Are you a relic hunter? Do you like aged collectibles? If so, then Georgia’s Antiques Trail, a loop through 16 picturesque communities in Georgia’s Historic Heartland, is the journey for you.

Leaving the hustle of Atlanta, travel east to Athens and the easy pace of an antebellum college town. Here, eclectic shops and beautiful galleries rub elbows with one of the nation’s hottest live music scenes. Just down the road, Colonial Watkinsville’s historic architecture and antiques shops share top billing with a thriving artists colony and evening Concerts on the Lawn at the charming Ashford Manor Bed & Breakfast Inn.

Madison, the town that General Sherman refused to burn, is on fire today as Travel Holiday magazine’s #1 Small Town in America with dozens of shops, antebellum mansions and a holiday Tour of Homes known worldwide. Speaking of homes, while shopping in Macon, be sure to take a historical Around Town Tour of magnificent antebellum homes to get ideas for coordinating your newfound antique treasures back at home.

The southern end of your loop dips into Georgia’s peach country, where you can mix up your decorating taste with your taste buds while you enjoy ice cream in an old fashioned front porch rocker at Lane Southern Orchards in Fort Valley or wind your way through 200 booths at Byron’s Big Peach Antiques Mall.

Heading back toward Atlanta, keep an eye out for celebrities as you shop your way through Monroe County and Juliette, where the movie Fried Green Tomatoes was filmed; Eatonton, seen in My Cousin Vinny and Coward of the County; and Covington, also known as the fictional town of Sparta on television’s long-running Heat of the Night series. As you can see, Georgia’s Antiques Trail offers so much more than just great shopping. It’s an experience!