Salsa at Ponce City MarketPhotograph by Shoccara Marcus Best Time to Shake: Salsa Nights at Ponce City Market Bad Bunny kicked off the latest salsa craze with his hit “Baile Inolvidable,” and it’s not likely to end anytime soon, especially now that he’s set to do the Super Bowl halftime show . Every other Friday at 8 p.m., El Super Pan and La Metro restaurants—both owned by Top Chef alum Hector Santiago—offer free salsa lessons with cold drinks and quick bites. New Southside Food Hall More: Terminal South Having transformed two former warehouses on Peoplestown’s southern fringes, Terminal South is springing to life as a more shops-focused alternative to in-town food halls—at the doorstep of both the Beltline’s Southside Trail corridor and the last stop on MARTA’s forthcoming rapid-transit bus line. Highlights so far include Offbeat Books and Nadora Sky for permanent custom-fitted jewelry. Best New Beltline Piece: Westside Trail—Segment Four Craving a respite from the frenetically peopled Eastside Trail? Hop over to the Westside Trail, Segment Four. This crucial missing piece officially opened in June, running alongside verdant Washington Park and the quiet, historic neighborhoods of the city’s Westside. It linked with existing trails and created nearly seven miles of contiguous, rarely crowded Beltline. Ahh. Handy New Bike Route: Georgia Tech’s Cycle Track Georgia Tech’s yearslong quest to become more bike- and pedestrian-friendly took a big leap forward in 2025 with the completion of a protected, campus-wide cycle track. It winds from the shadows of Midtown high-rises, past the off-grid Kendeda Building, and over to Tech Parkway, joining two and a half miles of recently installed bike infrastructure. Best Cooking Wine Classes: Vino Venue Cook’s Warehouse If you’ve an inner chef just begging to be let out, trust these two institutions: chef Mary Moore–owned The Cook’s Warehouse in Ansley Mall, which just turned 30, and Dunwoody’s Vino Venue (formerly Atlanta Wine School) by Emily Mendyka, where interactive instruction is paired with even more active tasting. Best Volunteer Opportunity: Dog for the Day at LifeLine Animal Project Did you know that taking a dog out of the shelter for a few hours not only restores their hope but also increases their adoption chances fivefold? LifeLine’s Dog for the Day program (available at the Fulton and DeKalb county shelters) lets any adult make that impact—no orientation, training, or commitment required. Buzziest Wellness Concept: Floating Sound Baths at ZAH by AngelRae AngelRae Robinson is a certified Reiki master who offers floating sound baths that combine the calming properties of water with the meditative experience of a traditional sound bath. The three-hour sessions, which happen around Atlanta, start at sunset. Participants rest on floats in a pool, covered by blankets and eye masks. Best New Reformer Pilates Studio: Club Pilates Vinings Vinings has a new place to stretch, strengthen, and sweat in sync. Club Pilates Vinings offers reformer classes led by skilled instructors who make fitness seem more like fun than a chore. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, it’s a go-to for low-impact, high-energy movement in Atlanta. Most Impactful Gym: Stronger Now Gym Sandy Springs’ Stronger Now Gym caters to a clientele aged 50 and older who want to retain the naturally declining muscle mass that happens over time. During targeted personal training sessions and group training sessions, owner Alex Mitchell and staff help clients gain endurance, flexibility, balance, and strength. Most-needed Healthcare Concept: Psych Urgent Care Georgia ranks 48th out of 50 in access to mental health resources, something Chamblee-based Urgent Psych wants to change. The new mental health urgent care facility is one of a few of its kind in the country, where walk-ins and same-day appointments can be made for everything from medication adjustments to suicide intervention. Trendiest Beauty Treatment: Facial Lifting and Buccal Massage at K Beauty Spa Kary Chen’s Tucker-based facial spa has many innovative, Asian-inspired beauty treatments. For immediate results, try the facial lifting and buccal massage treatment. A combo of lymphatic drainage, intraoral massage, scalp massage, and face massage will lift, de-puff, and slim instantly. Best Cultural Festivals: African Dance Drum Festival and JapanFest There is always something to do in Atlanta, and cultural festivals are high on