• Georgia Aquarium: Atlanta, GA

The largest aquarium in the U.S. has tens of thousands of animals swimming in over 10 million gallons of water. Located in Atlanta, the massive institution is home to some of the biggest fish in the world. Daredevils can even swim with the aquarium’s whale sharks. For kids, there’s a petting area where you dip your hands into a shallow pool filled with rays and baby sharks, including Bonnethead sharks, which have eyes in the back of their heads. Don’t miss the museum’s dolphin show, where trainers showcase the beauty, athleticism, and intelligence of bottlenose dolphins.

• Ticonderoga Club - Atlanta

Head to the back of dining and retail hub, Krog Street Market, and you’ll find this laid back, cocktail-forward restaurant. The lovechild of Greg Best, Paul Calvert and Regan Smith, three of Atlanta’s most renowned mixologists, it presents a rotating menu of exhilarating cocktails. Summer offerings include the Hootchy Cider Punch made with Amer Ticon, house bitter and dry cider, as well as a cocktail featuring Cognac du Peyrat, Dubonnet, and orange bitter, playfully dubbed the Space Ghost. And don’t forget to grab a bite from the eclectic menu, which boasts clam rolls and fish and chips as well as roasted moulard duck and a vegan noodle bowl. The one thing you’ll never be at the Ticonderoga Club? Bored.

• Try biscuits and gravy
• Ponce City Market (Atlanta)

Once the site of an enormous Sears, Roebuck and Co. store and warehouse, this 16-acre lot underwent an extensive, three-year renovation in 2011 to make way for Ponce City Market. Several James Beard Award-winning chefs have spots here, including Anne Quatrano (W.H. Stiles Fish Camp), Linton Hopkins (Hop's Chicken) and Sean Brock (Minero). No matter what you're in the mood for—whether it be fresh seafood, cold-pressed juice or locally-made kimchi—there's a good chance you'll find it at Ponce City Market.

• The American Prohibition Museum - Savannah
• Ghost Coast Distillery - Savannah
• Savannah Bee Company - Savannah
• The Wyld Dock Bar - Savannah
• Artillery Bar - Savannah
• The Grey - Savannah
• Collins Quarter - Savannah
• The World of Coca-Cola - Atlanta

The World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta traces the lineage of the iconic soft drink with a 4-D film presentation, a look at the bottling process, a pop culture gallery, and the opportunity to sample more than 100 different products from around the world.

• The Grey - Savannah
• Local Pizzaiola - Atlanta
• Masterpiece - Atlanta
• Ponce City Market - Atlanta
• Krog Street Market - Atlanta
• Hotel Clermont - Atlanta
• The Grey Market - Savannah

A hybrid of New York-style bodega and Southern lunch counter

• Grey

Dishes up Southern-inspired cuisine in a refurbished Greyhound bus depot and has racked up a slew of accolades since its 2014 opening