Tennessee Travel Guide


The latest travel Information on Tennessee, includes ideas on Things to See and Do, Local Events, Consulate & Embassy Contact Addresses and much more, all from a first-time visitors point of view.

Tennessee Information

Overview

Located in the southeast region of the USA, Tennessee is unique in that it shares a border with eight states. Tennessee has always been a melting pot of musical styles. From the eastern mountains came Appalachian folk songs and bluegrass, while country music flowered in Nashville. Gospel, blues, rockabilly, and ultimately, rock ’n’ roll, all stemmed from the Mississippi belt.

Nashville is a major music performance and recording centre and also boasts a host of fine colleges and churches. To the southwest is Memphis, home of the blues and the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll, near the Mississippi border. Tennessee’s largest city and a major trading centre, Memphis is known chiefly for being the location of Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley.

Over on the southeastern side of the state, perched next to the Tennessee River, is Chattanooga. This bustling city, with its train, was made famous by Glenn Miller’s song ‘Chattanooga Choo Choo.’

More than half of Tennessee is forested, and great tracts have been set aside as state and national parks, forests, wilderness areas and game preserves. Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are the starting points for trips into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.


Top Things To See

Enjoy the bald eagles at Reelfoot Lake (website: www.reelfootlake.com), the recreational opportunities of Kentucky Lake (website: www.kentuckylake.org), or the quiet, sombre atmosphere of the battlefields at Shiloh National Military Park (website: www.nps.gov/shil).

Visit the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville. It showcases the region’s heritage and provides a good introduction to the area. Its five major exhibitions include the Tennessee Room, which highlights West Tennessee towns and attractions, the West Tennessee Music Museum, the Scenic Hatchie River Museum, the Cotton Museum, and Sleepy John Estes’ House, a tribute to this big man of the blues.

Pay respect to the King –Elvis Presley. His beloved Memphis home, Graceland (website: 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.

Encounter Memphis’ legendary past as a Delta city and a civil rights centre. It was at the Lorraine Motel at 450 Mulberry Street that Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated. The National Civil Rights Museum housed at the site is an effective reminder of the courage of thousands of African-Americans.

Tour the Carter House (website: www.state.tn.us/environment/hist/stateown/carterho.php) in Franklin. The bullet-pocked walls bear witness to one of the deadliest battles of the American Civil War.

Experience the military history as well as the macabre on the Tennessee Antebellum Trail (website: www.state.tn.us/environment/hist/PathDivided/heritagemap.php). Daily tours to seven historic sites are offered, including the blood-stained floors of Carnton Mansion (website: www.carnton.org), where, after the battle at Franklin, the bodies of five Confederate generals once lay. Starting in Nashville, this 145km- (90-mile-) loop drive also takes in the Rippavilla Plantation (website: www.rippavilla.org), dating from 1852, where the five generals ate their last breakfast.

View the magnificent arched ceiling of stained glass in the Union Station Hotel (website: www.wyndham.com/hotels/BNAUS/main.wnt) at 1001 Broadway, Nashville.

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.

Tour the Hermitage (website: www.thehermitage.com), President Andrew Jackson’s manor house, 19km (12 miles) from downtown Nashville. Admission includes a visit to nearby Tulip Grove Mansion.

Visit the Bicentennial Mall State Park (website: www.state.tn.us/environment/parks/parks/Bicentennial) which was built in Nashville to honour the state’s founding in 1776.

Explore the Rock City Gardens (website: www.seerockcity.com) in Chattanooga. The subterranean black-lit gnome dioramas and Mother Goose theme areas are constructed around several interesting rock formations.

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

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

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

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

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.


Top Things To Do

See where critics claim that the blues were born, on Beale Street (website: www.bealestreet.com) in Memphis. A legendary piece published by the ‘Father of the Blues,’ W C Handy, in 1912, successfully proclaimed its power and authenticity. Beale Street includes 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.

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

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 (website: www.gaylordhotels.com/gaylordopryland).

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

Hear good ole country music at the Grand Ole Opry (website: 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.

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

Ride the Incline, also 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 (website: www.lookoutmountain.com).

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.

Take a trip to Gatlinburg (website: 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.

Experience the Great Smoky Mountains (website: www.nps.gov/grsm). 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. Conifer forests are to be found at elevations of more than 1,800m (6,000ft). The mountains are beautiful in all seasons, but perhaps the best time to see them is in October when they are showered in colour. The park has three visitor centres, Cades Cove, Oconaluftee Visitor Centre and Sugarlands. There are also 10 campgrounds, each with tent sites, trailer space, water and tables. There are over 1,400km (900 miles) of hiking trails and 270km (170 miles) of road throughout the park. Rangers at the visitor centres can assist with trip planning.

Spend the day at Dollywood (website: www.dollywood.com). 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.

Stay in Pigeon Forge (website: 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.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.


Going Out

Food and Drink

Regional specialities:
• Barbecue.
• Country ham.
• Blackberry cobbler.

Nightlife

In Nashville, good venues for live music include Caffé Milano (jazz, bluegrass and rock), Henry’s Coffee House, with acoustic performances, and Canyon Country Saloon, which features up-and-coming artists. Lucy’s Record Shop sells music during the day, but on Friday and Saturday hosts the latest alternative performers, and the funky Radio Cafe, an old pharmacy, features national artists playing blues, country, jazz and rock. The Nashville Scene or the Tennessean newspapers list all live music events. Memphis has many nightclubs along Beale Street.

Shopping

Pigeon Forge is known for its many major outlet malls. Opry Mills is a shopping and entertainment resort covering more than 304 hectares (750 acres) on the site of former Opryland USA.


Climate

Tennessee has a generally mild climate year round, but still enjoys four distinct seasons. The average high temperature in winter is 9.4°C (49°F) and the average low is -1°C (30°F). In the summer, the average high temperature is 31.7°C (89°F) and the average low is 19.4°C (67°F). The average annual rainfall in Tennessee is 1,247mm (49.7in).

Required Clothing

Cottons and linens for the summer months and more substantial clothing for the winter.


Contact Addresses

Tennessee Department of Tourism Development

312 8th Avenue North, 25th Floor, Nashville, TN 37243, USA
Tel: (615) 741 2159.
Website: www.tnvacation.com or www.tntourism.com

Tennessee Tourism in the UK

Lofthouse Enterprises, Woodlands Park Street, Hitchin, Herts SG4 9AH, UK
Tel: (01293) 560848.
Website: www.deep-south-usa.com




Disclaimer
We've tried to make the information on this page as accurate as possible, but it is provided 'as is' and we accept no responsibility for any loss, injury or inconvenience sustained by anyone resulting from this information. You should verify critical information with the relevant authorities before you travel.