the must-attend list. The African Dance Drum Festival and JapanFest invite attendees to engage with different cultures and celebrate the unique ways we are all connected. At the drum festival, dance instructors, musicians, and artisans across the African diaspora showcase their talents with group classes and a vendor-led marketplace. JapanFest features performances (martial arts, dance, music, comedy), hands-on workshops, and Japanese food vendors. New Spot to RIP: Oakland Cemetery Atlanta’s most historic resting place just received a thoughtful refresh. Oakland Cemetery is now offering 270 new spaces to rest in peace—the first new spaces in 145 years. The cemetery is set to build the Eastern Memorial Promenade with a columbarium—a permanent, above-ground structure—between the historic African American Burial Grounds and its East Hill section. Between Oakland’s monthly featured events, private event spaces, and guided tours, death has never felt quite so full of life. Lois ReitzesCourtesy of WABE Biggest Loss to the Atlanta Airwaves: Lois Reitzes If Atlanta radio had a signature voice, it certainly belonged to WABE’s Lois Reitzes—low, smoky, inviting, and instantly recognizable. Reitzes, who retired in June, began her career 45 years ago at WABE by hosting the hour-long Early Morning Music program and then became host of City Lights with Lois Reitzes. She interviewed everyone from cellist Yo-Yo Ma to former President Jimmy Carter. As a listener once observed, “Every word over the air from Lois Reitzes is a gift to Atlanta.” Drag shows at lorePhotograph by Darcy Darmody Drag Comes to Edgewood: Lore Atlanta has historically been a center of drag culture, and Lore—a two-story bar on Edgewood Avenue—has brought fresh life to the scene. From the giant disco ball nicknamed “Lola” to drinks named after characters from Twin Peaks, the bar offers everything from line dancing to drag shows and drag bingo. Go to Lore for—as one owner put it—“the freedom to be a little weird.” Best Atlanta Sports Team: The Atlanta Dream In 2025, the only team in the city to make the first round of a postseason was the Atlanta Dream. On paper, they are the best sports franchise in Atlanta, ranking third in the WNBA and selling out season tickets for the second straight year, albeit in Gateway Center Arena, with 3,500 seats. Still, in person, it’s evident the Dream are the hottest team in town. The atmosphere is as fervent as March Madness, with Atlantans in the stands cheering on stars such as Allisha Gray—a first team All-WNBA last year—Brittney Griner and Rhyne Howard. As the WNBA’s and the Dream’s popularity grows, the franchise has plans to build its own practice facility and its own bigger arena in the coming years. Market Revival: Chinatown Atlanta Have you heard the news? Chamblee’s Chinatown, one of metro Atlanta’s oldest cultural hubs, is buzzing again. Once a marketplace primarily focused on authentic Chinese cuisine, it is now pulsing with new life. Visitors can experience weekly art classes, a newly opened mah-jongg studio, and seasonal community events. New Art Gallery: One Contemporary Atlanta’s art scene has been on the rise in recent years, and new gallery One Contemporary is helping set the tone. Curated by Faron Manuel, this gallery has been a welcome addition to the Sweet Auburn District, with its artist-led talks and tours, solo exhibitions, and featured events with organizations such as The Tenth, Atlanta’s new social club for the creatively curious. Fresh Ink: Independent bookstores are having a moment Contrary to the city’s newspaper, print is alive and well through Atlanta’s independent bookstores. Many of these recently opened brick-and-mortar shops hinge their success on narrowcasting—whether that’s through focusing on a specific genre or adding a side operation, like coffee or booze. The following list of bookstores have opened in the past two years: All the Tropes opened in Kirkwood last year with an inventory dedicated to romance books. The decor fits the genre, with traditional chandeliers and Victorian rugs and couches. Owner Kate McNeil, with her house cat Draco Meowfoy, pounced on romance literature’s rise in popularity that has followed viral book content on TikTok since the pandemic. In Tucker, Books Brew is the place to tuck in with a book, a meal, and a drink or two. The small bookstore offers a wide selection of books in a cafe atmosphere. Pick from a drink menu serving coffee and tea in the morning