Swan House at Atlanta History Center — Attraction in Atlanta

One of the most stunning, yet underrated, destinations in Atlanta. The Swan House is nestled in the glorious greens of Buckhead, a paved walkway leading you there from the main Atlanta History Center building. (Don’t miss the gardens! A lovely pre cursor to this gorgeous sight.) When you arrive you’ll probably be looking at the back of it, but don’t be alarmed. The views from both back and front are absolutely breathtaking, transporting you back to the times of yesteryear. The house itself was exquisitely decorated, and you were able to get rather close to some artifacts. I went last year for my birthday in August, where they had a fascinating exhibit about the female interior designer of the house, which had me rapt in its detailed knowledge of her trailblazing life and relationship with the home. There was also another exhibit filled with porcelain that the owners collected. If you’re into entertaining or art at all, you’ll love this section. (It was a little drafty but that could have been when I went. This section was also very quiet, meaning you got the whole exhibit to yourself!) One minor thing (that could be on me) is that I wish there were tours of the home offered when I was present, but there very well could be and I could have just not seen them. However, the Swan House alone is worth $35, but seeming that it’s included with the rest of the museum (also lovely! The train section was cute), it’s an honest steal. If you love stunning architecture, Southern history (without some of the more painful details) and refined elegance, you’ll love...

We had an event at the coach house then came over to see the swan house briefly. We paid so much for our group to get in and the second we got in we were being rushed out and told to leave because there was a wedding. The lady selling the tickets never thought to say that so we wasted hundreds of dollars to be in there for literally 5 minutes. They also have a no photo policy and we were told it cost $750 if you want to take a photo which is absolutely insane. I get no professional photos on a camera but not even being able to take a photo of yourself on your phone is so beyond ridiculous. The lady who told us we could come in briefly was weird and said she would take one picture of us and used my camera but did not actually take a photo she just pretended to. And she acted like it was fine for us to be there then one second later was freaking out that we were in there and told us we needed to go. There was also some man who seemed to be event staff who was so rude and degrading from the beginning after we were told we could come in. He was borderline screaming at us. Such weird behavior from the staff and clearly seems like all this place cares about is money since it cost $750 to take a picture and they sold us tickets to come in knowing we would have to leave in 5 minutes and didn’t tell us that. Also don’t dress in anything nice. They will literally flag you down and think you are taking professional pics and they will...

I was very disappointed with their photography rules. When we first pulled up to make sure the Swan House was open, they told me I couldn't go in wearing a normal summer dress. I found this really crazy! Thankfully I had a change of clothes in the car, but this is ridiculous in my opinion. I have a mirrorless camera which I asked if it was ok for me to bring and take photos at the ticket booth. They told me it was fine as long as we were not doing photoshoots posing for 30 minutes and that "normal tourist" photos are fine. I saw a couple taking a photo in front of a vintage car. I decided to take on too, but and got called out by security, although it was fine for the other couple who also happened to be way more dressed up than me. Then after taking some videos on my cellphone, I was called out by security again. Nowhere did it say you can't take videos. I offered to show the security the photos and videos I took, but they declined. We were basically harassed because I had a nice camera which I would have left in the car if I knew it would have been such a problem. They said they don't want professional photography on the grounds unless you pay $500 per 2 hours (I think). So if you plan to take photos where you might want to be in them or have a nice camera - it might be a problem. To me, the 27$ per person was not worth it to be told I had to change and be followed...