Lawrenceville, Georgia: A Ghostly Adventure

The Historic Gwinnett Courthouse

 I was invited by the Atlanta Metro Travel Association to join them and a few other amazing Atlanta bloggers and media experts in a two day mini tour of some of the cities outside the perimeter of the city of Atlanta. A taste of four communities that encompass Atlanta, all of which have something quite different to offer. I was excited to be included and check out some of the areas of Atlanta that I have heard about but have yet to experience first hand.

Ok, so you read about my tour of Alpharetta the other day. When we left off, I was freshly showered and ready to hit the streets again. We all jumped in our tour van and headed South East to the city of Lawrenceville. Lawrenceville is Georgia's oldest city in the Atlanta metro area and is the home to Gwinnett's Fallen Heroes Memorial and of course the amazing historic downtown district which was our playground for the evening.






Our first stop was the classic Italian restaurant Dominick's. When we first walked into Dominick's I immediately fell in love with the atmosphere. This was the kind of place that you felt at home and would be the perfect place for any occasion, from a first date to a private wedding reception. We ordered a family style Italian meal that could knock the socks off of anyone. We sampled the local favorites including the Spedini Bread and  Tira Mi Su. You really just can't beat the family recipes and fresh ingredients that have earned this local favorite the Zagat Award of Distinction multiple times. The staff was warm and friendly to boot! 


After we had stuffed ourselves silly on amazing Italian food, we headed back down the bustling downtown shopping district to Niko's Wine Corner for a wine tasting to take the edge off the day. Now, this location is not actually on the corner of anything. So, if you go looking and get confused, just know the name comes from the flagship store in Snellville. I asked, I know. 


Anyway, while sampling the selection of Farnese wines of Ortona, Province of Chieti, Abruzzi, Italy, we were able to look around the store and check out their selection of quality wines, exotic beers and superior organic products. Let me tell you something, this was a small store but they really did have everything. They say their mission is to provide the best selection of fine wines and to offer the most selection of wines by the glass and if they can't live up to that I don't see any reason why.


After we had sampled our little hearts out and let our bellies settle from our amazing dinner, we headed across the street to the beautiful Aurora Theatre. The Aurora Theatre is housed in a beautifully restored 100-year old former brick church and attracts over 30,000 patrons per year. With two stages, a main stage and a smaller studio stage, they bring to life intimate plays, renowned musicals, children’s playhouse programs, cabarets, comedy, and much more. It is a gorgeous building that oozes old world charm while still offering the cutting edge technology that makes modern theatre such a treat. 

After we had toured the Aurora, we were met by Madame Macabre, our guide for the infamous Lawrenceville Ghost Tour! Now, of course with Lawrenceville being the oldest city in the Atlanta metro area, you would expect to hear the locals talk here and there about ghosts and such but Lawrenceville has had several recent paranormal investigation teams come out and they have had some pretty spooky findings. This 90-minute scary stroll around the beautiful historic courthouse square and by storefronts restored to their turn-of-the-century charm, tours of some of Lawrenceville’s most interesting places and the stories behind its most bizarre events, hauntingly told with the charm and personality of a real Southern storyteller. Our storyteller lead us all around the Lawrenceville square, including the Old Jail, an eerie spot preserved from the 1800's and well known for haunted activity. The story of the jail is one that definitely had my goose bumps at full attention!


After our ghostly tour of Lawrenceville, we headed back to our American Girl rooms and crashed our tired little selves straight into our pink, comfy beds. The next morning we hit the streets and headed South. Stay tuned..

If you would like to read more about how to book your own adventure or get more information in general check these sites out:

Dominick's

Niko's Wine Corner- Lawrenceville


Niko's Wine Corner Wine Tasting

The Aurora Theatre


Lawrenceville Ghost Tours