The Complete Guide with Atlanta, Savannah and the Beaches (Fodor's Guides)

Discusses dining, lodging, and sight-seeing in the Carolinas and Georgia.

This excerpt, from the Pleasures and Pastimes section, gives you a taste of what the Carolinas and Georgia have to offer and the sights and scenes that make them great places to visit.

Dining
Southern dining comes in a variety of flavors: You can choose down-home cookin' like Mama used to make, with plenty of country ham, corn bread, and fried catfish, or you can savor the refined creations of brash young chefs who use fresh local ingredients in inventive new ways. You'll find both styles of cooking in Atlanta and many other Southern cities. South Carolina's Lowcountry cooking highlights such specialties as she-crab soup, stuffed oysters, and pecan pie. And don't forget to sample the local barbecue, with seasonings that vary from state to state, or the fine fresh fish and seafood available at casual waterfront eateries or elegant dining rooms all along the coast. Your culinary explorations won't end with Southern cuisines, though. The increasing sophistication of the South has spurred the growt
h of restaurants that offer everything from good French and Italian fare to Thai and Tex-Mex.

History
On and off the beaten path, this area is rich in history. The lives of Native Americans, the area's first inhabitants, can be studied in the Museum of the Cherokee Indian in Cherokee, North Carolina, and Old Salem in Winston-Salem re-creates the world of Moravian immigrants. Colonial history comes alive at Revolutionary War sites, whether at Kings Mountain National Military Park in Upcountry South Carolina or at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park near Greensboro, North Carolina. Throughout the South you can visit plantation houses or walk through historic districts in cities like Savannah that stand as testimony to the antebellum era. The Civil War is commemorated at Fort Sumter and Chickamauga, but studying a Civil War monument in a town square can also take you to the heart of that wrenching conflict. In a later era, the South was the birthplace of the civil rights movement, and its landmarks a
nd memorials stand proudly across the region, including the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Music
Many people would say that the South is inseparable from music, and no visit to the Carolinas and Georgia would be complete without taking in some performances. There's plenty of blues and rock, and Myrtle Beach in South Carolina has a large number of country venues, too. For fine bluegrass, you can head to the mountains of western North Carolina. But whether you're in Atlanta or Asheville, clubs and an abundance of musical festivals celebrate a full range of sounds. Classical music isn't neglected, either: Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston is just one showcase, and many cities have fine orchestras and chamber groups.

Outdoor Activities and Sports
Name your sport, and you'll discover superb places to pursue it throughout the Carolinas and Georgia. The resorts of North Carolina's Pinehills are a golfer's paradise. Boaters can explore the lakes of South Carolina's Heartland or travel the Intracoastal
Waterway, and rivers provide thrilling white-water rafting and excellent flat-water canoeing in every state. All this water holds challenges for anglers, whether in fresh water or out on the ocean. The region's mountains, from the Blue Ridge to the Great Smokies, have well-marked hiking trails, including the Appalachian Trail, to help you get away from it all. And if beaches are your passion, take your pick: the windswept shores of Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina, the bustling resorts at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina, or Georgia's lush barrier islands, known as the Golden Isles.