They say there’s a place in Atlanta where time seems to pause, fizzing softly in your glass. This is the tasting room of the World of Coca-Cola — a hall where flavors from every corner of the globe gather like travelers in a bustling marketplace. Some feel like old friends — lemon Sprite, Cherry Coke, tropical Fanta — while others are rare visitors you won’t find anywhere else.
Here you can pour a hundred drinks if you like: more than 100 flavors from 40 countries await. Coca-Cola today owns nearly 500 brands, produced at over 900 plants worldwide, employing around 700,000 people. Every second, about 19,000 servings of Coca-Cola are consumed — and in Atlanta, it all begins with a single sip.
The unusual flavors are like a gallery of stories: Peru’s Inca Kola, tasting of bubblegum; Thailand’s green Fanta Melon Frosty; Mexico’s Lift Manzana, with its crisp apple bite; and Africa’s fiery Stoney Tangawizi, a ginger soda with real heat. Then there’s Italy’s infamous Beverly, bitter like an aperitif and widely considered the “worst soda in the world.” Travelers argue over which is best, but agree on one thing — no visit ends without at least one wince from Beverly.
Whispers say Atlanta is also where secret recipes are born: a peach Coke carrying the fragrance of Southern orchards, or a raspberry version as sweet as summer on a market square. While the world drinks its familiar cola, Atlanta keeps its heart in these bubbles — a quiet music of history, sparkling in every glass.
Atlanta began as a modest railway stop — the end of the line that unexpectedly grew into the South’s busiest hub. The city was burned to the ground during the Civil War, yet out of the ashes rose a bold, industrious Atlanta. This is the birthplace of Coca-Cola, the cradle of the modern Civil Rights Movement, and home to the largest Black middle class in the United States. Few cities embody change and resilience the way Atlanta does.
At the heart of downtown lies Pemberton Place, a cultural crossroads where three icons stand side by side: the vast Georgia Aquarium, the playful World of Coca-Cola, and the moving Center for Civil and Human Rights. A short walk from the parking lot takes you past fountains and green lawns straight into this vibrant trio.
The Georgia Aquarium is breathtaking in scale — the largest in the Western Hemisphere. Its glass tunnel immerses you in the deep, as whale sharks and graceful manta rays glide overhead, surrounded by a dazzling cast of marine life. The highlight for many visitors is the dolphin presentation in the “Ocean Theater,” a show where science and spectacle merge to reveal the intelligence and energy of these remarkable animals.
The World of Coca-Cola tells another side of Atlanta’s story. From Dr. John Pemberton’s original pharmacy syrup to a brand recognized by billions, the museum traces the evolution of a cultural icon. Visitors marvel at the legendary vault said to guard the secret formula, and the experience ends in the famous tasting room — more than 100 flavors from 40 countries. From familiar Fanta and Sprite to exotic drinks that spark delight or surprise, every sip is part of a global journey that began right here in Atlanta.
