Green Guide — Atlanta

Despite a bad rep for traffic congestion and water shortages, Atlanta is full of eco-friendly places to go and — especially — places to eat. So lighten your impact while you’re there with our list of 10 notable travel tips for anyone Atlanta-bound. (You can also check out TreeHugger’s Atlanta archives for more background info on the city.)

1. Stay at a Green Hotel for the Design-Savvy
   The Emory Conference Center Hotel is, as its name might suggest, both a place to stay and a place to hold your business meetings. Styled in the vein of mid-century modern architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the hotel has earned Green Seal certification, implements an extensive recycling system (everything from light bulbs to tennis shoes), and makes a concerted effort to refurbish rather than buy new.
2. Dine at Watershed Restaurant
   Most big U.S. cities have the prerequisite celebrity-owned restaurant — but most of these are not like Watershed Restaurant. Partially owned by Indigo Girl Emily Sailers and housed in a converted gas station, Watershed boasts lunch and dinner options cooked up from local and organic ingredients.
3. Soak up the Wildlife at Zoo Atlanta
   While you are taking in the lions and tigers and bears (oh my) at Zoo Atlanta, you can recycle the materials you use, such as your visitor’s guide. The zoo recently kicked off the “Think Green” campaign to help both zoo visitors and employees consider their environmental impact. Plus, before you toss that cell phone, ask about the zoo’s take-back program, which disposes of items that can’t be picked up curbside.
4. Ride MARTA, Atlanta’s Public Transportation System
   Avoid the famed Atlanta congestion with MARTA, the city’s public transportation service. Groups and conventions should check out MARTA’s visitor pass, which offers unlimited rides around town via rail and bus for less than the cost of a taxi from the airport to your hotel.
5. Walk and Run at Piedmont Park
   Every Saturday between 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., early May through early December, Piedmont Park hosts a Green Market: Here you can stock up on locally produced food — including fresh seasonal produce — and local crafts. The park, only two miles from downtown Atlanta, also serves as a great place to wind down with its miles of walking and jogging paths.
6. Chill at 5 Seasons Brewing, a Bar Serving Organic Beer
   An organic strong English Ale? Now you’re speaking our language. Although the organic ale isn’t available year-round at 5 Seasons Brewing, the non-organic, locally made brews and sustainability-focused menu are. They even use their spent brewer’s grain in their bread or send it off to a local organic farm for compost. We’ll drink to that.
7. Rent a Chauffeured Hybrid from Elite Green Car
   A hybrid SUV can’t trump public transit when it comes to going green, but if it’s a chauffeured ride you require, Atlanta’s Elite Green Car is the way to go. Lexus RX400 hybrids lug you (and hopefully two or more of your carpooling co-workers) around the city in a vehicle cleaner than most taxis.
8. Shop at an Eco Lifestyle Store
   Eco Bella bills itself as “the only completely organic lifestyle store in Atlanta.” Products range from organic foods to organic threads, making it a good place to indulge in those consumerist tendencies.
9. Dine at a Cheap Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurant
   With a name like Flying Biscuit, it’s hard to go wrong. This comfort food-specializing restaurant has fare for veggies, vegans, and omnivores. A budget-friendly menu makes it easy to grab a meal for under $10, and you can indulge in breakfast all day long.
10. Breakfast and Brunch at Green Restaurant Radial
    Yet another breakfast favorite is Radial, which also serves the brunch and lunch crowds. A member of the Green Restaurant Association, Radial’s practices are as responsible as their fair trade coffee. Recycled and compostable paper products are used where possible, everyday light fixtures are CFLs, and the bathroom sinks are equipped with low-flow faucets.

Like this? Check out more of Planet Green’s Green City Guides.