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Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a unified city-county in Georgia, U.S., in the northeastern part of the state, at the intersection of U.S. Highways 29, 78, 129, and 441, and near the eastern terminus of Georgia 316. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial creation of Athens and its subsequent growth. In 1991, after a vote the preceding year, the original city abandoned its charter in order to form a unified government with Clarke County, referred to collectively as Athens-Clarke County. As of the 2000 census, the consolidated city-county (including all of Athens-Clarke County except Winterville and a part of Bogart) had a total population of 100,266. Athens-Clarke County is the principal city of, and is included in, the Athens-Clarke County, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a population of 187,405 as of the July 1, 2007 Census Bureau estimate.




Culture

Athens has a significant investment in culture, common in many college towns, that coexists with the university students in creating an art scene, music scene and intellectual environment. The city is home to numerous eclectic music venues, restaurants, bars, and coffee shops that cater to its creative climate.
The town is home to such notable features as the only remaining one of two double barrelled cannons produced during the American Civil War, the famous "Tree That Owns Itself"-which now is an offspring of the original tree, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, and the University of Georgia Campus Arboretum. Athens is also home to The Globe, a well-known bar voted by Esquire magazine as the third top bar in America in 2007. Athens was home to Network Translations, Inc., which produced the PIX firewall which was later purchased by Cisco Systems.
Athens also has a vibrant literary scene. The city is home to independent publisher Hill Street Press and well-known authors with previous or current residence in the city include Pulitzer Prize winners Deborah Blum and Edward Larson, as well as Judith Ortiz Cofer, Reginald McKnight and Coleman Barks.
Every spring Athens plays host to a number of bicycle races collectively known as the Twilight Series. The most popular of these is the Twilight Criterium. In addition to its yearly weekend of bike events, Athens has an active bicycle culture, easily observed the last Friday of each month at Courteous Mass (sponsored by BikeAthens) and Critical Mass (an independent gathering).
Source: Wikipedia