Chattanooga
Just ten minutes from downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, rising along the upper rim of the city, Lookout Mountain is rich in both Civil War history and…
Must-see attractions in Tennessee
Chattanooga
Myriad songbirds of the avian variety call Tennessee home, but Chattanooga's newly revamped Songbirds – an innovative interactive learning space devoted…
Chattanooga
Situated on the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga, TN, the Tennessee Aquarium is home to 10,000 animals. The aquarium, Chattanooga’s most visited…
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Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
Chattanooga
A 317-acre green oasis just 15 minutes from downtown Chattanooga, Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center pairs outdoor recreation with botanical and…
Nashville
One of Music Row's most historic studios, this is where Elvis, the Everly Brothers and Dolly Parton all recorded numerous hits. The latter did a little…
Memphis
If you only make one stop in Memphis, it should be here: the sublimely kitschy, gloriously bizarre home of the King of Rock and Roll. Though born in…
Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art
Nashville
Cheekwood is a botanical garden with an arty inclination, just southwest of downtown Nashville. The numerous gardens combine themes (Japanese, water,…
Memphis
This dusty storefront is ground zero for American rock and roll. Starting in the early 1950s, Sun's Sam Phillips recorded blues artists such as Howlin'…
Memphis
Housed partly inside the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, is the gut-wrenching National Civil Rights Museum…
Nashville
A beautiful day trip or extended road trip from Nashville, the Natchez Trace Parkway runs for 444 miles through three states until reaching its eponymous…
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
Memphis
Wanna get funky? Head directly to Soulsville, USA, where this 17,000-sq-ft museum sits on the site of the old Stax recording studio. This venerable spot…
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National Museum of African American Music
Nashville
The National Museum of African American Music tells the story of the impact that African American culture has had on music around the world, from gospel to…
Memphis
It was a long time coming, but Memphis finally has a shrine to its own. This small but well-done museum, the sister gallery to the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul…
Nashville
The Harding-Jackson family purchased enslaved people to build a cotton gin, gristmill and sawmill along the Natchez road in the early 1800s. These…
Nashville
Opened in 1927 and named after two local park commissioners, Percy (the larger) and Edwin (the smaller) Warner Parks are where Nashvillians come to enjoy…
Nashville
The former home of seventh president Andrew Jackson lies 15 miles east of downtown. The sprawling, well-kept grounds of this 1150-acre site offer a peek…
Chattanooga
Tucked between the Tennessee Aquarium and the Tennessee River, the patch of greenery known as Ross's Landing marks the starting point of the Trail of…
Memphis
Don't laugh, but the most striking building in Memphis, a 32-story pyramid completed in 1991, is now home to an enormous Bass Pro Shop. Even if you don't…
Nashville
Mammals chill out along the grassy Savannah Loop and the bamboo-filled Jungle Loop, and amphibians get their own special house. We're partial to the…
Memphis
Dedicated to Blues Hall of Fame inductees, this intimate and well-done space features a rotating art gallery on the lobby level and a small but well…
Nashville
It's hard to imagine that this beautiful lake is artificial, but so it is, built by a railway company in 1914 and handed over to public use in 1973. These…
Nashville
This unassuming modern brick building seats 4400 for the Grand Ole Opry multiple times per week. Daytime backstage guided tours are offered every 15…
Nashville
For a photogenic view of this graceful double-arch bridge, pull into the Birdsong Hollow overlook, about 4 miles south of the northern terminus of the…
Chattanooga
Set high on the river bluffs, this striking edifice of melted steel and glass – fronted by an early-20th-century mansion – is easily the most singular…
Nashville
Built in 1897 to celebrate the state of Tennessee's centenary, Nashville's Parthenon is a full-scale replica of the Ancient Greece original, with a jaw…
Memphis
On Sunday, put on your 'smell goods' and head to services in South Memphis, where soul-music legend turned reverend Al Green presides over a powerful…
Memphis
A small peninsula jutting into the Mississippi, Mud Island is downtown Memphis' best-loved green space. Walk across the bridge to the park, where you can…
Chattanooga
A 13-mile, multiuse paved greenway on the south side of the Tennessee River, the Riverwalk runs from downtown through Amnicola Marsh and along South…
Memphis
At this well-regarded art museum on Overton Park's western fringe, the excellent permanent collection encompasses everything from Renaissance sculpture to…
Memphis
This Smithsonian museum, next to FedEx Forum, examines how African American and white music mingled in the Mississippi Delta to create the modern rock and…
Memphis
A historic band shell and the site of Elvis' first concert in 1954. Today the mod-looking white shell hosts free concerts in summer and fall.
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Tennessee
This vast park is located just north of the Mississippi border near the town of Crump, TN, and is best seen by car. Sights include the Shiloh National…
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Chattanooga
Finished in 1891, this half-mile span carried vehicles from downtown to the North Shore until 1978, when it was closed for safety reasons. In 1993 it was…
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Tennessee
The irony of the Jack Daniel's Distillery being in a 'dry county' is lost on no one – local liquor laws dictate that no hard stuff can be sold within…
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Nashville
The centerpiece of this museum is the 75ft-high Adventure Tower, a multi-floor pyramid loaded with interactive features covering music, health and energy…
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Tina Turner Museum & West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center
Tennessee
Born Annie Mae Bullock, rock-n-roll superstar Tina Turner grew up in the West Tennessee town of Nutbush. She later performed with, and eventually married,…
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Nashville
Don't be surprised if your tour guide strums an original song on his or her guitar while you explore Fontanel Mansion, the former home of country-music…
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Stones River National Battlefield Park
Tennessee
The stillness is eerie at the Slaughter Pen, a cedar-dotted grove of limestone boulders where Union soldiers were penned in and gunned down by Confederate…
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Nashville
In 1862 Union forces captured Nashville, an important transportation hub linking rivers, turnpikes and railroads, and built this fort using a conscripted…
