Chattanooga Tennessee – Great for Families and Amazing for Explorers
Chattanooga
Great for families and amazing for explorers
People come to Tennessee through Chattanooga, which is on the banks of the Tennessee River in a valley with stunning views. Athens International Airport is only a two-hour drive or 20-minute flight away. This Southern city is clean, cheap, and good for walking. It also has a lot of interesting things to do.
Chattanooga has been a leader in the green economy for more than 20 years. The city has a free electric shuttle, free charging spots for electric cars, and a parking system that gives low-emission vehicles priority. You can enjoy the area by the river that has been fixed up, walk along the 20.8 kilometers of the RiverWalk, which is lined with parks and restaurants, or rent a bike from a bike share for less than $10 for 24 hours and get around the city that way.
The Tennessee Aquarium is the main draw in downtown. It is the biggest freshwater aquarium in the world. Who says River City doesn’t have water sports and other water attractions? Get on the Southern Belle paddle steamer for a dinner tour, get on a Chattanooga Duck from World War II, or sail close to the water on a stand-up paddleboard or kayak.
Chattanooga’s past starts with the forced removal of Native Americans in the 1830s and ends with the building of a railroad line in the 1850s. During the war, the river and the railroad were very important. The song “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” which was recorded in 1909 and is now a hotel complex, made the Chattanooga Choo Choo Terminal Station famous. It sold more than a million copies and will be the first gold record in history. On the historic Tennessee Valley Railroad, you can take a vintage steam train for one hour or three hours.
The Lookout Mountain Historic Site, Rock City Gardens, and Ruby Falls are all only 6 miles from the river. From these places, you can see views of seven states and an underground waterfall. There is a steep railway line called the Incline Railway that leads to the top of Lookout Mountain. At the top, there is a National Park Service-run tourist office, a museum about the Civil War, and a unit of Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, which is the biggest and oldest military park in the United States. There is also a beautiful view.
Chattanooga is a great place for many outdoor activities. At the High Point Climbing Center, you can climb indoors or outdoors. You can also walk or ride a mountain bike through the mountains to see more. Hang gliding from Lookout Mountain or rafting on the Ocoee River (a 45-minute drive away) for half a day are two exciting things to do. This is where the 1996 Olympic tryouts took place.
You can spend your evenings at several restaurants and live music places, such as the Songbirds North and South stages and the NightFall Concert Series, which has free concerts every Friday night from May to September. For those who enjoy music festivals outside, the Riverbend Music Festival is a must-see. It takes place every June over four nights.
There is public art all over Chattanooga, on the streets, walkways, and RiverWalk. You can look at the art outside, or you can go inside the Hunter Museum of American Art, which is right downtown and has the biggest collection of American art in the South.
Chattanooga always has something interesting going on. Visit Chattanooga to see for yourself why it’s called the “picturesque center of the South.”