Tennessee Travel Guide
This relatively small landlocked state is bounded on the west by
the Mississippi River and on the east by the Appalachian Mountains,
and bordered in total by eight other states. It may have been the
combined cultural and historical mix infused from its many southern
neighbours that assisted Tennessee in becoming the central melting
pot of musical styles, eventually coalescing into modern country,
blues and rock 'n roll music, for which the state is now
world-renowned.Since the mid-1950s, Tennessee's main tourist attraction has
been the legendary King of Rock 'n Roll, Elvis Presley: he may have
died close on 30 years ago, but his soul goes marching on, drawing
thousands of fans to his former home in Memphis, the state's
largest city.The State capital, Nashville, has a musical heritage
second-to-none as well, being home to the Grand Ole Opry, the
worldwide Mecca of country music.Outside the main cities, long and lean Tennessee, which is only
480 miles (772km) long and 115 miles (185km) wide in total, offers
a surprising number of wilderness areas and natural attractions,
where the only music is the bubbling of mountain streams or the
call of birdsong. In the eastern part of the state, a series of
beautiful ridges and valleys rise up to the highest point of
Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which
Tennessee shares with North Carolina. The state is blessed
throughout with a vast system of reservoirs, which offer 29
appealing lakes, filled with fish and offering water sports
opportunities.The state also boasts some historic heritage trails, the main
one being the scenic 'Trail of Tears', starting just east of
Chattanooga in the south and stretching for 260 miles (418km)
through Tennessee before heading into Kentucky. Along this route
13,000 displaced Cherokee Indians were marched to Oklahoma.
Tennessee, which was the centre of the western theatre of the Civil
War and witnessed more battles than any other state except
Virginia, also preserves and maintains numerous war sites, like
Shiloh and Lookout Mountain.
Tennessee Travel Guide
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Time:
Eastern Tennessee: GMT -5 (GMT -4 from March to November);
Western Tennessee: GMT -6 (GMT -5 from March to November).
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Tennessee Travel Guide
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Description:
If you are a visitor to Nashville, chances are you are there
because you are a country music fan. That being the case the best
place to begin your visit is the not-to-be-missed Country Music
Hall of Fame and Museum in the Downtown entertainment district. The
main permanent exhibit, Sing Me Back Home, is a journey through the
history of country Music, drawing on the museum's rich collection
of historical costumes, memorabilia, instruments, photographs,
manuscripts and other objects. Live performances, interactive
exhibits, and lots of great music supplement these artefacts. Among
the exhibits are Elvis Presley's gold-leaf covered Cadillac, Emmy
Lou Harris' jewelled cowboy boots and Bob Dylan's autographed lyric
sheets. Live music is played in the atrium and digital film
presentations are offered in the theatre. Visitors can also watch
museum archivists and restoration experts at work, and study a vast
wall displaying chart-topping gold and platinum country
records.
Address:
222 Fifth Avenue South
Postcode:
Telephone:
(615) 416 2001
Email:
info@countrymusichalloffame.com
Website:
www.countrymusichalloffame.com
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Description:
This National Historic Landmark in downtown Nashville is
regarded as the founding home of country music, having been the
performance venue for the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. The
theatre was originally built in 1892 as a gospel tabernacle and
served as an evangelical meeting hall. A stage was built for the
Grand Ole Opry broadcasts and such great names as Sarah Bernhardt,
Patsy Cline and Elvis Presley trod the boards here in their time.
Today the Grand Ole Opry has moved on to a new theatre, but the
Ryman Auditorium has been restored and is still a popular
performance venue where concerts are held regularly. By day the
theatre acts as a museum, which visually portrays the stories of
its rich history with a series of displays and exhibits.
