Athens is a university town about 65 miles northeast of Atlanta, home to the University of Georgia and a music scene that produced R.E.M. and the B-52s in the late 1970s and '80s. It's an appealing place to spend a day or two — good food, live music venues, and a walkable downtown centered on Broad Street.
The University of Georgia campus is worth wandering, particularly the older buildings around North Campus. The State Botanical Garden on the south end of campus is free and surprisingly extensive — 300 acres of themed gardens and river forest. Downtown Athens concentrates most of the restaurants, bars, and live music clubs; it's lively on weekends during the academic year.
The 40 Watt Club on West Washington Street is the shrine of the Athens music scene, still booking live bands most nights. The Morton Theatre a block away is one of the first theatres in the South built and operated by an African American businessman, now restored and active again. Outside City Hall, the Double-Barreled Cannon is the city's most delightful historic artifact — a Civil War experiment that went spectacularly wrong on its first and only test firing.