We did this tour as part of the month-long (during March) Phoenix Flies set of tours. Hence it was…read morefree, though I believe the Wren's Nest does offer tours year round for a fee. This place has a somewhat special significance for me. I first toured it (I think) as a child in the 1970s. However, its importance extends further back than that. My father lived in the area in the late 1920s and attended school about a block away. Even then, this was a library / museum. I'm fairly sure he would have seen this as a roughly 9-year old. It is rare to have a family connection like that to a specific museum... We arrived for the tour and were seated in one of the front rooms. The guide gave an overview of Joel Chandler Harris and the property. She also noted when it became a museum, etc. I will pause here and offer my opinions on the owner / author. I understand why Disney chose to withdraw 'Song of the South' from distribution. On the other hand, it makes me sad that what is being lost is (in some respects) the collective wisdom of the generations of Africans and slaves whose oral history this represents. Do I think that Disney's cartoon is as good way to represent this? No. Do I think that the oral histories had valuable lessons, amassed over countless generations, to communicate to the present day? Yes. The fundamental concepts of things like 'the tar baby' or 'the briar patch' are universal and timeless. To cancel the ideas via cancelling the stereotypes does (in my opinion) a disservice to the past generations whose stories these were. The lessons themselves are *so* instructive and applicable to everyday situations. It would have been fantastic had Joel Chandler Harris donated some % of his proceeds of the Uncle Remus Stories to some sort of foundation to assist descendants of those from whom he heard the stories. That he did not choose to, though, should not invalidate the wisdom of the stories themselves. It disrespects the original storytellers, IMO. Anyway... The house tour covers the entire ground floor. This was expanded from an original small farmhouse to include multiple bedrooms for Harris' expanding family. I also enjoyed some of the architectural details (especially some of the wallpaper) and the sculptures related to the stories. They even had some tobacco containers in the shape of hares and foxes. I think this is a highly worthwhile tour, whenever you opt to take it. They do have parking on site along the side of the house.'

Visiting the Wrens Nest is like a step back in time. For me, being a Black Woman, this is NOT…read morealways the experience I want to have. However I must give this owner a rating and kudos on their care in preserving the family history and opening this venue to up to the community. This venue has an awesome backyard "amiptheater" / stage and sound booth which features many music artists throughout the year. Annually we are hosted and attend the Historic West End Neighborhood Concert. This year we heard Vivian Green! The backyard is lovely, offering "just enough" lighting for romantic table settings or grass picnics while enjoying music. Its treated for pests/insects and is like an oasis (very quiet)away from the busy main street of Ralph David Abernathy Blvd. The venue, now has ample parking with the use of a stripped and renovated lot next to the neighboring church. Look out for several Jazz series hosted during the late summer/fall. A billboard notice is usually posted on their grounds, facing the street with the announcements. This is an inclusive space, however some of the rocky paths make it hard to walk, or use a wheel chair. Note: Do not wear stilettos!

5-stars general interest, 3-stars on historic interpretation. This is the apartment house where…read moreMitchell wrote GWTW. It's a little light on the REAL factual version of slavery. OK, first a disclaimer: I grew up on a small farm 3 hours from Atlanta, and most of my ancestors would have been described by Scarlet O'Hara as "white trash nobodies." As a result, even as a kid, I sided with the Union Army, and thought Scarlet was an idiot. I also wondered why Vivien Leigh had such a bad fake accent. For fans of GWTW, this little museum will be interesting. Not exactly a fan myself, some of the details here are fascinating. Example: Rare for a debutante in her day and age, Mitchell not only had real jobs, she collected racy pornography. MItchell was a confirmed racist (her family too..they glorified the Confederacy, and didn't even tell her the South lost the "War of Northern Aggression" until she was 10). The "house" designation is a little misleading. Mitchell and her husband lived in a small apartment on the first floor when this was an apartment house. I think those that prefer the white-washed version of slavery in the book also prefer to think that Mitchell was a sort of Scarlet herself, lording over a stately mansion in Midtown Atlanta. The museum is a wide-ranging collection of movie memorabilia, references to the Pulitzer Prize-Winning book and a somewhat lame attempt at historic accuracy. To be blunt, this museum should be MUCH clearer about the horrors of slavery. It has a bit of this, but needs to be much clearer in correcting the wildly historically inaccurate version of the Confederacy found in the book. The book presents a bizarrely fictional world where slaves were happy, always well cared for, the Union Army was evil and slaves happily came back to work for free after the Civil War. My suggestion would be to have every picture of a smiling Mammy or Rhett Butler countered by pictures of horrible mutilations and graphics of percentage of slaves raped. It might clear the details up for those who still think the Confederacy is something to celebrate. Oddly enough, the most interesting thing tends to be how much the neighborhood has changed since Mitchell's time. Across the street is The Federal Reserve and a cool marble sculpture of a life-sized vertical car being swallowed by a rock. At the corner and down the block, every cafe is ultra-hipster and every vendor sells Black Lives Matter t-shirts.

