9 Atlanta places to visit without paying admission, with hours and the cost wording straight from each official page. There is no fee to enter Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park.
Only four of these pages say outright that entry is free; the rest give hours or rules and no price. Every fact below was read on the cited official page and checked ; anything we could not read is listed under What We Could Not Confirm instead of guessed.
| What to know | Source |
|---|---|
| There is no fee to enter Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park. | nps.gov |
| Oakland Cemetery is free to visit; tours and special events may require a ticket. | oaklandcemetery.com |
| Atlanta Contemporary lists free admission every day. | atlantacontemporary.org |
| The Atlanta Monetary Museum is entirely free. | atlantafed.org |
Free and No-Admission Places in Atlanta
| Name | Town | What it is | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park | Atlanta | National Park Service site at 450 Auburn Avenue NE with Ranger-led Birth Home presentations offered daily, free of charge. | Cost: No fee to enter (NPS fees page) Hours: Open daily 9:00 am to 5:00 pm except Thanksgiving Day, December 25, and January 1 Access: Main Visitor Center is being renovated; temporary visitor center at Historic Fire Station No. 6, 39 Boulevard NE, open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily |
| Historic Oakland Cemetery | Atlanta | Cemetery at 374 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. SE that is free to walk; guided tours and special events may be ticketed. | Cost: Free to visit Hours: Grounds dawn to dusk year-round; Visitor Center 10AM to 5PM daily (closed some holidays); closes to public at 3PM on Sept 24, Oct 15-18 and Oct 22-25 (2026) Access: Guests with limited mobility are encouraged to park in the Visitor Center lot and use the walkways Dogs: Leashed dogs are welcome; keep them off the monuments; not permitted at some large special events Parking: Paid parking via the Park Simple app at 342 Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. SE; street parking nearby |
| Atlanta Contemporary | Atlanta | Contemporary art center at 535 Means Street NW; the visit page heading reads Free Admission Every Day. | Cost: Free admission every day Hours: Thu 11am-8pm; Fri, Sat and Sun 11am-6pm; closed Mon-Wed |
| Atlanta Monetary Museum | Atlanta | Self-guided museum at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, 1000 Peachtree Street NE; the page states the museum is entirely free. | Cost: Free Hours: Self-guided 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET Monday-Friday; closed federal holidays Access: Visitors walk through a metal detector Kids: Self-guided visits are for groups under 10, no reservation; guided tours for school, business and community groups only |
| Centennial Olympic Park | Atlanta | Park at 265 Park Ave W NW with the Fountain of Rings, which runs daily at 12:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. | Hours: Daily 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Visitor Information Center 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Access: Guests with disabilities and assistive animals welcome Dogs: Pets must be leashed at all times; waste bag stations provided |
| Piedmont Park | Atlanta | Park managed by the Piedmont Park Conservancy with the City of Atlanta; garage at 1322 Monroe Drive. | Hours: 6am – 11pm Dogs: Pets on leash at all times except inside the designated dog parks Parking: Shared cashless SAGE garage with the Atlanta Botanical Garden; first 30 minutes are free (directions page) |
| Atlanta BeltLine trails | Atlanta | Loop of trails and parks the BeltLine site describes as nearly 17 miles of mainline trail plus 12 miles of connector trails. | Not published on the cited page |
| Historic Fourth Ward Park | Atlanta | 17-acre greenspace on the BeltLine corridor, per the BeltLine parks page. | Not published on the cited page |
| Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (fee-free days) | Sandy Springs | NPS park with 15 land units along the river that normally needs an entrance pass; free on the fee-free dates NPS lists. | Cost: Standard pass $5.00 per day; children under 16 do not need a pass; no cash accepted Season: 2026 fee-free dates listed: Feb 16, May 25, Jun 14, Jul 3-5, Aug 25, Sep 17, Oct 27, Nov 11 |
Parks That Charge
- Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park daily entrance fee is $5; the shuttle up the mountain is free but entrance fees still apply. (nps.gov)
- Atlanta History Center Buckhead campus is open Tuesday-Sunday 9am-4pm; its visit page lists no free admission. (atlantahistorycenter.com)
Map of Free Things in Atlanta
Not pinned (no confirmed location yet): Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park, Historic Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta BeltLine trails.
Keep Planning
- Free things to do in Georgia
- Things to do in Atlanta
- Rainy day things to do in Georgia
- Day trips from Atlanta
FAQ
Is Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park free?
Yes. NPS states there is no fee to enter the park. (nps.gov)
Is Oakland Cemetery free?
Yes, it is free to visit; tours and special events may need a ticket. (oaklandcemetery.com)
What We Could Not Confirm
- Piedmont Park, Centennial Olympic Park and BeltLine: fetched official pages give hours/rules but do not say admission is free; price left blank.
- Fernbank Science Center (fernbank.edu) refused connection; free-exhibit claim seen only in search summary, not included.
- Georgia State Capitol museum did not load; free tours not confirmed.
- Atlanta History Center ‘Museums on Us’ free weekend did not load; not confirmed.
- Carter Center/Library free admission not found on official pages.
- BeltLine trail hours, dogs, cost not stated on fetched pages (faq/visitor-information gave no detail).
- Counties left blank: not stated on the pages read.
- Item count 9 is below the 8-15 target ceiling only in free-confirmed items (4 confirmed free).
- Entries with no Cost line are public parks, streets or trails whose official page gives hours or rules but never states a price; we call them free only where the cited page or the city visitor bureau says so.
How we checked this guide: Dates, hours, admission and parking prices, and access details were verified against the official sources listed below on . Operators change schedules and raise prices without notice, so confirm anything time-sensitive before you drive. The figures in this guide also feed our Georgia Attraction Transparency Index and Family Day-Out Cost Index.
Sources
- NPS MLK fees
- Oakland Cemetery
- Atlanta Contemporary
- Atlanta Fed Monetary Museum
- Centennial Olympic Park
- Piedmont Park FAQ
- BeltLine
- NPS Chattahoochee fees
Hank Whitlock is the pen name of the It's Georgia editor. Every guide is built around the questions a busy family actually asks before a trip: how long is the drive, what does parking cost, can the stroller make it, are dogs allowed. Details are checked against official park, city, and venue sources, and each guide shows the date it was last updated.
More from Things to Do
Cite this page: It's Georgia, “Free Things to Do in Atlanta”, itsgeorgia.com/things-to-do/free-things-to-do-in-atlanta/ (updated ). Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page.