Explore the real-world places that appear in Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include La Fin du Monde (The End of the World Restaurant), Buckhead Village, Jane and Dan's Suburban Home, Atlanta Public Library — Central Branch, A Capella Books and 8 more.
Buckhead or Midtown — The novel's central location
This is the centerpiece of the entire novel. Jane and Dan have scored coveted reservations here — one of Atlanta's most exclusive and expensive restaurants — and Jane has chosen this charged, romantic setting as the place to tell Dan she wants a divorce. Before the second course even arrives, an activist group storms the dining room and takes the guests hostage. In a stunning twist, nearly every detail of the chaotic, bumbling hostage situation mirrors Jane's failed debut novel almost scene for scene, giving Jane and Dan a terrifying but unique advantage: they know what happens next.
Upscale destination dining has flourished in Atlanta since the 1990s, when neighborhoods like Buckhead developed an international restaurant scene rivaling New York and Chicago. Celebrated Atlanta chefs have consistently drawn national attention, making the city a culinary hub of the American South.
Atlanta's fine dining scene is thriving, with Michelin-recognized restaurants appearing across Buckhead and Midtown. Multi-course tasting menu restaurants with theatrical atmospheres — similar to La Fin du Monde — have become popular dining experiences in the city.
Peachtree Road NE & East Paces Ferry Road — Atlanta's upscale dining district
Buckhead represents the social world Jane and Dan inhabit as an outwardly successful married couple. The neighborhood's expensive restaurants and bars are the kind of places where a couple like Jane and Dan would celebrate anniversaries and milestones — and also, apparently, announce a divorce. The choice of such a lavish venue for Jane's planned revelation underscores the irony and performance of their marriage.
Buckhead has been Atlanta's wealthiest enclave since the 1920s, when it developed as a suburban retreat for the city's elite. By the late 20th century it had transformed into a dense urban village packed with luxury retail, high-end restaurants, and nightlife.
Buckhead Village remains one of Atlanta's premier dining and entertainment districts, home to acclaimed restaurants, rooftop bars, and luxury hotels. It draws residents and visitors seeking upscale Southern cuisine and national celebrity chef concepts.
Visit: Buckhead Village District (landmark)
Atlanta suburbs — The family home Jane feels trapped in
Jane's home is the quiet backdrop to her growing despair. Her two teenagers barely need her anymore, her writing career has stalled completely, and she suspects Dan is cheating. The domestic routines of this house — the dinners, the school runs, the silences — have calcified into something Jane can no longer bear. It is from this house that Jane and Dan leave for their fateful dinner reservation, unaware the night will change everything.
Atlanta's surrounding suburbs exploded in population after World War II, driven by white flight, the rise of the automobile, and affordable land. Communities like Decatur, Sandy Springs, and Dunwoody became home to middle-class and upper-middle-class families seeking space and good schools.
Atlanta's inner suburbs remain densely populated family neighborhoods. Many feature historic bungalow homes alongside newer constructions, walkable town centers, and highly rated public schools, making them attractive to the kind of family Colleen Oakley depicts.
Carnegie Way NW, Downtown Atlanta — Jane's literary world
As an author whose debut novel sold fewer than five hundred copies, Jane's relationship with libraries is bittersweet — they represent both the literary world she aspired to join and the quiet obscurity she has instead found. Libraries also represent the kind of earnest readership Jane writes for, and the fact that her book exists somewhere on a shelf (however undiscovered) haunts her sense of self-worth throughout the novel.
The Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System's Central Branch opened in 1980, designed by Marcel Breuer in the Brutalist style. It replaced the original 1902 Carnegie Library and has served as the intellectual heart of downtown Atlanta for decades.
The Central Library is currently undergoing a major renovation project to modernize the Brutalist structure while preserving its architectural character. It remains a vital civic institution for Atlanta residents and hosts community events and literary programming.
Visit: Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System — Central Branch (library)
1133 Euclid Ave NE, Little Five Points — Atlanta's beloved independent bookstore
Independent bookstores like A Capella represent exactly the kind of venue where a debut novelist like Jane would have hoped to do a reading or see her book displayed face-out on a shelf. Jane's novel selling under five hundred copies means she likely never made it past a modest launch event, if that — a painful reality for any writer who pours years into a book only to watch it disappear. The bookstore world looms large in the background of Jane's literary identity crisis.
