24 hours in Atlanta

Short trip to Las Vegas, New York and Atlanta Flying First Class on Asiana and British Airways

Asiana Airlines First Class, Frankfurt-Seoul
Asiana Airlines First Class, Seoul-Los Angeles
Spending Two Nights in Las Vegas
United Club, Las Vegas (LAS)
United Club, Houston (IAH)
New York, The City That Never Sleeps
US Airways Club (LGA)
US Airways First Class, LaGuardia-Charlotte
US Airways Club (CLT)
US Airways First Class, Charlotte-Atlanta
Country Inn & Suites by Carlson
24 Hours in Atlanta
The Club at ATL (ATL)
British Airways First Class, Atlanta-London
British Airways The Concorde Room
British Airways Business Class, London-Stockholm


In September 2014, I was able to take advantage of my almost 24 hours connection in Atlanta on my flight back to Europe. Since my flight on British Airways leaves at 9:30pm Monday, I just had to find a flight from New York that would arrive in Atlanta a little after 9:30 Sunday evening which I did. I have to admit though that I didn't know much of Atlanta so I had to google it and from the results, I found out that the CNN studio and the world of Coca Cola are the main attractions there. Cool!

As soon as I landed at the Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta Airport, I went straight to the airport shuttles area and took the one for the Country Inn & Suites by Carlson. After spending a good nights sleep and enjoying my delicious complimentary breakfast the following morning, I took the shuttle to the airport and from there, I took the Metro to the CNN Studio.

Me in front of CNN's world headquarters, the largest of its 48 bureaus worldwide.

From the World of Coca Cola website, I read that a guest could buy the Atlanta brands combo (CNN tour and World of Coca Cola) and save money so that was what I exactly did. The ticket was 27 USD excluding the local sales tax which I thought was a reasonable price.

Cartoon Network store

According to our guide, this escalator is the world's longest free-standing escalator. Cool!

This is how they work here. Really busy isn't it? It was such a cool experience being able to visit the CNN studio. I would have wanted to see Richard Quest that day because he was supposed to have his segment just about that time we were having the tour but apparently, he was somewhere else.

  CNN studio

After enjoying my "Inside CNN Tour", I walked my way to the Centennial Olympic Park.

Centennial Park Fountain

Centennial Olympic Park

Georgia Aquarium

After visiting the Centennial Olympic Park, I continued walking towards the World of Coca Cola but not without posing first with the inventor of Coca Cola.

The World of Coca Cola Building

The World of Coca Cola delivery truck

Really interesting designs of the Coca Cola bottles.

World of Coca Cola tour

World of Coca Cola tour

World of Coca Cola tour

World of Coca Cola tour

Lots of Coca Cola bottles on display!

And of course, the tour wouldn't be complete without the free tasting of all the Coca Cola products around the world. The first one I tasted was the iced tea with peach from Argentina and Brazil which was so good. It actually made me excited since I was to visit these two countries a couple of weeks later. Needless to say I enjoyed every part of the tour.

Center for Civil and Human Rights

On my way back to the metro station, I passed by once again the Philips Arena, a multi-purpose facility which opened in 1999.

There was no doubt that I enjoyed my short stay in Atlanta 😉 I thought that the people were really friendly and helpful. First, the night I arrived at the airport, I didn't know where to take the airport shuttles and the lady who helped me was so nice in giving me directions. Second, the lady at the CNN visitors registration left her post and took time to show me where exactly I could buy the tickets since I had difficulty searching for it. For a minute, I thought I was in Japan since it was only in Japan I had experienced such helpfulness and friendliness in the past. Of course, the staff at the Country Inn where I stayed were also very nice and friendly so it must be an "Atlanta" thing. Although I'm not sure when I will be back in Atlanta, this city has definitely left a special mark in my heart. Thanks to all the people I've met and for letting me enjoy your beautiful city!