Macon, Ga., has a rich history, diverse culture, and vibrant music heritage. Revitalization has brought busy restaurants, music venues, festivals, and family activities to the beautiful downtown area.
Macon is a college town with no less than four colleges: Wesleyan College, Mercer University, Middle Georgia State College, and Central Georgia Technical College. One of the things you can count on in a college town is a wide variety of restaurants serving all types of cuisine, a connection with plenty of outdoor activities, and lots of entertainment.
My family came to live in Macon in the late ’60s. I graduated from high school and college in Macon. I raised my family here. I have worked, played, worshiped, and lived in this area most of my life. My love for the area is part of the reason I started this southern travel blog. The Deep South is a beautiful place to live or visit.
Table of Contents
- Macon Historical Sites
- Museums
- Tours
- Live Music and Entertainment Venues
- Seasonal Events
- Dine at a local iconic restaurant
- More Southeastern Travel Ideas
Macon Historical Sites
Ocmulgee Indian Mounds National Park
Ocmulgee Indian Mounds is a National Historic Park managed by the National Park Service. It is a prehistoric American Indian site. There are 8 miles of trails and 7 historical mounds. The Earth Lodge is a popular and fascinating place to visit. The Museum has in excess of 2,000 artifacts.
Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park and the Ocmulgee Mounds Association host an annual Ocmulgee Indigenous Celebration each year in September.
Historic Riverside Cemetery
Historic Riverside Cemetery is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was established in 1887 above the Ocmulgee River. Civil War veterans from the Union and the Confederacy are interred here. Slip on a pair of comfortable shoes and stroll the cemetery, reading historic markers. Fans of Southern Rock know that Duane and Gregg Allman and their guitarist, Berry Oakley, are all buried at Rose Hill adjacent to Riverside Cemetery.
Historic Riverside Cemetery Conservancy hosts their Spirits in October tours each Fall. We have attended several times. It is a fun way to learn about some of the local folks tied to the history of the city of Macon. Sometimes, they feature those with interesting death stories. Volunteers present a quick oratory presentation in period attire. My advice is to bring a flashlight and wear comfortable shoes if attending Spirits in October.
Johnson-Felton Hay House
The Hay House is a magnificently large mansion built in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, a marked contrast to the Greek Revival architecture of the antebellum period. You can view lots of antebellum homes in the downtown Macon Area. You can’t miss The Hay House. The 18,000 square foot mansion with its four stories sits right in front of you as you travel up Spring Street from Riverside Dr.. Located on aptly named Georgia Ave. The four-story house is topped with a two-story cupola.
Tours are available year-round, with special tours at various times throughout the year. Check the website for more tour information for this National Historic Landmark. You can rent certain parts of the house for special occasions. We had our daughter’s wedding at The Hay House in 2013.
The Cannonball House
The Cannonball House is named for, you guessed it, a cannonball landing inside the house during the Civil War. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a great example of authentic Greek Revival architecture containing fine period furnishings.
A civil war military collection can be viewed in the museum of the Cannonball house. Tours are given year-round except on certain holidays. Check their site for more information.
Fort Benjamin Hawkins
Fort Benjamin Hawkins is also on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built between 1806 and 1810 in the Creek Nation under President Thomas Jefferson, and used until 1824. The fort created a trading site, and the city of Macon later formed because of the trade it created. Fort Benjamin Hawkins is currently closed due to structural integrity concerns, but you can still drive by to see it.
Museums
Museum of Arts and Sciences
The Museum of Arts and Sciences is a state-of-the-art 50,000-square-foot facility located on a 14-acre campus near Wesleyan College in Macon. The museum is a treasure trove of education for children of all ages. They offer art exhibits, a planetarium, a mini zoo, interactive exhibits, nature exploration via the Sweet Gum Trail, and field trips for schools. There are also special events throughout the year, such as the Festival of Trees during the holiday season.
Through a partnership with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), the museum offers Science on a Sphere. “SCIENCE ON A SPHERE (SOS) is a room-sized, global display system that uses computers and video projectors to display planetary data onto a six-foot diameter sphere, similar to a giant animated globe.”
Tubman African American Museum
The Tubman African American Museum is located in downtown Macon on Cherry Street in a very large, beautiful facility. The museum showcases a rich collection that chronicles African American art, history, and culture through various exhibits. The exhibits are far too many to name here.
Visit the website for information about special events. You can find links for a virtual tour and even a cool Flythrough video tour on the site.
The Big House Allman Brothers Band Museum
The Allman Brothers Band Museum is located near downtown on Vineville Avenue in The Big House, where Duane, Berry, and Gregg, along with their families, lived for a time. In a city with a very rich connection to music, it is fun to find a museum dedicated to a Southern rock band from this area. Duane, Gregg, and Berry were from Macon. Duane and Berry died in Macon, both in motorcycle accidents.
Georgia Sports Hall of Fame
The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame is the country’s largest state sports museum at 43,000 square feet. The building is designed to resemble a turn-of-the-century ballpark with a red-brick exterior and green roof. The Hall of Fame Corridor honors over 400 inductees and continues to grow.
Capricorn Studios and Museum
The Capricorn Studios and Museum is a revitalization project spearheaded by Mercer University. This 20,000 square foot complex in downtown Macon isn’t only a museum, it is a working space to keep Macon’s music heritage alive.
