Chattanooga
Chattanooga, “the Scenic City”, is the fourth-largest city in Tennessee (after Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville), and the seat of Hamilton County[3], in the United States of America. It is located in southeast Tennessee on Chickamauga and Nickajack Lake, which are both part of the Tennessee River, near the border of Georgia, and at the junction of three interstate highways, I-24, I-75, and I-59.
Relax. Have fun. Experience a Chattanooga Getaway. Enjoy citywide fun for everyone, outstanding accommodations, eclectic shops, unique dining and a variety of world class attractions. And when youâ„¢re ready to soak in some nature, youâ„¢ll be surrounded by breathtaking mountain vistas.
There are so many things to do in Chattanooga that you’ll find it takes several days to fit them all in. Start planning your next Tennessee vacation in Chattanooga today!
Chattanooga Tourist Attractions: Tennessee AquariumChattanooga touts its many tourist attractions, including the Tennessee Aquarium, caverns, and heavy development along and across the Tennessee River. In the downtown area are the Chattanooga Choo Choo Holiday Inn Hotel that is a renovated train station with the largest HO model train layout in the United States, the Creative Discovery Museum (a hands-on children’s museum dedicated to science, art, and music), an IMAX 3D Theatre, and the newly expanded Hunter Museum of American Art. Along the river itself is the Tennessee Riverwalk, a 10-mile (16 km) handicapped accessible greenway trail.
The vibrant North Shore district, roughly bounded by the Olgiati Bridge to the West and Veterans Bridge to the East, draws tourists to Coolidge Park and a variety of locally-owned independent shops. The northern terminus of the Walnut Streeet walking bridge serves as a focal point for the area, and recent development has raised the prominence of the area between the Market Street Bridge and the Olgiati. Here, on Manufacturers Road, several new developments have recently been completed. These include Renaissance Park, part of the Chattanooga Riverpark system, One North Shore, a residential condo development, and Two North Shore, a shopping center focused on locally-owned and environmentally conscious companies such as Greenlife Grocery and Rock/Creek. Not far from the downtown area is the Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park.
The red-and-black painted “See Rock City” barns along highways in the Southeast are remnants of a now classic Americana tourism campaign to attract visitors to the Rock City tourist attraction in nearby Lookout Mountain, Georgia. The mountain is also home to Ruby Falls, Craven’s House and the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, a steep funicular railway which rises from historic St. Elmo to the top of the mountain to drop passengers off at the National Park Service’s Point Park and The Battles for Chattanooga Museum (formerly known as Confederama), a diorama that details the Battle of Chattanooga. From the military park, visitors can enjoy the panoramic views of Moccasin Bend and the Chattanooga skyline from the mountain’s famous “point” or from vantage points along the well-designated trail system.
Near Chattanooga, the Raccoon Mountain Reservoir, Raccoon Mountain Caverns and Reflection Riding Arboretum and Botanical Garden boast a number of outdoor and family fun opportunities. Other arboretums include Bonny Oaks Arboretum, Cherokee Arboretum at Audubon Acres and Cherokee Trail Arboretum. The Ocoee River, host to a number of events from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, features rafting, kayaking, camping and hiking. Also just outside Chattanooga is the Lake Winnepesaukah amusement park. The Cumberland Trail begins in Signal Mountain, just outside of Chattanooga.
Chattanooga Festivals and events:Â Chattanooga hosts the Riverbend Festival, an annual nine-day music festival held in June in the downtown area. One of the most popular events of the festival is the Bessie Smith Strut, a one night showcase of blues and jazz music named for the city’s most noted blues singer. The annual “Southern Brewer’s Festival” and the “River Roast” festival celebrate such traditional Southern staples as beer and barbecue, while new events, such as GoFest![19], “Between the Bridges” wakeboard competition and Talespin[20] seek new audiences. Nightfall[21] is the free weekly concert series in Miller Plaza on Friday nights that continues to bring an eclectic mix of rock, blues, jazz, reggae, zydeco, funk, bluegrass, and folk to downtown Chattanooga from Memorial Day until the end of September. The Chattanooga Market features events all year round as part of the Sunday at the Southside calendar of events including an Oktoberfest in mid October. Back Row Films is a city-wide celebration of film co-sponsored by the Hunter Museum of American Art, the Arts & Education Council and UTC.
The Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival, held each June, features workshops for mountain dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, auto harp, among others, along with performances by champion performers from across the nation.