I expected there to be more about Margaret Mitchell here but there is just one room set up to…read moreresemble the space Mitchell lived in with her husband while she wrote Gone With The Wind in "The Dump". The rest of the museum is devoted to rhetoric about how GWTW is a false representation of slavery and the reconstruction and bashes the novel. I thought the entry fee was steep at $18 for what it was. From what I read of the other reviews, it looks like this museum was very different a few years ago and to be honest it sounds more like what I hoped it would be. It's a shame that they took out all the memorabilia and erased all information about Mitchell to spout their new agenda. Skip this, it's not worth it.

I wished we planned more time for our stop here. It's incredibly humbling walking through the…read moreexhibits and realizing how much of a battle human rights had to be (and still is, honestly). The reflecting pool was very peaceful (do not sit on the edge! They will warn you, as there are no signs...) Highly recommend - very educational.

Some thoughts on the different areas:…read more The King Center exhibits provided some great insight into the like of MLK, Gandhi, and Rosa Parks, though they feel a bit dated and as if they have not been updated in quite a few decades. The grounds of the King Center are impressive, and the freedom walk, reflecting pool, and tomb of Martin Luther King were beautiful. The Freedom Hall exhibits, though, could be cut if you have limited time. We made sure to stop by for the ranger program at Ebenezer Baptist Church because everyone online said it was a must-do. The presentation began with what felt like the ranger going through a checklist of things he had to say before taking us up into the sanctuary itself to walk a lap around it as a sermon played in the background. Sadly, this experience did not live up to the hype, so structuring our day around being available for the time of the ranger program was not something we would do again. We visited the Birth Home on the second day it reopened and were glad the timing worked out! The Ranger tour was so well done, providing such insight into the childhood and life of Martin Luther King in a way that was engaging, interactive, and made the time fly by. Our ranger found a way to bring everyone - from the oldest to the youngest participants - into the discussion and clearly was passionate about the subject! The visitor center is currently undergoing renovations, so we know we missed some great exhibits that we would've seen in there.

I attended the Black American Portraits opening last night and was swept away by all of the amazing…read moreart from even more amazing artists! I would recommend everyone to visit this exhibit that's showing until June 30th.

On the Spelman Campus. Never new. The American Black Portraits will be here until June 30th. It's a…read moremust see. I did see younger adults touching. There's no sign. PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH THE ART. It's peaceful and calming place. There's are benches. Just a couple. Nice place to and feel our history.

I loved it! I brought my baby here and we had a great time. They have a beautiful outdoor area that…read moreI really enjoyed. I do wish I could have seen it after dark because I bet the lights make it look even more beautiful! Definitely a great place to bring kids and families. It has more of a fun, family-friendly atmosphere than an adult-oriented vibe, but overall we really enjoyed our visit!

Very disappointed in Fernbank Museum's new policy prohibiting outside food, especially for visitors…read morewho require special medical diets. Our group includes wheelchair users, and senior management told us we would have to eat outside, despite temperature regulation concerns and the importance of creating a comfortable, inclusive experience. Upon further investigation the outdoor tables are not accessible to wheelchair users due to the benches attached to the tables. Only a few could be accessed as the rest are on a curb. For children experiencing their first outing outside the hospital with new mobility devices, this only adds to feelings of being different and excluded. Being legally accessible should mean more than just physical access. It should mean creating an inclusive environment where everyone can participate with dignity. We expected better from Fernbank. We will not be returning.

