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Constance
Constance
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4 out of 5
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Editor Pick

Centennial Olympic Park

  • January 5, 2007
  • Rated 4 of 5 by travellingdave from Calgary, Alberta
Centennial Olympic Park

Centennial Olympic Park is perhaps Atlanta's best-known landmark. At least since 1996, that is. The park was built that year to commemmorate the 1996 Summer Olympics which were held here in Atlanta, the 100th Olympic games ever, hence the Centennial.

The sprawling park is located west of downtown, between downtown Atlanta and the World Congress Center. It's 21 acres are home to a vast array of sights and sounds.

The key feature of this park is the Fountain of Rings, which involve the Olympic anthem playing on repeat, while the visitor is dazzled by an impressive lights and water show, in the shape of the Olympic rings. This part of the park will be closed from November 2006 to March 2007, so plan around.

In the summer, the Fountain of Rings become a popular splash pad for children to play in.

The Centennial Olympic Park is home to the summer On The Bricks music festival, where tens of thousands of people come together to listen to live music.

There are also a series of neat Olympic torches that line the park, as well as some beautiful pieces of artwork. On some of the artwork, there is visible scarring from the unfortunate 1996 terrorist bombings that took place here that left two people dead and many injured.

There is a skating rink in the winter months that is available to use at a nominal fee.

Like all city parks, admission is free and the park is open 24/7. From the park, it is very easy to get awesome photos of the Atlanta skyline, which truly is one of the nicest - if not the nicest - skyline in America.

For more info on the park visit: www.centennialpark.com

From journal Heart of the Peachtree State

Editor Pick

Centennial Park

  • August 24, 2006
  • Rated 3 of 5 by brianestadt from McKeesport, Pennsylvania
Centennial Park

Located near the aquarium, the Georgia Dome and some corporate HQs (among them CNN), Centennial Park in Atlanta is a nice, green respite from the urban downtown landscape. Its entrances feature plaques that include the Olympic rings to commemorate the 1996 Summer Games that were held in the city and there is a small statue honoring the people who were instrumental in bringing the games to the city.

The park has a lot of open, grassy space. Perhaps even a bit too much — I think a few more trees would make it a bit more beautiful and added some more much-needed shade, but I could understand the wide open space if many festivals are held here. There are a fair number of benches to relax on and the park features a fountain that brought joy to a lot of little children when we visited in August. The fountain jets are placed along a brick courtyard that also features the Olympic rings design. Children were laughing and playing here as the water jets activated and cooled off the kids. If you stand above this area (by were the water cascades down), you’ll get a nice view of not just the courtyard, but of the pillars behind it and the many flags that fly here to mark the Olympic games.

From journal Atlanta, as Seen During an Overnight Layover

Centennial Olympic Park

  • July 18, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by cr008k from San Francisco, California
Centennial Olympic Park

This is a really fantastic park, right in the middle of downtown Atlanta. It can be a quiet haven, away from the hustle and bustle of the city—a great place to take a picnic lunch or stop in for a break in the midst of your touring and shopping. There also are a lot of events, concerts, festivals, and things going on there—so if you hit it at the right time, then it won't be a quiet haven but rather a bustling and entertaining outdoor venue.

Either way it is beautiful. It has some Olympic history and pays homage to the Olympics that were held in Atlanta, I believe in '96? There are tons of fun fountains for kids to play in, and flowers and other pretty things, just like your regular average park.

Overall, I'd say stop in if you like the Olympics, or if you just want a quiet haven to catch your breath in the middle of the city.

From journal Atlanta

Centennial Olympic Park

  • July 18, 2005
  • Rated 5 of 5 by CurlyGirl from Raleigh, North Carolina
Centennial Olympic Park

Centennial Olympic Park has large monuments and is in an incredible downtown Atlanta location. They offer a café and large expanses of grass. The best part, of course, is the fountains that spring up from the ground, fun for the young and old. Small children crawled through, surprised by the water. Older children ran through and showed off their tricks and skill at avoiding the water. It was a great time, and a nice cool-off in the Hotlanta summer.

From journal Brief Business in Atlanta

Centennial Olympic Park

  • May 23, 2003
  • Rated 4 of 5 by toombsey from nr Belleville, Ontario
Centennial Olympic Park

Centennial Olympic Park is the location of the opening of the 1996 Olympic Games. It is also the place where the bomb went off.

It is a large park with dancing fountains in the shape of the olympic rings, picnic areas, visitors centre and staging for shows. As we went during the independence day celebrations, we were treated to entertainment by day and night with food stalls, etc. the carnival started and ended here and the massive fireworks display was held here.

The park seems to be the centre for most of the entertainment in Atlanta, but even when nothing is going on it is a very pleasant place to stroll or have a picnic. The fountains were always full of kids jumping in and out of the dancing water jets.

Our hotel overlooked the park, so we were able to see the park in all it’s glory day and night.

From journal Atlanta on the Fourth of July

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