Many people get to know Atlanta first through "Gone With the Wind," the book and movie that immortalized Tara and described Sherman's burning of the city in 1864.

What many may not know is that Rhett and Scarlett's ancestral home is also the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr., has more than its fair share of art museums and cooks up some of the best soul food in the South.

In fact, once you get used to the city's disjointed layout (created along old American Indian trails rather than a grid), you'll find there's plenty of art, history and alternative living on tap.