Atlanta is so fortunate to have this incredible museum and shop! Wow I was blown away by the super…read morefriendly staff, the eclectic variety of amazing items and art in the gift shop and that is all in addition to the most amazing collection of curated awesomeness under one roof!! Shout to Bean at the front desk who immediately made me feel welcomed, informed and by the end an old friend. I don't want to spoil too much of the museum other than to say if you like roadside attractions, circus sideshow, taxidermy, pop and folk art, oddities and good old fashioned curiosities then you have found your Mecca. Take your time and look up high and way down low because the museum is packed with items! Take a second or third lap around the museum and you will continue to discover amazing things you missed the first couple of times. Inside the museum they have even more staff who are friendly and filled with knowledge of you have any questions about anything in the collection from the history of some of the artifacts down to how the museum acquired the pieces: if I lived locally it would be a blast to volunteer here as it's truly a one of a kind place. And to top it all off this museum costs only $10 admission!!! What a value in an age where everything is overpriced or you pay $25 for a roadside attraction that only takes 20 minutes to see the whole thing. I could've spent hours here and I have no doubt they wouldn't have minded at all. They even invited us back that evening for an art show and were offering free beer and wine and stamped our hands so we could enjoy the museum in the evening if we chose to attend. It was so nice of them. I would be doing a disservice if I failed to hype up the gift shop. Buy weird stuff said the sign outside and I certainly did!! Rainy Day Revival has been around I think since 2018 with a shop previously in L5P and about two years ago combined the store, their prop rental side of the business and added this incredible museum all under one roof. They sell so many interesting items but what I like the most is many items are sourced from local artists so you bring home cool items and support local artists at the same time and that's a huge win in my book. I'll be stopping by any time I'm visiting Atlanta and you should as well!!

This place was a trip. Truly you could spend hours there looking because it's truly floor…read moreto-ceiling chockablock full of stuff. The staff was super friendly and clearly very passionate and tickets were very reasonably priced. Has a similar vibe to a Ripley's believe it or not. I was unprepared for just how much taxidermy there was going to be and it made for quite a 5 senses experience. They have a scavenger hunt on the museum map, but everything is kind of jumbled and not where it says it will be

This was the highlight of my trip since it was an unexpected delight. I was on a stroll around the…read morehotel and saw this beautiful European style arch with a huge French flag. It piqued and I decided to take a closer look and it turned out to be a history museum! I wandered in and it was deserted so was unsure of how it was going to be. It turned out to be a beautiful but small museum with a lot of interesting artifacts from Georgia/US history, WWII and also has fragments from the Bodmer Papyrus (worth Googling) There were also a lot of moving letters on display about a board member who had recently passed, Asa Candler VI (descendant of the Coco-Cola founder). Based on the letters, he was a truly wonderful man who had an amazing life and touched a lot of people positively. Condolences to the family.

Millennium Gate Museum was a complete waste of time and money on our most recent trip to Atlanta…read more Coming from Tennessee, I felt this would be a unique and similar experience to the Parthenon Replica in Nashville complete with curated exhibits, art galleries, statues, and a park. However, the entire experience was lacking and felt like a dated, run down tourist trap. Upon arrival the actual monument is beautiful. The park is pretty and has nice views of the city. We paid for admission to the museum which is $12 for General Admission and $10 for Students. Even with the student discount, this felt like an overreach for what we got out of the experience. There was only one worker and there were no other patrons in the museum this day AT ALL. It was very quiet and awkward. The indoor galleries consisted primarily of a long hallway with antique furniture with pictures of random people from Atlanta. The gallery was primarily pictures (that I could see online for free) with descriptions and did not contain many actual artifacts or items to look at. The few cases had weird assortments of items such as plates, buttons, and kitchen utensils. It felt like I was looking through the remains of a yard sale, with many items not even having descriptions. Overall the exhibit did not feel very curated, but rather felt like an odd assortment of someone's old junk put on display. We were unable to see the rooftop conservatory that was advertised online with pretty views of the parks. I feel this should be excluded from the website and marketing for General Admission if it is not accessible and staffed properly. The outdoor spaces are pretty; however, these could be visited for free outside of museum admission and did not require payment. Overall the entire museum took approximately 20 minutes to walk through, and left us feeling scammed. It was awkward walking past the one worker after we quickly walked through what little the museum had to offer. I would not recommend this to anyone and will skip this on our next trip to Atlanta.

What a hidden gem! Who would have known that you could see real mummies in the ATL. The African…read moregallery was closed the day we went so that just means that we will come back. Went on a weekday and followed several school groups. This museum concentrates on ancient art so lots of sculpture and not a lot of paintings. So lots of Western Civ stuff - Roman, Greek, Egyptian and Mespotamian. Also Eastern and Pacific art, and a good size gallery dedicated to the Americas, There is a rotating gallery that can have different types of art, so there is revisit value.

Beautiful museum that had a nice variety of exhibits! I was in awe by their mummy exhibit! I've…read moreseen quite a few Egyptian exhibits but never have i seen one with such an extensive view of the mummy process nor have I gotten up close visuals! I was both spooked and in awe lol! I'd recommend checking this museum out if you're in the area. It is relatively small and takes roughly an hour and some change to get through but is very much worth the trip!