Address:
116 Fifth Avenue North
Postcode:
Telephone:
Box office: (615) 889 3060
Email:
rymanticketinfo@ryman.com
Website:
www.ryman.com
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Description:
The home of the world-famous country music show, the Grand Ole
Opry, is now in Opryland Drive in a vast 4,400 seat auditorium
which is part of the Opryland resort complex north of Nashville's
city centre. From here the world's longest running radio show is
still broadcast on the Nashville station WSM (650 on the AM dial),
featuring new stars, superstars and legends of country and
bluegrass music performing live on stage. No visit to Nashville is
complete without attending a show at the Grand Ole Opry, which has
been going strong on the airwaves since 1925.
Address:
2802 Opryland Drive, Opry Plaza
Postcode:
Telephone:
(615) 871 6779
Email:
Website:
www.opry.com
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Description:
One popular Nashville attraction that is not music-related is
the Belle Meade Plantation, known as 'the queen of Tennessee
plantations', boasting an 1853 Greek Revival mansion that has been
carefully restored to show its original elegance. The authentic
Civil War bullet holes that riddle its columns are still visible.
Among the outbuildings that survive on the 12-hectare (30-acre)
site is one of the oldest houses in Tennessee, a log cabin built in
1790. There is also a carriage house, visitor centre, tearoom and
gift shop. The Belle Meade estate was one of America's first and
finest thoroughbred breeding farms. Tours of the antebellum
furnished mansion and grounds are given by guides dressed in period
costume.
Address:
5025 Harding Road
Postcode:
Telephone:
(615) 356 0501
Email:
Website:
www.bellemeadeplantation.com
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Description:
The centrepiece of Nashville's Centennial Park is the world's
only full-scale replica of the Parthenon temple in Athens, Greece,
complete with a re-creation of the 42ft (13m) high statue of Athena
that stood outside the temple in ancient Greece. The Parthenon was
originally built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, it's
plaster decoration being direct casts of the Parthenon Marbles and
original sculptures which adorned the pediments of the Greek
Parthenon that was built in 438 BC. The building today serves as
Nashville's art museum, with a permanent collection that highlights
19th and 20th century American artists. A variety of temporary
shows and exhibitions are also presented.
Address:
Centennial Park, West End Avenue and 25th Avenue
Postcode:
Telephone:
(615) 862 8431
Email:
info@parthenon.org
Website:
www.parthenon.org
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Description:
The interesting Tennessee State Museum is one of the largest of
its kind in the nation with a huge array of permanent exhibits
telling the story of Tennessee, starting out 15,000 years ago in
prehistoric times and culminating in the early 20th century.
Prominent historic figures are highlighted, like former US
President Andrew Jackson, Daniel Boone and legendary frontiersman
Davy Crockett. Exhibits include displays of furniture, silverware,
weapons, uniforms, battle flags, quilts and artworks from the civil
war period. The museum also features reproductions of a
19th-century gristmill, and 18th-century print shop, a frontier
cabin, antebellum parlour and a Victorian painting gallery.
Address:
505 Deaderick Street
Postcode:
Telephone:
(615) 741 2692
Email:
Website:
www.tnmuseum.org
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Description:
East of Nashville on the border between Tennessee and North
Carolina lies the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, covering
more than one and a half million acres; the largest national park
in the eastern United States. The park is a designated
International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site drawing
millions of visitors every year to enjoy the panoramic views,
tumbling mountain streams, uninterrupted forest and historic
buildings it encompasses. The main route to the park is via
Knoxville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, all worth a visit in their
own right. Inside the park itself there are more than 270 miles
(435km) of road through the ancient mountains, which are home to a
variety of plant and animal life, many of the species unique and
rare. The park offers numerous outdoor recreational pursuits and
offers a glimpse into the lives of early southern Appalachian
farming families, boasting 77 historic structures like log cabins,
barns, churches and gristmills.
Address:
Postcode:
Telephone:
(865) 436 1200
Email:
Website:
www.nps.gov/grsm
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Description:
The fourth largest city in Tennessee, Chattanooga is near the
south-east border with Georgia, lies at the junction of four
interstate highways, is easily accessible and well worth a visit.
