129 Best Sights in Tennessee, USA

Yes, this is a space designed with kids in mind, but there are also several elements that adults can enjoy, such as virtual reality stations, planetarium and laser shows, and the Blue Max flight simulator. Popular “Way Late Play Dates” are after-hours events exclusively for adults 21 and older and features themes like Harry Potter and Star Wars versus Star Trek. The Adventure Science Center sits on a bluff making it a great spot to watch Nashville’s Fourth of July fireworks during the center’s annual “Red, White & BOOM!” event.

Of the three attractions that whisk visitors to the top of nearby mountains from downtown (Ober Mountain and SkyLift Park are the others), Anakeesta is the flashiest and most polished. Choose between an enclosed gondola and a chairlift for the 600-foot elevation gain, arriving at a ridgetop village featuring 16 hanging bridges, two mountain coasters, dueling zip lines, and an observation tower at the summit. There are elaborate rope-bridge-and-tree-house play areas for kids, a pleasant garden, and three restaurants, including Smokehouse, on an outside porch with million-dollar views of the mountains, and Cliff Top, which serves entrées like a rib-eye steak and soy-ginger trout.  A 2023 addition, Astra Lumina, is a stunningly beautiful nighttime walk through a synchronized light show and soundscape.

Chimneys, just off Newfound Gap Road and a little more than 6 miles from the Sugarlands Visitor Center, may be the most loved picnic area in the park. Along both sides of a well-shaded loop road through the area are 68 picnic tables with grills. Some are wheelchair accessible. The prime spots along the wadeable stream that runs through the site fill up first. Huge boulders in the stream make for a striking view from your table. Potable water and flush toilets are available, but there is no group pavilion.

If you spent a quarter century traveling the world to collect Christmas ornaments and decorations, you'd have what you'll find in this four-store village. This is the go-to shopping destination for anything and everything that concerns the happy holiday, including personalized ornaments, novelty and designer lights, and a sleigh-load of ideas from looking at the dozens of designer-decorated trees. If you shop until you drop, you can cross the street to spend the night at the Inn at Christmas Place, where—you guessed it—the hotel maintains its Christmas sights and sounds all year long.

This tribute to country music's finest is a full city block long, filled with plaques and exhibits highlighting performers from the old-time favorites to the latest generation of stars, a two-story wall with gold and platinum country records, a theater, and Elvis Presley's solid-gold 1960 Cadillac limo. Tours of the historic RCA Studio B recording studio are also run by the museum. Their extensive collection of memorabilia and rotating exhibits make this an essential stop for any music fan or history buff.

More than three million visitors a year walk through the gates of Dollywood, Tennessee's most popular attraction. The 150-acre theme park includes roller coasters, thrill rides, a steam locomotive, and live concerts at the Back Porch Theater. A $37-million expansion, Wildwood Grove, includes two new coasters: Dragonflier, a suspended family coaster, and Big Bear Mountain, which debuted in 2023 as the park's longest coaster. There are also craft displays, lots of mountain music, and a replica of Dolly's "Tennessee Mountain Home."

Wheelchairs and electric convenience vehicles are available to rent—reserve online 48 hours in advance.

Nashville has a unique and active arts community, and the city's main art museum reflects that. Instead of focusing on a beefy permanent collection like Atlanta's High Museum, the Frist, which opened in 2001, aims to expose the city's inhabitants and visitors to as many different and disparate artists, mediums, and movements as possible, with multiple rotating exhibitions. Depending on when you're in town, you can catch anything from an extensive focus on a single artist, like Soundsuit sculptor Nick Cave, to an exploration of Impressionism. Visitors can dine in their alfresco café after perusing thought-provoking exhibitions in the 1930s art deco building that once served as a post office.

Graceland, the estate once owned by Elvis Presley, is 12 miles south of Downtown. A guided tour of the mansion, which Elvis bought in 1957 at age 22, as well as the adjoining automobile museum reveals the spoils of stardom. Graceland might be the only colonial suburban home on record to have a jungle room, a pink Cadillac, and close to 700,000 guests annually. Elvis is buried outside the mansion, and tours conclude with many fans leaving tokens at his gravesite. Reservations are recommended, especially in August during "Elvis Week."

Opened in December 2013 to rave reviews from local enthusiasts, this facility is 28,000 square feet of wall-to-wall climbing excitement: lead, top-rope, and auto-belay walls, as well as a 15-meter speed-climbing wall, plus beginner areas, boulder pits, and adjustable walls. But if none of those terms means anything to you, High Point has professional climbers who are eager to share their passion and teach you their skills. Nonclimbers are welcome to cross-train in a variety of specialty areas: yoga, weight, and aerobic rooms are each outfitted with equipment to maximize your investment of time and effort. Just be aware: owners Lisa Rands and Wills Young might make you climb over a rock to leave the building.

Chattanooga is draped in a rich tapestry of arts and culture, perhaps most visible at this museum, housed in an architectural triptych comprising a 1905 Classical Revival mansion, a low-slung 1970s building, and a 2005 contemporary structure of steel and glass. From here, you can walk over a stunning lighted glass bridge to explore Bluff View Arts District, named for the 80-foot-high cliffs that plunge into the Tennessee River below. The area is popular for its collection of upscale galleries, boutiques, and creative restaurants with casual courtyards that are tucked among historic homes with luxurious landscaping. There's also the award-winning River Gallery Sculpture Garden, noted by the Smithsonian in its Archive of American Gardens.

