The Guest List

Helen Davis and her husband Ren

• Atlanta Heritage Trail and Sweet Auburn-Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic District
  One walk traces the growth of Atlanta from a railroad construction camp to the seat of state government and an international city, and a second path reveals the childhood home and final resting place of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
• Inman Park
  Two decades after pivotal Civil War Battle of Atlanta in 1864, the land, a site of the some of the battle's fiercest fighting,  became Atlanta's first planned residential community. It boasts excellent examples of Victorian architecture.
• Historic Oakland Cemetery
  Opened in 1850 as Atlanta's first municipal burial ground, Historic Oakland is a Victorian treasure. Among the many notable Atlantans interred here are author Margaret Mitchell and golfer Bobby Jones.
• Piedmont Park and the Atlanta Botanical Garden
  Often called the city's "common ground," Piedmont Park has been a gathering place for Atlantans since 1895. Adjoining the park, the Atlanta Botanical Garden features rare, exotic, and native plants; the Fuqua Conservatory; and the Storza Forest Preserve.
• Ansley Park
  Atlantans humorously call this neighborhood, designed for early automobilists, Atlanta's "Bermuda Triangle" as the winding lanes conspire to get the unfamiliar driver lost. Ansley is noted for its beautiful pocket parks and elegant homes.
• Fernbank Forest
  A woodland path meanders through an old-growth forest only a few miles from downtown.  Adjacent to the forest is the popular Fernbank Science Center, planetarium and observatory.  Nearby is the Fernbank Natural History Museum. A great destination for families.
• Druid Hills
  Developed in the early 20th century, this park-like neighborhood of elegant homes reflects the garden-like designs of Frederick Law Olmsted.
• Virginia-Highland and Morningside
  These  two  residential areas preserve vintage World War I era Craftsman-style architecture and  notable examples of the works of Atlanta's finest early and mid-20th century architects.
• Peachtree  Battle Avenue and Atlanta Memorial Park
  Elegant pre-World War II estates face tree-lined Peachtree Battle, while more modern homes border Atlanta Memorial Park, where Union troops crossed Peachtree Creek in 1864.
• Atlanta History Center and Buckhead's Beautiful Homes
  Atlanta's most prestigious neighborhoods surround the Atlanta History Center, which features a museum, the recreated Tullie Smith farm complex, the elegant Swan House and pocket gardens.

Helen and Ren Davis are the authors of "Georgia Walks: Discovering Hikes Through the Peach State's Natural and Human History" and "Best Hikes Near Atlanta."