The city has brought about a renaissance in recent years,
redeveloping its riverfront and downtown area to offer an extensive
greenway system and river walk that takes strollers through the
historic art district and several beautiful parks. Main attractions
in the city for tourists are the Tennessee Aquarium, Civil War
battlefields, the African American Museum and a Creative Discovery
Museum. The main destination for visitors, though, is Lookout
Mountain, offering its historic Incline Railway, the steepest
passenger railway in the world that offers panoramic views of the
city and the Great Smoky Mountains 100 miles (161km) away. Lookout
Mountain is also home to The Battles for Chattanooga Museum, Ruby
Falls (a waterfall that plunges 145ft (44m) inside the mountain),
and Rick City Gardens from where it is possible to view seven
states on a clear day.
Address:
Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau: 2 Broad
Street
Postcode:
Telephone:
(423) 756 8687
Email:
Website:
www.chattanoogafun.com
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Description:
Memphis' biggest attraction is the second-most visited house in
the United States after the White House. The Graceland Mansion and
its attendant buildings and attractions were home to the 'King of
Rock 'n Roll', Elvis Presley, who died in 1977. Thousands of fans
of all ages still make pilgrimages here to tour the house, grounds
and visit his grave. Mansion tours are offered with audio players
describing the rooms and memorabilia. Also open for viewing is the
Elvis Presley Automobile Museum housing the star's renowned 1955
pink Cadillac, a collection of Elvis' personal belongings, and a
re-creation of an airport terminal where the singer's two private
jets are on display. As of March 2006, Graceland joins the White
House, Mount Vernon and Monticello as a National Historic Landmark,
the USA's highest designation for historic properties, usually
accorded to the homes of American presidents. Long live the
King.
Address:
Elvis Presley Boulevard
Postcode:
Telephone:
Reservations office: (901) 332 3322
Email:
glsales@elvis.com
Website:
www.elvis.com
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Description:
Visitors who come to Memphis to pay homage to Elvis Presley
inevitably are also keen to visit the legendary recording studio in
Union Avenue where the King of rock 'n roll's career, and that of
numerous other stars, began. The story is that Elvis first walked
into the Sun Studio in the early 1950s to record a song as a
birthday present for his mother. The rest is musical history, now
enshrined in the studio that also launched the likes of Johnny
Cash, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis on the road to stardom.
Visitors to the studio can hear outtakes from recording sessions,
touch Elvis' first microphone, view a great deal of memorabilia and
listen to anecdotes. Alongside the studio is the Sun Studio Café, a
diner that retains its 1950s style and is still a favourite
musician's hangout.
Address:
706 Union Avenue
Postcode:
Telephone:
(901) 521 0664
Email:
info@sunstudio.com
Website:
www.sunstudio.com
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Description:
A collection of rare recordings, vintage films and musician
interviews along with photographs, and interactive exhibits makes
up the 'Social Crossroads' exhibition put together by the
Smithsonian Institution. The exhibition fills seven galleries and
covers the development of American popular music over the past
century, from gospel to blues and rock, with exhibits such as
costumes and guitars from performers like Elvis Presley, Ike
Turner's piano and B.B. King's 'Lucille' guitar. An audio guide is
available and takes visitors on a tour of the music that was the
biggest influence on culture and lifestyle in the 20th century.
Address:
FedEx Forum Plaza, 191 Beale Street
Postcode:
Telephone:
(901) 205 2533
Email:
info@memphisrocknsoul.org
Website:
www.memphisrocknsoul.org
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Description:
The Pink Palace, a soubriquet bestowed on this elaborate pink
marble Memphis mansion by the locals, was intended to be a luxury
home for the founder of the Piggy Wiggly chain of supermarkets,
Clarence Saunders, when he began building it back in the 1920s.
Before the ostentatious mansion that dominates Central Avenue was
completed Saunders declared bankruptcy, and the homestead ended up
in the hands of the city of Memphis for use as a museum. The Pink
Palace Museum is devoted to culture and natural history, it's
origins preserved in the form of a replica of the first
self-service grocery store in the country, Saunders' Piggly Wiggly.
