1. Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park
Named in honor of the nation’s only four-time President, Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park covers over 9,000 acres of land near Warm Springs, Georgia. Located less than 10 miles from Manchester, the park offers 140 campsites, as well as numerous picnic facilities and hiking trails. Warm Springs was a favorite retreat of the former president, who sought the therapeutic benefits of the local springs, whose waters are naturally heated to 90 degrees. The site is visited by over 100,000 people each year.
Callaway Gardens
Located in Pine Mountain, just 13 miles west of Manchester, Callaway Gardens offers a variety of sites and activities for all. Comprised of more than 13,000 acres, Callaway Gardens provides visitors with a beautiful environment that is great for the entire family. With a focus on educating people about plants and animals native to the region, the Discovery Center offers exhibits, a museum, Day Butterfly Center, and classrooms to educate visitors. Callaway also offers championship golf courses and a 325-room resort lodge. Callaway also offers visitors the opportunity to see world championship water skiing, steeplechase, and the ever-popular Fantasy in Lights. Featuring more than 8 million lights, Fantasy in Lights is open from mid-November through the end of December each year.
Columbus Museum
This museum is unique in the southeast for its focus on both American art and regional art. The museum features changing art exhibition, 300 years of American and fine and decorative art in 15 galleries and 2 permanent galleries: Chattahoochee Legacy (the history of the Chattahoochee Valley) and Transformations (a hands-on discovery gallery). There is also a café and a museum shop. The 86,000 square foot facility is the second largest art museum in Georgia.

2. Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center
This unique facility allows visitors to touch a turtle, measure a tree, see a beaver’s house or soar with a butterfly. It is a learning center where children and adults can see how the environment shapes our lives by focusing on the Chattahoochee River and adjacent wetlands.
National Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus
National Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus is the only museum dedicated to a comprehensive look at this fascinating aspect of the Civil War navies. The collection is anchored by two of the only four Civil War Navy vessels on public display: the ironclad ram, CSS Jackson, and the gunboat, CSS Chattahoochee. Along with the ships, Port Columbus contains a collection that features many of the most rare and significant Civil War navy artifacts in the world.
Coca-Cola Space Science Center
This attraction takes students, visitors, and corporate groups on simulated space missions with the Challenger Learning Center. The Omnisphere Theater, the showcase public portion of the center, is designed for laser light shows, interactive media performances and programs featuring the nighttime sky. The center also includes a Mead Observatory and a gift shop. It is also a venue for live theater productions, musical concerts and special events.
Springer Opera House
The State Theatre of Georgia and a leading Southern cultural institution for 131 years, today, the Springer is one of America’s most vibrant professional theatre companies. It is also the home of one of the nation’s finest training schools for young actors, the Springer Theatre Academy. In , the Springer received a comprehensive $12 million historic renovation. This preservation project included a complete re-equipping with state-of-the-art lighting, sound, rigging, rehearsal facilities and technical support equipment.

3. National Infantry Museum
This museum traces the evolution of the infantry from the 16th century to the present. It contains military artifacts, weapons and equipment used by the U.S. Army infantrymen and an exhibit on the history of Fort Benning. There is also a souvenir store, an audio-visual program, and the Airborne Gallery, a diorama of a paratrooper landing in enemy territory. The new $75 million National Infantry Museum opened in June The 150,000 square-foot museum tells the 231-year history of the Infantry.
Chattahoochee Riverwalk
The Riverwalk was begun along the Columbus, Georgia side of the Chattahoochee River which divides Georgia and Alabama. Phenix City, Alabama is constructing a similar walk along the west side of the river. The first phase of the now 16-mile Riverwalk was begun in the fall of 1989 and was dedicated on Columbus Day This area provides an excellent facility to bike, in-line skate, jog, or just take a leisurely stroll and enjoy the scenery. When completed the Riverwalk is designed to be 20 continuous miles from Lake Oliver Marina to the Fort Benning Infantry Museum.
RiverCenter for the Performing Arts
RiverCenter for the Performing Arts is located in the heart of historic Columbus, Georgia. The 246,000 square foot complex contains the 2,000-seat Bill Heard Theatre, the 450-seat Legacy Hall and the 220-seat Studio Theatre. The Columbus State University Schwob School of Music is located in the complex. A public-private partnership entitled The Columbus Challenge raised over $100 million to build RiverCenter and support other projects including renovations to The Springer Opera House and an expansion to the historic Liberty Theatre Cultural Center.
Providence Canyon
This canyon is a network of gorges in southwest Georgia created by the erosion of soft, multicolored soils. Often called “Georgia’s Little Grand Canyon.” The 1,109-acre park includes 16 canyons, some as deep as 150 feet. From the trail along the rim, several overlooks offer views of the canyon walls, in which 43 different colors of sand have been identified.