There's always a carnival atmosphere in Alpine Helen. I tip my Tyrolean hat to the city vaters who dreamed up this way to drive tourism to their moribund mill town! Something for everyone in all the little shops and restaurants!
Stop here first on your visit to Helen. This is a great spot to get all the information you need about your stay in Helen and surrounding area. The staff was helpful and friendly. If you want a small souvenir of Helen ( refrigerator magnet) get them here....much cheaper than the shops.
No free parking in city of Helen. If you want to walk around town and look inside shops then you must pay parking fees. Everywhere you go are signs saying no parking, keep out, or pay parking only. It is clear that the town wants the tourist money but doesn't want the tourist. Everything is over-priced and riding through town only takes five minutes. Unless you want beer, wine, a tattoo, or a leather jacket for motorcycle riding, I would recommend traveling somewhere else.
And the staff was friendly and helpful. Here you can find information about everything in the vicinity of Helen, GA. Also, nice restroom facilities available for travelers.
We stopped here as we entered Helen, Georgia. So glad we did. The sweet lady who helped us was, well......HELPFUL! And very friendly....souther hospitality at its finest. She answered all of our typical questions of what to see, what to do, etc. And added a few extra little tips in the mix for us. We were very pleased with our short time there.....short being very nice because it gave us time to get out and about. She would have happily spent more time with us had we not been anxious to see the town.
One stop here and you will have all the info on the surrounding area. very friendly staff and don't forget the waterfall/trail map.
Talk about friendly people. Always there to help you find what you are looking for, no matter what it is. They will point you in the right direction.
This is a themed shopping district in late december. There are street performers, fudge and candy shops, and lots of souvenir shops.It is a great little tourist town that looks like an Alpine Village. If you are in the area with 2 hours to kill this is a relaxing little village to do it in.
The whole town was a disappointment - definitely does not meet expectations of a bavarian mountain town - music was not bavarian or even Appalachian - shops sold too much stuff made in china - only 2 store had original German made items. Food was bad and prices much too high. Model railroad was expensive to see and dirty. We got the feeling that ths was a tourist trap and the vendors were charging high prices for little value. I understand the traffic but it was a long traffic wait for a disappointing experience. We visitied on day after Thanksgiving. I hope you can make changes as there is great potential value in this town - has definitely declined since our last visit 8 years ago.
Was not happy with the local bands playing load music on Main St. I was expecting more German polka music. Even if it was a recording. Maybe the month of October isn't the right time to go. Maybe more towards the opening of Oktoberfest in September would be best. Didn't like the appearance of the people doing the carriage rides. They looked like day labor very dirty and unkempt. So we passed on that. The Festhalle was fun out of all it. Might try again next Sept.