Macon sits at the geographic center of Georgia, about 80 miles south of Atlanta on I-75. It's a mid-size city with a well-preserved historic downtown and a surprisingly rich musical heritage — Macon was the home of Otis Redding, Little Richard, and the Allman Brothers Band. The Allman Brothers Band Museum at the Big House on Vineville Avenue is a pilgrimage site for fans, and Capricorn Sound Studio — where the band and dozens of other Southern rock acts recorded — has been restored and is open for tours.
The main archaeological attraction is Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, just east of downtown, which preserves one of the most significant pre-Columbian sites in the eastern United States. The mounds date primarily from the Mississippian culture (AD 900–1200), and a reconstructed ceremonial earthlodge with original clay floor has been preserved. The site records 12,000 years of continuous human habitation. Hay House, a palatial 1859 Italian Renaissance Revival mansion at 934 Georgia Avenue, is Macon's other architectural landmark; the Tubman Museum downtown is the largest African American art and history museum in the Southeast.
Macon is also known for its cherry blossoms — the city plants more than 300,000 Yoshino cherry trees, and the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in mid-March draws large crowds. Rose Hill Cemetery, where several Allman Brothers are buried, is one of the finest Victorian cemeteries in the South and worth a visit on its own merits.