Part of the Urban Wilderness that includes the adjacent Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area, this 315-acre woodland is home to former marble quarries. Mead's Quarry Lake is where River Sports Outfitters rents paddleboards, kayaks, and canoes to explore the clear blue water. More than 12 miles of trails connect to adjacent public lands, allowing for extended hiking and mountain biking circuits, and Ijams Crag is popular with rock climbers. Navitat is also based here, offering six different aerial high-ropes challenge courses through the treetops.

Different eras of Knoxville's history are celebrated at this walled fort of rough-hewn log cabins on the perimeter of downtown, where the city's first home was built in 1786. Their survival over the centuries is remarkable, and exhibits inside include pioneer artifacts, authentic furnishings, and information about James White's role in the American Revolution.

South of Downtown, the motel in which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968 has been transformed into the National Civil Rights Museum, an outstanding facility that documents the civil rights movement through exhibits and clever audiovisual displays.

This massive rock formation, estimated to be 200 million years old, includes special points of interest like a 100-foot waterfall; a 1,000-ton balanced rock; a suspended bridge (great for pictures); an old-school fantasy creation—Fairyland Caverns, lighted with black lights—that still wows the kids; and the legendary summit, 1,700 feet above sea level, named Lover's Leap, from which you can see seven states. Your self-guided trail tour will wind through 14 acres of rock formation and gardens with more than 400 species of native plants, trees, and shrubs, many of which are tagged, to the delight of gardeners. There's a Starbucks on-site—an indication of the site's popularity. Special events scheduled throughout the year include a brilliant display of holiday lights, beginning in late November.

More than 80 years ago, Leo Lambert and a small crew spent 17 hours inside this cavern before discovering what is now the world's tallest and deepest underground waterfall (145 feet) open to the public. Guided tours begin every few minutes. After your visit underground, head up the 70-foot-high Lookout Mountain tower for a spectacular panorama of the Tennessee River Valley, either with your own peepers or by using one of the coin-operated telescopes. Younger children can romp on the Fun Forest Playground or pan for gems. For an adult adrenaline rush, the ZIPstream experience is a suspended obstacle course, culminating in 700 feet of round-trip zip-lining with fabulous views of Chattanooga. The temperature inside the cave is 60°F, so bring a light sweater or jacket.

Chattanooga's renaissance started on the riverfront and is still anchored by the Tennessee Aquarium, voted top attraction in the city by locals and one of the best aquariums in the country by tourists. You'll want to budget several hours to absorb the thrills of 10,000 animals, including toothy sharks, playful penguins, and graceful butterflies, a six-story IMAX 3-D movie theater, and a riverboat cruise on the River Gorge Explorer. Want to get up close and personal with the animals? Upgrade your ticket with a VIP backstage pass to touch and feed the animals, just like a real zookeeper. Younger children who want to get friendly with a groundhog or one of the largest owls in the world will enjoy Ranger Rick's Backyard Safari—short sessions held outside, up to eight times a day, depending on the weather. Some hotels offer discount tickets to the Aquarium as part of special lodging packages.

The Alex Haley House Museum, the only state-owned historic site in West Tennessee, displays family portraits, mementos, and furnishings.

Beautiful views of the rolling hills of Middle Tennessee surround this 75-acre property co-owned by Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn. In addition to free tastings, Arrington Vineyards hosts live music on weekends (April to November), bonfires in chilly weather, and hot-air balloon rides by reservation ($250 per person; special packages offered as well). Though there isn't a restaurant on the grounds, the gift shop stocks gourmet cheeses and truffles, and visitors are welcome to bring picnics and make use of tables throughout the grounds.

Commemorating Knoxville's African-American history with photographs, art, and a large archive of newspapers, this center is located in the former home of one of the city's most prominent Black families. In nearby Morningside Park is a statue of the late Alex Haley, a one-time Knoxville resident and author of the book Roots.

This 1850s Italian-style villa was the home of Adelicia Acklen, Nashville's answer to Scarlett O'Hara, who married "once for money, once for love, and once for the hell of it." On Belmont University's campus, it's a gem right down to its sweeping staircase designed for grand entrances and cast-iron gazebos perfect for romance. Recent renovations have restored Acklen's bedroom to its original splendor, including a detailed reproduction of the wallpaper. The last tour of the day starts at 3:30 pm.

Built to celebrate Tennessee's bicentennial, this beautifully landscaped 19-acre park includes a 2,000-seat amphitheater, a scaled map of the state in granite, a World War II memorial, a wall etched with a time line of state events, and fountains representing each of Tennessee's rivers (you'll see both kids and adults splashing in them April–October). The park has a number of picnic tables and there are several dining options at the nearby Farmers Market.

In this modest structure dating from 1792, Territorial Governor William Blount, a signer of the Constitution, planned the admission of Tennessee as the 16th state in the Union. The home looks out over the Tennessee River and is furnished with original and period antiques, along with memorabilia of Blount's checkered career.