What to See in Georgia, United States

The best things to do in Georgia range from exploring historic cities and museums to hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains, discovering the Atlantic coast, and experiencing Atlanta’s cultural life. This Georgia travel guide introduces the state’s history, landscapes, cities and traditions—and helps you decide where to begin. Neywo offers free audio guides for 3 cities in Georgia, with 150 narrated places in total and 8 walking tours.

What to see and do in Georgia

Georgia is a state of striking contrasts. Its landscapes run from the Appalachian highlands to the Atlantic coastal plain, while its history reaches from Native American mound-building polities and colonial settlement to the Civil War, the New South and the civil rights movement.

Discover Georgia’s history

Long before European colonists arrived, mound-building polities such as Ocute and Coosa governed parts of the region. Native American peoples who historically lived across what is now Georgia included the Muscogee, Cherokee, Guale, Yamasee, Apalachee, Oconi and Hitchiti.

Savannah became the first settlement of the Province of Georgia in 1733. The colony was the last and southernmost of the original Thirteen Colonies before Georgia later ratified the United States Constitution. Its history then took a painful turn when it left the Union to join the Confederacy. After the Civil War, Georgia was the last former Confederate state readmitted to the Union, in 1870.

In the decades that followed, leaders promoted reconciliation and industrialization under the idea of a New South. The state’s modern history is also closely associated with Martin Luther King Junior, who was born in Atlanta and became a leading voice in the movement for equal rights and against racial discrimination.

Explore Atlanta

Atlanta is Georgia’s capital and largest city, and the main urban centre of the state. It sits in north-central Georgia at the Eastern Continental Divide. The wider metropolitan area has more than six million people and contains about 57 percent of Georgia’s population.

The city is also a major centre for media and entertainment. Services founded by Georgia resident Ted Turner include CNN, TBS, TNT and Cartoon Network, while The Weather Channel is headquartered there. Atlanta’s cultural landmarks include the High Museum of Art, World of Coca-Cola and State Farm Arena. You can find these and other narrated places on the Atlanta city guide.

Atlanta has also played a notable role in film and television. Two films set there—Gone with the Wind and Driving Miss Daisy—won Oscars for Best Picture. Television shows associated with the city include Designing Women, The Walking Dead and Atlanta.

Walk through Savannah’s historic story

Savannah was founded in 1733 as the first settlement of the Province of Georgia. Its place in the state’s colonial history makes it an important destination for understanding Georgia’s beginnings.

The city’s narrated places include the African-American Monument, the United States Customhouse, the Central of Georgia Depot and Trainshed, and the Georgia State Railroad Museum. Together, they reflect different parts of Savannah’s history and public life. Explore the Savannah guide to discover 74 narrated places.

Visit Roswell

Roswell is another Georgia city available on Neywo. Its guide includes three narrated places: the International UFO Museum And Research Center, the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art and the Roswell Museum and Art Center. These museums offer different ways to explore the city’s identity, from UFO history to contemporary and regional art.

For the narrated locations, visit the Roswell city page.

Experience Georgia’s mountains, rivers and coast

Georgia’s five principal physical regions are the Cumberland Plateau, the Appalachians, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Piedmont and the Atlantic coastal plain. The Blue Ridge forms part of the larger Appalachian Mountain range, while the Piedmont plateau and coastal plain shape much of the rest of the state.

This variety creates very different outdoor settings. Hiking the Appalachian Trail, fishing, whitewater kayaking and exploring the Okefenokee Swamp are all part of Georgia’s outdoor life. The state’s eastern boundary with South Carolina follows the Savannah River inland from the Atlantic.

Most of Georgia has a humid subtropical climate, with typically hot and humid summers. The highest elevations are an exception. Plant life is similarly varied: Georgia has about 250 tree species, including pines, oaks, cypress, sweetgum, hickories and sabal palmetto.

Taste and hear Georgia’s culture

Georgia’s identity is closely tied to agriculture, music and public life. The state is known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South. The peanut is its state crop, the peach its state fruit and the Vidalia onion its state vegetable. Its state song is Georgia on My Mind.

Farms across middle and south Georgia produce peanuts, corn and soybeans. The state also combines manufacturing with major growth in services, film, music and digital entertainment production. Atlanta’s role as a media centre is part of this wider cultural and economic picture.

Cities and places beyond Atlanta

Life in Georgia is not confined to its capital. Augusta, Savannah, Columbus and Macon are also major metropolitan areas, while farms, manufacturing centres and coastal and mountain communities give the state a varied character. Georgia’s population and economy have grown as part of the broader Sun Belt trend, even as many textile jobs have moved overseas.

The state’s culture reflects a complex history that has shaped books, films, television, music and public life. Its museums, natural landscapes and historic cities provide different ways to explore that story.

Explore Georgia with Neywo

Neywo has free audio guides for 3 cities in Georgia: Atlanta, Roswell and Savannah. Together, they include 150 narrated places and 8 walking tours. Narration is available in 11 languages.

The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace. There is no group and no schedule: simply walk through the city and listen when you arrive at each narrated stop. Download Neywo to explore Georgia with an audio guide that follows your route.