The Urban Bulldog

Athens, GA City Guide

Heading to Athens for a Dawgs game? Here is your guide to the Classic City: neighborhoods, where to eat and drink, campus sights, the outdoors, day trips, hotels and parking. Hours change, so check each spot before you go.

Quick tip: Park once downtown and walk. Most restaurants, bars, music venues and campus sights are close together.

Neighborhoods

Downtown

Downtown Athens sits right next to the UGA campus. College Ave, Clayton St, Washington St and Broad St are packed with restaurants, bars, music venues and shops. On game days, this is where the energy is.

Five Points

South of campus along Milledge Ave, Five Points is home to Five & Ten and a Condor Chocolates location. It is a quieter, neighborhood-style break from downtown.

Normaltown

Normaltown is a walkable neighborhood along Prince Avenue with coffee shops, bars, restaurants, murals and local shops. Hendershot’s is a coffee shop by day and a bar and music venue by night.

Where to Eat

Breakfast and Brunch

  • Mama’s Boy (197 Oak St): Southern breakfast and lunch, with biscuits topped with gravy or raspberry jam. It is first-come, first-served, and weekend mornings are the busiest.
  • Big City Bread Cafe (393 N Finley St): house-made bread and pastries, quiche and a big patio that is popular with families.
  • Last Resort Grill (174-184 W Clayton St): weekend brunch downtown.
  • Five & Ten (1073 S Milledge Ave): Sunday brunch in Five Points.

BBQ and Southern

  • Dawg Gone Good BBQ (224 W Hancock Ave): no-frills downtown barbecue, open late on weekends.
  • Pulaski Heights BBQ (675 Pulaski St): barbecue by the train tracks.
  • The National (232 W Hancock Ave): a downtown favorite for lunch and dinner. Reservations are recommended on weekends.
  • Hot or Not Chicken Co. (1016 E Broad St): Nashville-style hot chicken in the famous former Weaver D’s building. Closed Sundays.

Pizza

  • Automatic Pizza (1397 Prince Ave): big New York-style slices, subs and cannoli, with vegan and gluten-free options.
  • Ted’s Most Best (254 W Washington St): thin-crust pizza and a patio downtown.

Late Night

  • Little Italy (125 N Lumpkin St): a decades-old downtown pizza spot for the late-night crowd.
  • Dawg Gone Good BBQ: late hours on Fridays and Saturdays.
  • Walker’s Coffee & Pub (128 College Ave): a coffeehouse and bar that is open late.

Coffee

  • Jittery Joe’s (297 E Broad St): locally roasted coffee downtown.
  • Walker’s Coffee & Pub (128 College Ave): coffee by morning, pub by night.
  • Hendershot’s (237 Prince Ave): coffee shop by day in Normaltown.

Sweets

  • Condor Chocolates: chocolate, truffles, hot chocolate and gelato, with locations downtown and in Five Points.
  • Last Resort Grill: known for its cakes.

Bars and Music Venues

  • Georgia Theatre (215 N Lumpkin St): a downtown live-music venue with a rooftop bar and restaurant. Shows usually start around 9 PM.
  • 40 Watt Club: the legendary Athens music club, open on show nights only. Shows are generally 18 and over, and under-18s can come with a parent or guardian.
  • Paloma Park: a beer garden with Athens’ biggest outdoor screen and live music most weekends.
  • Hendershot’s (237 Prince Ave): music and drinks at night in Normaltown.
  • Creature Comforts: Athens’ own brewery downtown.
  • Akademia Brewing (150 Crane Dr): brewpub with full food service.

Campus Sights

  • The Arch: the traditional entrance to campus, facing downtown on Broad St.
  • North Campus: UGA’s historic heart, with old buildings and shady quads. It makes a great walk before or after a meal downtown.
  • Sanford Stadium area: Sanford Stadium opened in 1929 and is famous for its hedges. The current hedges were planted in 1996.
  • Georgia Museum of Art (90 Carlton St): free admission every day. Closed Mondays and open until 9 PM on Thursdays.

Outdoors

  • State Botanical Garden of Georgia (2450 S Milledge Ave): free admission and parking. Grounds are open daily from 7 AM to 7 PM (except UGA holidays).
  • North Oconee River Greenway: a free, paved trail for walking, running and biking.
  • Memorial Park and Bear Hollow Zoo: Memorial Park is free and open daily from 8 AM to sunset. Bear Hollow Zoo inside the park is free and open daily from 9 AM to 5 PM.
  • Athens Farmers Market: Saturdays at Bishop Park (705 Sunset Dr), 8 AM to noon from March to December.

Day Trips

Got an extra day? Visit Athens suggests these:

  • Watkinsville, just south of Athens
  • Watson Mill Bridge
  • The Antebellum Trail
  • Farther north: Anna Ruby Falls, Tallulah Gorge and Helen

Game-Weekend Hotel Tips

  • Book early. Big football weekends sell out fast.
  • Check whether parking is included. Downtown hotels such as Hotel Indigo Athens Downtown (500 College Ave) offer on-site parking for a fee.
  • Staying downtown or on campus, such as Graduate Athens or the UGA Hotel at the Georgia Center, means you can walk to most of the action.
  • Look at minimum-stay rules and cancellation policies before you book.

Getting Around and Parking

  • Downtown is walkable, so park once and explore on foot.
  • The College Avenue and West Washington Street parking decks serve downtown. The Washington Street deck is right behind the Georgia Theatre.
  • On game days, expect heavy traffic and road closures near campus, so arrive early.
  • Visiting a Classic Center event? It has its own parking deck with entrances on North Thomas St and East Broad St.

Official parking info: Downtown Athens parking • Game-day info: georgiadogs.com • Visitor info: Visit Athens

The Athens Welcome Center (280 E Dougherty St) has maps and local tips. It is open Monday to Saturday 10 to 5 and Sunday 12 to 5.

See what’s happening: Athens Events

Follow The Urban Bulldog on Instagram for game-week reels, watch-party picks and weekend tips.

Independent fan site, not affiliated with the University of Georgia.