and draft beers and wine by the glass in the evening. A limited food menu offers stew, cornbread, protein bowls, and a charcuterie board. The Lavender Bookshop is a queer bookstore in Marietta that stocks only books featuring LGBTQ+ stories across all genres. Owner Sara Williford opened the shop in 2024 and has now expanded to include community events such as Artist Mart Days, when local artists set up in the store. Village Books opened this October on Mitchell Street in the South Downtown development. Lakeysha Hallmon, of Village Retail in Ponce City Market, offers books focused on cultural diversity from a variety of genres and for all ages, as well as a wide selection of retail, from clothing to gifts such as T-shirts and art pieces. —Xavier Stevens Best Comeback: Wabi Sabi Terminus Ten years ago, then Atlanta Ballet principal dancer John Welker formed an offseason dance troupe called Wabi Sabi that performed outdoors, primarily at Atlanta Botanical Garden and Serenbe. Now that he’s a cofounder and artistic director of Terminus Modern Dance Theatre, Welker has reformed the group, and it debuted in October at the picturesque botanical garden. Best Place to Get Your Groove On: Pisces Before she opened her brick-and-mortar club on Edgewood Avenue, DJ Ree de la Vega was drawing upwards of 2,000 people to her Chaka Khan Hacienda dance parties at Underground Atlanta and Pullman Yards. Her club, Pisces, has the glamour of an old-school disco, with mirrored walls with colored tube lights and fog machines. The DJ booth—Pisces’s raison d’être—is front and center. Jazz Goes to Church: All Saints Episcopal Church The Jazz at All Saints program began its second season this fall with a series of jazz concerts at All Saints Episcopal Church downtown. From local jazz pianist Joe Alterman to vocalist and multiple Grammy nominee Nnenna Freelon, an eclectic mix of artists has graced the series. Best of all, jazz vocalist Virginia Schenck—the artistic director for Jazz at All Saints—conducts postconcert interviews with the musicians. Making It Rain on Starz: Magic City The Starz documentary series Magic City took viewers inside one of most famous strip clubs in America that also served as an epicenter of rap music; Outkast, T.I., Jeezy, Future, and Migos all used Magic City as launch pads. The series, coproduced by Jermaine Dupri and Aubrey “Drake” Graham, digs into the lives of dancers and the club’s colorful owner, Michael “Mr. Magic” Barney. Variety called it “vast and fascinating.” Well, duh. How could it not be? New Theatrical Triumph: Young John Lewis This new production by playwrights Psalmayene 24 and Atlanta composer Eugene H. Russell IV has crowds cheering and crying as John Lewis rises from student activist to civil rights leader to congressman—all by age 28. Through dance, rap, and song, Lewis compels us to continue choosing good trouble. Produced by Theatrical Outfit, the musical premiered at the Balzer Theater at Herren’s downtown in June 2025. There are plans to take it on the road in 2026. Best social media follow in Atlanta: Hood Anchor Ye A video made as a joke on Instagram in December 2024 turned Carldez Goodley, also known as Hood Anchor Ye, into Atlanta’s go-to reporter on the ground. Sporting his signature look—a velvet robe, pajama pants, and a Magic City hat—he tells the hard-hitting news like a friend would while also interviewing witnesses and neighbors to show the broader impact on Atlantans. You can find him on Instagram and TikTok, often standing mic-to-mic with 11 Alive and Fox 5. Plaza TheatrePhotograph by Getty Images Best Movie Theater Special Programming: The Plaza Theatre Looking for a film-school master class? Every month, the Plaza Theatre’s bright marquee shines with a fresh syllabus of Oscar contenders, deep-dive repertory films, thematic fun (queer/cult/horror/soul), live events, Videodrome special picks (and trivia!) . . . and, of course, the weekly sing-along survey known as The Rocky Horror Picture Show. New Culture Hub: UATL Launched in September 2024, UATL is the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s platform that explores Black culture and how it has shaped Atlanta. Led by Mike Jordan, a team of eight journalists tells stories through dynamic mediums: Event coverage, profiles, and features come with discussional podcasts, video interviews, and challenging think pieces, such as a series of stories analyzing the city’s label as “The Black Mecca.” UATL is a