Tennessee Travel Guide
Broadway, Nashville. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Tennessee is America's music state. Nashville's Broadway honky-tonks, the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame anchor country music. Memphis gave the world blues on Beale Street, rock and roll at Sun Studio, and soul at Stax.
East of the cities, the Great Smoky Mountains are the most visited national park in America: misty ridgelines, synchronous fireflies in June, and the fall color show. Between them, the Natchez Trace Parkway and the whiskey distilleries of Lynchburg and Tullahoma.
Destinations in Tennessee
Great Smoky Mountains National ParkClingmans Dome, Cades Cove wildlife loop, 850 miles of trails.
Broadway, NashvilleThe honky-tonk strip: live music in every bar, all day.
Grand Ole OpryThe 1925 radio show still broadcasting from the Opry House.
Beale Street, MemphisThe home of the blues: clubs, BBQ and the FedExForum district.
Sun StudioWhere Elvis, Cash and Jerry Lee recorded; the 'birthplace of rock and roll'.- GracelandElvis Presley's Memphis mansion and the second most visited home in America.
- Jack Daniel's Distillery, LynchburgThe 1866 distillery tour in dry Moore County.
- Natchez Trace ParkwayThe 715 km scenic drive from Nashville toward Natchez.
Hover a state to explore it. Click a city pin to open its guide.
Top Cities & towns in Tennessee
Regional food
- Nashville hot chicken (fried chicken with cayenne paste; the city's obsession)
- Memphis dry-rub ribs (no sauce needed)
- Biscuits and sausage gravy (the Southern breakfast plate)
Getting there
Nashville (BNA) and Memphis (MEM) are the gateways. The Smokies are reached via Knoxville (TYS) or Asheville. A car is the way to do the music cities plus mountains loop.