Athens

With its cutting-edge music scene, emphasis on the arts and a love for sporting events, Athens offers a variety of options for area visitors.

The University of Georgia dominates the landscape in Athens. The school, established in 1785 as the first state-chartered university in the country, is considered one of the nation's leaders in the areas of business, journalism, medicine and law and no one can proclaim to be a true Georgian without attending at least one football at Sanford Stadium, where the school's football team plays each fall.

The city hosts two non-UGA sporting events each year. The Twilight Criterium bicycle race brings in riders from around the world. The Stadion Classic at UGA has been a fixture on the Nationwide Tour's schedule since 2006.

There are many golf options in Athens, starting with the University of Georgia Golf Course, a lengthy Robert Trent Jones layout that was renovated by Davis Love III in 2006. The private Athens Country Club, which sports some of the trickiest greens around, has hosted the Georgia Amateur on six occasions. Other outstanding courses in the area include Jennings Mill, Lane Creek and The Georgia Club.

Music clubs are scattered throughout the city. They offer a forum for new acts to get started; the B-52's began their campy career there in 1976 and Michael Stipe founded R.E.M. there in 1980. Established performers, such as country music star Dierks Bentley, often come back, break in new material and revisit their roots at one of the area's many venues such as the 40 Watt Club and the Georgia Theatre. Information on performances in rock and roll, blues, country, jazz and classical can be found in the Flagpole Magazine, a free weekly magazine recognized as the best resource for the local music scene.

The Classic Center, a cutting-edge facility for music and the arts, opened in 1996. It hosts meetings, trade shows and social events, as well as concerts by the Athens Symphony, and an annual Broadway Series of plays.
The weather in Athens usually mirrors that of Atlanta, the state capital located about 70 miles to the west. Like most cities in the Southeast, conditions in Athens range from fabulous in the spring and fall, to hot and humid in the summer, where the high temperatures average in the upper 80s. Winters are usually damp and dreary, but with little snow and no long stretches of freezing weather.