World of Coca-Cola

A glossy corporate-history museum next to the Georgia Aquarium, dedicated to the soft drink that built modern Atlanta. The pharmacist John Pemberton invented Coke as a patent medicine in 1886; the company has been headquartered in Atlanta ever since. Exhibits cover the brand history, the 4-D theatre is genuinely entertaining, and the final-room tasting bar lets you sample 100-plus Coca-Cola products from around the world.

The line for the tasting room is the line everyone joins. The international varieties — Beverly from Italy, Inca Kola from Peru — are the real reason to come. Allow about 90 minutes.

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A story
The original handwritten Coca-Cola formula, sealed in a steel vault on the museum's ground floor since 1925, is one of corporate America's most theatrically kept secrets — even though the basic ingredients have been independently reverse-engineered many times. The vault is technically empty except for the formula and a single steel ring.