A Capella Books has been a cornerstone of Atlanta's independent literary scene since 1989, operating out of the eclectic Little Five Points neighborhood. It has championed local and Southern authors for decades and survived the consolidation of the bookselling industry.
A Capella Books continues to operate as one of Atlanta's most cherished independent bookstores, hosting author events, maintaining a curated selection of Southern literature, and serving as a community hub in the vibrant Little Five Points neighborhood.
Visit: A Capella Books (landmark)
400 Park Drive NE — Atlanta's central green space
Piedmont Park represents the Atlanta that Jane and Dan's teenagers inhabit — the city's public, communal, youthful energy that feels increasingly foreign to Jane as she retreats into her domestic unhappiness. The park also evokes the activist culture central to the novel's plot: the environmental or social justice group that storms La Fin du Monde would plausibly have roots in the kind of organized outdoor demonstrations and community gatherings that regularly happen in Atlanta's parks.
Piedmont Park has served as Atlanta's premier public park since the late 19th century, hosting the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition. It was redesigned and expanded over the decades and became the site of major concerts, festivals, and the Atlanta Pride parade.
Piedmont Park remains Atlanta's most beloved urban park, spanning 200 acres in the heart of Midtown. It hosts the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Music Midtown, and is a year-round gathering place for joggers, families, and community events.
Visit: Piedmont Park (park)
660 Peachtree Street NE, Midtown — Atlanta's grand entertainment landmark
The Fox Theatre represents the theatrical, heightened quality of the night Jane and Dan experience — their hostage crisis unfolds like a scene from a movie or a novel, full of dramatic reversals and unlikely heroism. Jane reflects throughout the ordeal on how surreal it feels, like watching herself perform in someone else's story. Atlanta's grandest stage is a fitting cultural parallel to the absurd drama she finds herself living.
The Fox Theatre opened in 1929 as a Moorish-Egyptian fantasy palace, originally designed as a Shriner's temple. It survived a demolition threat in the 1970s through a landmark preservation campaign and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Fox Theatre remains one of America's premier performance venues, hosting Broadway touring productions, concerts, and special events. It draws over 250,000 visitors annually and is a defining icon of Atlanta's cultural identity.
Visit: The Fox Theatre (theater)
Atlanta's first planned suburb — Activist and bohemian neighborhood
Inman Park's progressive, activist character makes it a plausible home base for the disorganized group of idealists who storm La Fin du Monde. The bumbling activists in Jane's novel-come-to-life are motivated by genuine grievances but are hilariously incompetent in their execution — exactly the kind of earnest but chaotic people who might organize in Atlanta's most politically engaged neighborhoods. Their mission echoes the environmental and social justice causes that animate communities like this one.
Inman Park was developed in 1890 as Atlanta's first planned residential suburb, designed by Joel Hurt with curvilinear streets and green spaces. After decades of decline, it was revitalized through grassroots preservation efforts in the 1970s, attracting artists and activists.
Inman Park is one of Atlanta's most desirable and lively neighborhoods, known for its Victorian architecture, independent restaurants, and the annual Inman Park Festival. It retains a progressive, community-oriented character that distinguishes it from wealthier Atlanta enclaves.
Visit: Inman Park Historic District (historic site)
201 Dowman Drive, Druid Hills — Atlanta's academic world
Emory's campus represents the literary and intellectual world adjacent to Jane's stalled writing career. As a novelist in Atlanta, Jane would likely have engaged with the city's MFA culture, author readings, and academic literary events — the kind that happen at universities like Emory. The campus also evokes the educated, idealistic world from which the activist group in her novel (and in the real hostage crisis) might have sprung.
Emory University was founded in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia, and relocated to Atlanta in 1915 thanks to a donation from Asa Candler of Coca-Cola. It has grown into one of the South's most prestigious research universities, with a nationally ranked creative writing program.
