Shopping, Dining, Entertainment at the Avalon

Nestled in a Northern suburb of Atlanta, Georgia….Alpharetta, is the Avalon.  This community consists of apartments, retail stores, offices, a movie theater, a hotel, and more.  It truly is a work, live, and play environment with similar ones popping up around metro Atlanta.  As an avid shopper and eater myself I thought I would review it so others can see what I find special about it.

Parking:

This is the one daunting thing about it.  There is parking scattered throughout the place but I usually head straight for the parking garage.  I’m not about to worry myself with parallel parking when I can just take my time in the garage.  If I need to drive to upper floors, there are elevators and it can get pretty crowded on weekends.

Living:

Like I said the Avalon consists of luxury apartment homes that are either separate from shopping or built on top of the stores.  It has a modern European feel to it that is vibrant.  However, it would be dangerous for me to ever live there as I would always be shopping and spending money downstairs.  On second thought, I’m probably exactly the person they want living there.

Shopping:

Ah now we’re getting to the good stuff!  There are over 100 shops.  As someone in a wheelchair the hardest part can be opening doors.  Some stores have very high and heavy doors.  I’m looking at you Anthropologie.  Nevertheless me and my wallet can always find a way in.

Dining:

One of my favorite restaurants here is Marlow’s Tavern where I’ve never had a bad meal.  It’s also centrally located right next to the theater.  For a good burger, I recommend Bocado Burger.  There’s indoor and outdoor dining.  The pizza at Anticos is quite good and you can get gelato next door.  These are just a few of the many dining option at Avalon.  As the saying goes, there is something for everyone.

During the warmer temperatures the area in front of the movie theater is a large turf space with tables and chairs.  In the winter it transforms into a beautiful ice skating rink.  The Avalon always has nice laid back music playing throughout adding to the fun vibe of the place.  It’s always taken on Disney-esque vibe to me in the sense that when I’m there I feel like I’m in a bubble.  This is fun place to spend an afternoon or evening, and gets my KDW (Katie’s DIScoverABLE World) stamp of approval!  Do you have a place like this near you?  Would you like to live in a place like this?