Visitors can also explore dioramas, exhibits and audio-visual
displays that trace Memphis' development from the arrival of the
Spanish explorers through the Civil War and yellow fever epidemics.
Dinosaurs and fossils also feature, as does an excellent
medical-history section. The museum includes a planetarium and an
Imax theatre.
Address:
3050 Central Avenue
Postcode:
Telephone:
(901) 320 6320
Email:
more_info@memphismuseums.org
Website:
www.memphismuseums.org
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Description:
Mud Island in the Mississippi River offers a fascinating insight
into the famous river with a series of fun and informative
attractions. The island emerged in the river in 1900 and was turned
into a 52-acre park. Main attractions on the island are the
Mississippi River Museum, an amphitheatre where touring acts
perform during summer, a huge swimming pool and a display of the
Memphis Belle, a famous B-17 bomber from World War II. The
highlight of a visit to Mud Island, however, is the unique and
fascinating River Walk, a scaled down replica of the lower
Mississippi River from Cairo, Illinois to New Orleans in Louisiana.
The River walk is five blocks long and represents a journey of
1,000 miles (1,609km).
Address:
125 North Front Street
Postcode:
Telephone:
(901) 576 7241
Email:
Website:
www.mudisland.com
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Description:
The Memphis Botanic Gardens are a sensory delight through which
to stroll at any time of year. The 96-acre site at Audubon Park, in
the east of the city comprises 22 formal gardens each focussing on
a theme or species, ranging from a tranquil Japanese garden to the
magnificent Municipal Rose Garden, an organic vegetable garden and
a tropical conservatory. Highlights are the Ketchum Memorial Iris
Garden, at its best in April and May, and a Sensory Garden designed
to be enjoyed by the disabled.
Address:
750 Cherry Road
Postcode:
Telephone:
(901) 576 4100
Email:
Website:
www.memphisbotanicgarden.com
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Description:
Stax Records was not only the most successful soul music studio
in history - recording the likes of Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, and
The Staple Singers - but also a cultural phenomenon, that furthered
the ends of social integration at a time when segregation was still
a grim reality in the USA. Although Stax Records was forced into
involuntary bankruptcy at the end of 1975, its legacy lives on, in
the form of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Located at the
original site of Stax Records, the museum pays tribute to all of
the artists who recorded there, with a rare and astonishing
collection of more than two thousand interactive exhibits, films,
artefacts, items of memorabilia, and galleries.
Address:
926 East McLemore Avenue, Memphis
Postcode:
Telephone:
(901) 946 2535
Email:
Website:
www.soulsvilleusa.com
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Description:
The third-largest city in Tennessee, Knoxville - although not as
illustrious as Memphis or Nashville - is well worth a visit.
Serving as Tennessee's capital from its admission into the Union in
1796 until 1817, early reports of Knoxville described it as an
"alternately quiet and rowdy river town." Modern-day visitors to
Knoxville - just three hours east of Nashville on Interstate 40 -
have plenty of attractions to choose from. The Great Smoky
Mountains National Park is a stone's throw away, while downtown
Knoxville - the venue for the 1982 World's Fair, which brought 11
million visitors to this compelling city on the banks of the
Tennessee River - boasts the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, and
the historic Tennessee Theatre. Knoxville is also home to the
University of Tennessee: if at all possible, try get a ticket to a
UT Vols football game. Their fanatical, orange-clad supporters are
a sight to behold on game-days; filling the 100,000-seat Neyland
Stadium with ease, and raising a cacophony that can be heard right
around the city. The downtown area known as the Jackson Avenue
Warehouse District - immortalised by Cormac McCarthy's sprawling
novel
Suttree- is an invigorating place to walk around, full of
soot-blackened buildings, jazz bars, and funky home-style
restaurants.
Address:
Visitor's Centre: 301 South Gay Street,
Knoxville
Postcode:
Telephone:
Visitor's Centre: (865) 523-7263
Email:
Website:
www.ci.knoxville.tn.us
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