanta. Covered below are the World of Coca-Cola Museum, the Georgia Aquarium, the Centennial Olympic Park Fountain, The Varsity, and the Margaret Mitchell House.

Topping the list, and often described by visitors as overrated, one of Atlanta's biggest tourist traps is the World of Coca-Cola Museum. The world's most popular soda was invented here back in 1886, and this is the place to go if you want to find out everything there is to know — except the secret formula, that's kept safely locked up in the vault.

With adult admission starting at $23, you can walk through a series of exhibitions and find out how Coca-Cola has earned its place in popular culture. You'll find lots of memorabilia on display, learn more about the production process, have the chance to sample more than 100 different drinks, and visit the icons with the inevitable, but optional, photo with the famous Coca-Cola polar bear. 

It may rank as the third-best thing to do in Atlanta on TripAdvisor, but some visitors don't agree. One Redditor described it as "expensive and lame", while another wrote, "There's really not a lot to do, and the activities that they do have are boring. It was a complete waste of money". Be prepared to spend more than the price of a ticket though, with one TripAdvisor reviewer saying they also had to pay for parking, and ended up paying extra for the souvenir cup and photo. And while you may intend to leave empty-handed, chances are a walk through the gift shop will prevent that from happening. If this hasn't deterred you, perhaps the unavoidable crowds will.

Right next door to the World of Coca-Cola is the Georgia Aquarium, currently the top-rated attraction in Atlanta on TripAdvisor. Filled with more than 11 million gallons of water and home to thousands of animals, you may be wondering how it made it onto this list. But being the biggest aquarium in the U.S. has made it popular, and with that popularity comes huge crowds. That's the biggest problem with the Georgia Aquarium, it gets extremely overcrowded.

Even visitors who arrive early to avoid peak times have still had problems with queues, with one Redditor saying, "Usually by 10:30-11 it's packed and crazy, especially on weekends". Not being able to see the daily shows because of limited space is particularly frustrating, especially for those with young children. And with all those crowds, you won't be guaranteed a seat. Starting at $54.99 to enter, the aquarium could turn out to be frustrating and stressful, not to mention expensive, especially if you stop by the overpriced gift shop.

There's also been criticism from animal welfare groups concerning the captivity of marine animals. In 2016, the association In Defense of Animals rated Georgia Aquarium as one of the worst in the country, going as far as calling it a "dying pool". PETA agreed and released video footage of a beluga whale being attacked by another whale. The aquarium had already faced controversy following attempts to import wild beluga whales from Russia.

In the same part of town as the previous two attractions, the Centennial Olympic Park Fountain is the next Atlanta tourist trap. Like the aquarium and museum, it can get extremely overcrowded in summer, turning it into a noisy and chaotic place to be. Created as a gathering point for spectators during the 1996 Olympic Games, Centennial Olympic Park opened just before the event on what used to be rundown land, as part of a development project to revitalize downtown Atlanta.

The Fountain of Rings is a series of water jets in the shape of the five Olympic rings, and has scheduled light shows. There's no entry fee, but activities are limited, and it's more of a stopgap between surrounding paid attractions. There are concerts, celebrations, and light shows held there throughout the year, but otherwise, there's not much to see. One TripAdvisor reviewer said, "It takes all of about 90 seconds to see everything. Walking around the park is a good secondary thing to do if you're in the area visiting one of the major attractions."

It may be a lasting legacy to the Olympic Games, but if you want somewhere with more going on, head over to Atlanta Botanical Gardens instead. It's only three miles away, and has extensive plant collections, themed gardens, and the Kendeda Canopy Walk, a pathway through the treetops. Or there's Oakland Cemetery, one of the oldest public parks in Atlanta. Full of history, it's set amongst beautifully landscaped gardens, and is ideal for a break from the bustling city.

Atlanta is full of flavor in every sense, and has become well-known for its superb culinary scene. The cultural diversity of the city bursts through in the blend of different flavors found in restaurants all over. But does the hype of its most famous drive-through restaurant, The Varsity, live up to expectations? Many visitors think not.

The Varsity opened in 1928, and is one of the largest drive-through restaurants in the world, famous for its old-school fast food menu, and is instantly recognizable by its large neon sign. Arguably an Atlanta institution, their signature chili dogs have been a rite of passage for many a student.

Nowadays, this iconic brand may be a slice of old Atlanta, but it's overhyped and overpriced, especially compared to the quality of food found elsewhere in the city. One reviewer on TripAdvisor wrote, "Nothing like what I thought this would be, and the food was not even good". A Redditor agreed, even going as far as to say, "I always have to steer people clear of it whenever the topic of Atlanta restaurants comes up". If a classic diner experience is what you want, then try The Majestic Diner. Also considered an Atlanta institution, they've been serving "food that pleases" since 1929.

Frankly, who wouldn't want to visit the house where two of the most famous fictional characters of all time were dreamed up and immortalized on paper? Margaret Mitchell created Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler within these very walls. Well, almost.

You may be standing on the actual site where "Gone with the Wind" was written, but the original house has burned down and been rebuilt twice since then, so you're not entirely walking in Mitchell's footsteps. This is perhaps why many visitors to the Margaret Mitchell House often leave feeling dissatisfied, especially after paying an $18.50 entry fee to take a tour around the tiny apartment, a high price to pay for relatively little to see.

One TripAdvisor reviewer said, "Such a disappointment and big change as to how this was originally set up. I would not waste my money". For diehard fans of the novel and/or film, it may be an important literary landmark, but everyone else may be better off heading to the Atlanta History Center, where there are award-winning exhibitions covering the American Civil War, the Civil Rights Movement, and Atlanta's wider history. If you need more "Gone with the Wind" in your life, head to the Marietta GWTW Museum just a short drive away, or stroll over to the Oakland Cemetery, where Mitchell is laid to rest.

This list was compiled using reviews and articles on tourist traps in Atlanta from different sources, including MSN, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and Business Insider. To reflect real visitor experience, we took reviews of each attraction and included feedback from TripAdvisor and direct quotes from Reddit discussions. We decided on this final list based on the attractions that were most frequently described as overrated, disappointing, or poor value for money.