Tennessee Travel Guide

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Top Things to See

Beale Street
See where critics claim that the blues were born, on Beale Street (www.bealestreet.com) in Memphis. Find restaurants, gift shops, boutiques, parks and nightclubs, as well as the Beale Street Police Museum and A Schwab’s Dry Goods Store, a small department store which has been in the same family since 1876 and still offers old-fashioned bargains.

Nashville
Head to 'Music City USA' – Nashville. The center of Nashville’s music industry is Music Row, around Division and Demonbreun streets. Spanning an entire city block, the Country Music Hall of Fame (www.countrymusichalloffame.com) is located in the revitalized entertainment district of central Nashville.

The Delta
Journey on The Delta, an indoor, quarter-mile river, complete with four 25-passenger flatboats featured inside Nashville's award-winning Opryland Hotel and Convention Center.

Jack Daniel Distillery
View the process of bourbon-making at the famous Jack Daniel Distillery (www.jackdaniels.com), 120km (75 miles) southeast of Nashville. Much insight into Mister Jack’s famous distilling process is offered during the daily guided tours.

Grand Ole Opry
Hear good ole country music at the Grand Ole Opry (www.opry.com) in Nashville. The opry is the setting for the nation’s longest-running live radio show, which moved here in 1976 (the original setting, Ryman, has been renovated and is also open to the public) and is the place to hear country music on Friday and Saturday nights.

Gatlinburg
Take a trip to Gatlinburg (www.gatlinburg.com). At the base of the Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg offers miniature golf courses, haunted houses, restaurants, the Ripley's Aquarium, and more.

Dollywood
Die-hard country fans will want to visit this all-American attraction in the Tennessee hills, created by the Queen of Country herself – Dolly Parton. The park’s newest attraction is Timber Tower, the first and only ride of its kind in North America.

Pigeon Forge
Stay in Pigeon Forge (www.mypigeonforge.com). In addition to Dollywood, miniature raceways, arcades, Boyds Bear Country (where you can make your own bear), major shopping outlet malls and more are available. The city celebrates the culture of the East Tennessee mountains and you will find craftspeople demonstrating their skills and selling their wares.

Ruby Falls
Experience Chattanooga's Ruby Falls (www.rubyfalls.com), a spectacular 44m- (145ft-) high underground waterfall which flows 341m (1120ft) below the surface of Lookout Mountain.

Blount Mansion
Visit the Blount Mansion (www.blountmansion.org) in Knoxville, the 1792 frame house of Governor William Blount. The mansion is a National Historic Landmark.

James White's Fort
Walk through James White's Fort (www.discoveret.org/jwf). The fort still exhibits portions of the original stockade built in 1786 by Knoxville’s founder.

Cumberland Plateau
Visit the ancient Cumberland Plateau, which forms a natural boundary between Middle and East Tennessee. Waterfalls, deep river canyons, parks and resorts characterize this historic region.

Top Things to Do

Ride the Incline
Ride the Incline in Chattanooga, which propels its passengers up a stomach-churning gradient of 72.7° – the world’s record-holding, steepest passenger railway. The journey is worthwhile, especially on a clear day, when the territories of seven states are visible from Lookout Mountain (www.lookoutmountain.com).

Spot marine life
View denizens of the deep at the Tennessee Aquarium (www.tennis.org) in Chattanooga. The aquarium houses one of the world’s largest collections of freshwater marine life.

Taste Appalachia
Try the authentic tastes of Appalachia at the Farmer’s Market, 24km (15 miles) from downtown Knoxville. The pavilion sells local produce, plants, jams, jellies, arts and crafts.

Explore the Great Smoky Mountains
The largest wilderness area in the USA, this national park extends over half a million acres of the Appalachian Mountains, bordered by North Carolina and the Tennessee valleys. The park is home to bears, white-tailed deer, wild turkeys and more than 1,500 species of flowering plants. The mountains are beautiful in all seasons, but perhaps the best time to see them is in October when they are showered in color.

Pay your respects to the King
Elvis Presley’s beloved Memphis home, Graceland (www.elvis.com/graceland), is a Mecca to the pilgrims of rock ’n’ roll. The impressive Trophy Room effectively documents his impact on the music industry as a singer and entertainer.

Get cultural
Explore the many galleries and museums which reflect Tennessee’s Antebellum and plantation history, including the Carl Van Vechten Gallery in Nashville, which exhibits collections by Cézanne, Picasso and Renoir as well as displays of work by Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Steiglitz.

Go wild
Enjoy the bald eagles at Reelfoot Lake (www.reelfootlake.com), the recreational opportunities of Kentucky Lake (www.kentuckylake.org), or the quiet, sombre atmosphere of the battlefields at Shiloh National Military Park (www.nps.gov/shil). Explore the Rock City Gardens (www.seerockcity.com) in Chattanooga. The subterranean black-lit gnome dioramas and Mother Goose theme areas are constructed around several interesting rock formations.