Downtown Athens: Better Than Your Town

By Patrick Lee (University of Georgia)

Welcome to the University of Georgia. I am here to show all you Campus Socialites how the south gets down. If you don’t know about UGA here’s my crash course, welcome to the south! You get back to Athens. Unpack your belongings, buy your books, meet friends for dinner then go downtown. First day of class, you sit through the same lecture three or four times hearing, “no cell phones” and “there will not be a curve,” you drop the worst classes, take the books back, buy new ones and then go downtown. There’s an interesting parallel here. Regardless of how the day starts, you finish the night, you guessed it, downtown. Downtown Athens is one of the most amazing places on the planet. It is unparalleled in the south (trust me, I’ve been around).

Among the grandeur are some of the finest easting establishments around. But the real draw is the bar scene. There are over 250 bars in one square mile. For some perspective, Downtown Athens has more bars in that square mile than Canada has PEOPLE in a square mile.

You want diversity where you drink? Athens has it. Whether you’re fratstar looking to get hammered with other Greeks, a hipster looking to suck down high priced imports and talk about tight fitting jeans, or anyone in between, there’s a place for you and yours to get a brew.

Not 21? Although the law forbids it, most of the bars are more than happy to let youngsters get in. If you show up with a business card with “I’m 21” scrawled on it, you will be allowed into to most places with a smile. And as long as you don’t fight, fall or jaywalk, the cops are more than happy to sit on their bicycles and leave you to your inebriation.

To any college student, even the professionals Tyler Spaulding’s Campus of the Week Downtown Athens and UGA are places that should be on the college bucket list. It is truly a unique experience. It’s no joke that travel magazines list this place as a must visit.