Emory University is home to approximately 15,000 students and is consistently ranked among the top 25 universities in the United States. Its Michael C. Carlos Museum, public lectures, and literary events make parts of the campus accessible to Atlanta residents.
Visit: Emory University (landmark)
225 Baker Street NW, Downtown — Where families go, and strangers become neighbors
The Georgia Aquarium represents the version of family life Jane and Dan performed for years — outings, togetherness, children marveling at whale sharks while parents smiled for photos and quietly drifted apart. Jane's teenagers no longer need these family excursions, and their absence from her daily life is precisely what has left her feeling untethered and purposeless, driving her to the decision she plans to announce at dinner.
The Georgia Aquarium opened in 2005 as a gift to the city from Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, who donated $250 million to build it. At its opening it was the largest aquarium in the world, housing more than 100,000 animals across 10 million gallons of water.
The Georgia Aquarium remains one of the largest aquariums in the world and is one of Atlanta's top tourist attractions, drawing 2 million visitors annually. It is home to whale sharks, beluga whales, manta rays, and hundreds of other species.
Visit: Georgia Aquarium (landmark)
224 Ponce de Leon Ave NE — Atlanta's most beloved Southern institution
Mary Mac's embodies the Atlanta that exists just below the surface of the novel — the warm, unpretentious, community-oriented South that contrasts sharply with the expensive theatricality of La Fin du Monde. Jane's decision to stage her marital crisis at the most exclusive restaurant in the city, rather than somewhere real and grounded, is itself a comment on how far she and Dan have drifted from authentic connection.
Mary Mac's Tea Room opened in 1945, one of sixteen 'tea rooms' established by women in Atlanta during the post-war era when social norms restricted women from opening bars. It has served fried chicken, cornbread, and sweet tea to Atlantans for over 75 years.
Mary Mac's Tea Room continues to operate as one of Atlanta's most cherished dining institutions, known for its Southern comfort food and warm hospitality. It was designated an Official Restaurant of the State of Georgia by the state legislature and remains a must-visit Atlanta landmark.
Visit: Mary Mac's Tea Room (restaurant)
Irwin Street to North Avenue — Atlanta's connective urban trail
The BeltLine represents the Atlanta that is constantly reinventing itself — much like Jane herself, who is trying to reclaim an identity beyond wife and mother. The trail connects neighborhoods and communities that would otherwise feel isolated, much as the shared crisis at La Fin du Monde forces Jane and Dan to reconnect. Walking the BeltLine is a fundamentally democratic Atlanta experience, one that brings together residents from every walk of life.
The Atlanta BeltLine project was conceived in 1999 by Georgia Tech graduate student Ryan Gravel as a transit and trails system built on 22 miles of historic railroad corridors encircling the city. The Eastside Trail opened in 2012 and became an immediate success, catalyzing development across adjacent neighborhoods.
The Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail is one of the most heavily used urban trails in the United States, stretching through Inman Park, Ponce City Market, and Old Fourth Ward. It connects parks, restaurants, art installations, and neighborhoods in a continuous public greenway.
Visit: Atlanta BeltLine Eastside Trail (park)
675 Ponce de Leon Ave NE — Atlanta's grand food and retail hall
Ponce City Market represents the kind of aspirational Atlanta consumer culture that surrounds Jane and Dan's marriage — beautiful, curated, full of abundance, and somehow still not enough. The market's rooftop amusement park and food hall are places couples go to feel alive and connected, which is precisely what Jane and Dan have stopped feeling. Their anniversary dinner at La Fin du Monde is a last-ditch attempt to recreate something that once existed between them.
The Ponce City Market building was constructed in 1926 as the Sears, Roebuck & Co. regional distribution and retail center, one of the largest buildings in the Southeast. It later served as Atlanta City Hall East before being redeveloped as a mixed-use market beginning in 2012.
Ponce City Market is one of Atlanta's most popular destinations, housing dozens of restaurants, boutique retail shops, a rooftop carnival called Skyline Park, and residential lofts. It anchors the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood and connects directly to the BeltLine Eastside Trail.
Visit: Ponce City Market (landmark)
More by Colleen Oakley: All Colleen Oakley books
Other nearby maps: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg locations map