key part of the AJC’s push toward digital. Grand Reopening: MJQ Concourse MJQ Concourse has made a new home in another basement, this time even deeper, at Underground Atlanta. Many mourned the iconic club’s closure on Ponce de Leon Avenue, but co-owners Ryan Purcell and Ryan Murphy have created the space they wanted at the old pirate ship–themed Dante’s Down the Hatch. At the new MJQ, head down the stairs into a neon sci-fi landscape inspired by Mad Max and Blade Runner, with alien pods and a spaceship with a bar on it. Even with the makeover, MJQ keeps its signatures: cheap drinks and multiple dance floors so that everyone can have a night. Best Place to Relive Your High School Track Dreams: Legacy Park in Decatur Miss leg cramps and side stitches? Consider Decatur’s leafy Legacy Park. Once the site of United Methodist Children’s Home, the 77-acre property now offers a brand-new, open-to-the-public track surrounding a synthetic-turf field; plus, long-distance running trails meander through the nearby Seminary Woods. André Leon TalleyPhotograph by Allen Cooley Best Tribute: André Leon Talley: Style Is Forever The SCAD FASH exhibition celebrates the legendary fashion editor on its campuses in Atlanta and Savannah. The exhibit features nearly 70 pieces from Talley’s personal collection, all of which were bequeathed to the college, including iconic garments and personal mementos, curated to honor his life and career in fashion. Talley himself was involved in the initial planning of the exhibition before he passed. New Development: South Downtown With the World Cup looming, there’s a race to develop downtown, and so far, South Downtown Atlanta leads. Operated by Atlanta Tech Village entrepreneurs David Cummings and Jon Birdsong (SoDo’s CEO), the project comprises 57 buildings on Broad Street and Mitchell Street, or Hotel Row. The group has refurbished the historic city blocks with an eye to transit—widened sidewalks, bike lanes, and new bus routes—and tenants have already arrived, including eateries such as Tyde Tate Kitchen and Spiller Park Coffee as well as retail shops such as CratesATL, Village Books, and Cat Eye Creative. There are more newcomers slated for 2026: El Tesoro, the Brewhouse Cafe, Broad Street BBQ, Delilah’s Everyday Soul, a breakfast and lunch counter from Todd Ginsberg and Josh Kim, and more. It’s starting to be the downtown Atlanta needs. Best museum refresh: Hapeville Depot Museum Just north of the airport, Hapeville seeks to stoke deeper local conversations with a refresh to its Depot Museum. In 2025, the museum began a new program of resident artists and historians working in pairs to present the city’s past through different forms. Best New Writers Haven: Lostintheletters The creators of Letters Festival, Scott Daughtridge DeMer and Stephanie Dowda DeMer, have opened a brick-and-mortar Lostintheletters—“Atlanta’s home for creative writing.” The studio in Candler Park avoids a hard and fast definition: It has everything a writer may need, including a reading lounge, individual workspaces, and a bookstore. For more intensive projects, Lostintheletters offers memberships at $50 per month that come with complimentary snacks and coffee, monthly feedback groups, a library of writing resources, tracking systems for writing progress, publishing and residency opportunities, and members-only literary events. Best What Goes Around Comes Around: The Bakery The Supermarket Humans are innately social animals, and one side effect of the pandemic was that we grew used to isolation from one another. Out of that has grown an adult crafts movement: people gathering to make things, from friendship bracelets to homemade polymer magnets and collages and zines. It isn’t the quilt or needlepoint group of previous generations, but the point is the same: Crafting isn’t about making something perfect; it’s about creating something in a community of new friends. Newest Workout Trend: Hot Pilates at M3 Yoga Hot Pilates Candler Park’s M3 Yoga Hot Pilates offers an Inferno hot Pilates class for a low-impact, high-intensity workout. Performed on a mat, the class can increase your mobility and muscle tone as you sweat it out to high-energy music, as participants did in a recent Shaky Knees Festival–themed class. See all Best of Atlanta 2025 winners Eat Drink Buy Readers’ Choice This article appears in our December 2025 issue. The post Best of Atlanta 2025: Do appeared first on Atlanta Magazine. ...read more read less