Memorial Day is Monday, May 26th, 2025, and if you don’t have plans yet, we’ve got the perfect way for you to celebrate and honor this holiday! According to a new study conducted by SIXT, Columbus, GA is the 2nd best city to celebrate Memorial Day!
Why is Columbus one of the best places to celebrate Memorial Day?
Memorial Day is a day for honoring fallen soldiers from the U.S.’s military. According to SIXT, here’s why Columbus, Georgia makes the top of the list for Memorial Day destinations:
Claiming the #2 spot as a top Memorial Day destination is Columbus, Georgia, which has been honoring the holiday for over 159 years. In 1866, the Ladies Memorial Association in Columbus began the tradition of decorating soldiers’ graves—an act widely recognized as the birthplace of Memorial Day. Today, visitors to Columbus can explore over 30 war memorials and monuments, as well as support 39 different veteran-owned businesses.
Columbus, GA ranks just below Richmond, Virginia, which takes the cake due to its whopping number of veteran-owned businesses (1771 to be exact!).
The top five destinations to celebrate and honor Memorial Day are:
- Richmond, Virginia
- Columbus, Georgia
- Chicago, Illinois
- Indianapolis, Indiana
- Wilmington, Delaware
How did SIXT find these stats?
Here’s how SIXT found the best places to go for Memorial Day in 2025:
Using Globe Aware’s Best Places to Visit in the US Over Memorial Day Weekend, we compiled a list of top destinations known for their intentional Memorial Day celebrations. From there, we analyzed data from the Historical Markers and War Memorials Database to determine how many war memorials exist in each town. We also used VeteranOwnedBusinesses.com to compile a list of veteran-owned businesses in each location. Finally, we ranked these destinations based on the historical significance of each celebration, the number of war monuments, and the number of veteran-owned businesses. Search data is accurate as of May 5th, 2025.
So celebrate Memorial Day this weekend at one of the best spots in the country, just a short drive from the ATL. You can learn more about Columbus, GA right here!