There are 12 rehearsal rooms and two State-of-the-art commercial studios. One of the restored studios is the place where some of America’s great Southern Rock bands, such as the Allman Brothers, Marshall Tucker, Charlie Daniels, and others, recorded in the heyday of Capricorn Records.
The museum is about 1,200 square feet of digital, visual, and audio storytelling.
Otis Redding Museum
The Otis Redding Museum is located on Cotton Ave. in downtown Macon. Take a walk through the life and legacy of music legend, Otis Redding.
Tours
Rock Candy Tours
Rock Candy Tours offers a variety of tour options available through the Visitors Center. Their tours include walking or riding tours, ghost tours in October, and even a kegs and stills tour of breweries and a distillery.
Visitors Center Guided Tours
The Macon Visitors Center is downtown on MLK Blvd. You will find guided van tour options here. If you want to book a tour during the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival, I would encourage you to book your tour in advance of your visit.
Lights On Macon
Self-guided Walk or Drive Tours of Macon Architecture by Lights On Macon. If you enjoy architecture, I recommend this tour. Get your GPS ready. You get to choose the style of homes you would enjoy viewing from the outside. No inside tours. Walk, drive, or do both.
U.S. Ghost Adventures
This one-hour Ghost Tour adventure is offered by a popular ghost tour company online. You book online and meet in front of Macon’s historic Grand Opera House for the tour.
Live Music and Entertainment Venues
Amphitheater
The Atrium Health Amphitheater is located in the heart of Macon, next to the Macon Mall. It boasts seating for 12,000, as well as VIP Suites and boxes. It was built between 2022 and 2024 and has already proven to be a crowd-pleaser. Concerts are of a wide variety of music genres, drawing crowds from all over. Right next door, inside the Macon Mall, is the World’s Largest Indoor Pickleball Facility. The very first concert at the Amphitheater was Jason Aldean, who is from Macon. It was sold out!
Macon Coliseum
The Macon Coliseum, also known as The Macon Centreplex, has been hosting great events for quite a few years. I saw one of Elvis Presley’s last concerts here in the late 70s. Our local hockey team, The Macon Mayhem, plays here. Events like Monster Truck Rallies and Disney on Ice perform regularly. Check the calendar for a wide variety of music and other entertainment coming to Macon Coliseum.
Macon City Auditorium
The Macon City Auditorium is architecturally beautiful. The building was completed in 1925 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. You won’t forget the cononade surrounding three sides of the building. They host a wide variety of entertainment in the 2,700-seat auditorium. I once saw Loretta Lynn in concert here.
Seasonal Events
Macon Cherry Blossom Festival
The Macon Cherry Blossom Festival is held each year in the spring, usually in March. Hopefully, during the festival, Macon’s over 350,000 Yoshino cherry trees will be in bloom. If not, no need to worry because the city is pretty in pink for the 10-day festival. There are a myriad of events to explore and enjoy during the Cherry Blossom Festival. I highly recommend visiting during this event. Read my Cherry Blossom Festival Tips From A Local.
Macon Christmas Lights Extravaganza
The Macon Christmas Lights Extravaganza is a must-see if you live within a reasonable driving distance of Macon during this event. Over one million lights dance in sync to music recorded by the Macon Pops Orchestra in downtown Macon. It is truly spectacular. I recommend planning to have dinner in one of the many downtown restaurants, then strolling through the lights after dark.
Bragg Jam
Bragg Jam is an annual concert crawl that promotes, curates, and supports live music. A map is provided for all participating locations each year. Past participants include: the Otis Redding Center for the Arts, the Capitol Theater, and Capricorn Studios, among many others.
Dine at a local iconic restaurant
You will be spending most of a day or several days in Macon, so you will want to know the best places to dine. This is a short list. See my list of Where The Locals Eat in Macon, Ga.
The Bear’s Den restaurant is located on the outskirts of town between downtown and Mercer University. It is a local hotspot for meat and two soul food. When Bill Clinton was President, he dined here.
H&H was a favorite place to dine for the Allman Brothers band members. The owner, Mama Louise, would feed them when they had no money. In return, they made her famous after they became famous. H&H remains true to its original roots with great soul food. Any meal is good here, but please, have their breakfast.
Fincher’s BBQ restaurants have been a mainstay in Macon for many years. They have the very best Brunswick Stew, in my humble opinion. They are known for their BBQ, but I love the Rib plate.
Nu Way Hot Dogs has multiple locations in Macon and several in Warner Robins. Oprah Winfrey dined at the Cotton Avenue location, which burned down later, when she filmed her Favorite Things show in Macon.
The Fish-n-Pig is located in a beautiful setting on Lake Tobesofkee. This place is a hot spot for the locals. They have live music on the weekends. The menu includes, you guessed it, both fish options and BBQ options.
A downtown favorite is The Rookery, located on Cherry Street in the heart of downtown. Their burgers are among the best, with fun names for locally famous musicians.
Ingleside Village Pizza is a must-do. They are located just off Riverside Dr., not far from Riverside Cemetery in Ingleside Village. Their next-door neighbor is The Society Garden, well known for great live music.
There is plenty of rich southern history, music roots, turn-of-the-century architecture, civil war history, live entertainment, and plenty of good southern food to keep you interested, your toes tapping, and your tummy full in Macon, Ga.
Take a nice day trip from Macon to Radium Springs. It is less than a two hour drive south to Albany, GA.
