Chattanooga is only a two-hour drive from Nashville down Interstate 24, and you’ll even take a quick trip through Georgia along the way. (Liquor taxes are cheaper in Georgia, and there’s a Costco right across the border on the far side of downtown.) The trip from Music City to Scenic City takes you across the beautiful Cumberland Plateau down into the Sequatchie Valley with side trip opportunities to the quaint college town of Sewanee or the sweeping vistas from Jasper Highlands. Or you can stop in South Pittsburg, home of the National Cornbread Festival and Lodge Cast Iron, where you can pick up some cheap skillets at an outlet store.

Music City’s primary downtown works of public art look like a deconstructed rollercoaster and some Pick Up Stix. In Chattanooga, the city has dedicated itself and a significant part of its public budget to sprinkling whimsical works of sculpture and murals around the city to provide a pleasant surprise around almost every corner during a stroll around the city center. From a giant blue rhino to classic sculptural figures to modern architectural structures, there are striking sites to see all over the city.

Whenever minor league baseball finally hits the field again, a night at the ballpark watching the AA Lookouts play is a charming throwback to times when sports weren’t big business. Kids love the Tennessee Aquarium, a unique facility constructed to mimic the flow of water from the small headwater streams of the Tennessee highlands all the way to the great rivers and finally out to the ocean. Visitors head to the top of the towering building to see small fish swimming in natural habitats and then progress down walkways past aquariums housing larger and larger sea creatures as creeks become streams, then rivers and finally, the Gulf of Mexico. 

Adjacent to the aquarium is a large IMAX theater screening dramatic nature documentaries and the engaging Creative Discovery Museum filled with interactive exhibits filled with buttons to push and levers to pull that will delight children and OCD adults. The Coolidge Park Carousel is another family favorite with hand carved steeds ready to take your kids on a musical ride to nowhere. Mommy and Daddy can ride on the gold-leafed benches if they’re prone to motion sickness.

The museums of Chattanooga aren’t just for the kiddies. The Hunter Museum of American Art is a world-class facility and the highlight of the Bluff View Art District. Between its permanent collection and rotating exhibitions, the Hunter showcases a wide range of iconic artwork and sculpture representing more than three centuries of American creativity. Although the Bessie Smith Cultural Center is temporarily closed, it typically houses an exceptional collection of artifacts that tell the stories of African-American contributions to the culture of the city with a special emphasis on the importance of Bessie Smith, known as “The Empress of the Blues.”

Chattanooga hosts some eccentric and fun museums that are worth a visit to see artifacts that you’ll never find gathered anywhere else. The National Medal of Honor Heritage Center pays homage and tells the stories of the recipients of the highest honor that the American government can bestow upon members of the military. 

The towing industry isn’t the most beloved, but the International Towing Museum might change your mind. The museum gathers artifacts from a century of the industry, including Holmes’s original truck and the Chevy Silverado that set the tow truck speed record of almost 110 mph on the track at Talladega in 1979. Cory Coker was another local gearhead, collecting vintage cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and even aircraft that are now displayed in the warehouse where Coker once stored his company’s inventory of tires, aka the Coker Museum.

Pinball wizards will want to pass some time at the Classic Arcade Pinball Museum in downtown Chattanooga. With operable machines from as far back as the early 1970’s, your admission ticket entitles you to free play all day. The collection also includes historical games that aren’t available for play, but they do demonstrate the technological advances through history of these entertainment devices.

Chattanooga lagged behind other large cities in the state when it came to legalizing distilling within city limits, but once they did free the spirits, Chattanooga Distilling came out of the blocks running. The inventive distillery actually developed a whole new category of whiskey that they call Tennessee High Malt, and it’s a delicious meeting point between the smoky peat of scotch and the sweet corn of bourbon. Their innovative experimental distillery offers tastings and tours, including some products that aren’t available anywhere else.Craft beer fans can find plenty to love in Chattanooga at breweries like Heaven & Ale, Hutton & Smith, Oddstory Brewing, Chattanooga Brewing, The Terminal Brewhouse and others, or you can sign up for an excursion with ChattaBrew Tour and let them introduce you to the tops on tap. Flying Squirrel shakes up and stirs craft cocktails in a dramatic ambiance that feels like drinking in an airplane hangar that’s been decorated with the leftovers from a barn raising. (Trust us, it works.) The Bitter Alibi is another expansive drinking venue, but their playful takes on classic cocktails are the perfect accompaniment to a menu of internationally-inspired small bites.

From down-home spots like Sugar’s Ribs high atop Missionary Ridge with its wide variety of smoked meats and actual live goats grazing in the backyard to modern elevated Southern eateries like the James Beard-nominated Easy Bistro, Chattanooga has something for every palate or budget. Alleia focuses on rustic Italian cuisine, but creates the plates using local and seasonal ingredients to add a sense of terroir to their house-made pasta dishes. Urban Stack boasts a variety of over-the-top decadent bar food and burgers along with craft beers, cocktails and a notable bourbon collection that makes it a pretty darned difficult place to tear yourself off the bar stool and leave one of the oldest buildings in the city at the end of an evening. Neutral Ground is a relative newcomer to the city’s dining scene, but their presentations of quintessential Big Easy dishes like po’ boys and yakamein has quickly made them a favorite. Simple dinner cuisine gets a similar update at The Blue Plate, serving an exceptional all-day breakfast menu in a convenient location right on the riverfront.

The rolling hills around town are ideal for cyclists to clock off a few miles of climbing, and the most intrepid riders can take on the route of a former race called the 3 State 3 Mountain Ride, a century that travels through Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia including more than a mile of elevation gain. Whitewater enthusiasts can make the easy drive over to the Ocoee River, site of the 1996 Olympics kayaking competitions. Many outfitters lead canoe and rafting trips down the churning Ocoee as well as the nearby Hiwassee and Nantahala rivers. The area around Chattanooga offers easy hiking trips that showcase some beautiful waterfalls. A particular favorite is the (rather unimaginatively named) Falling Water Falls, a magnificent 110-foot tall cascade, plummeting into a misty gorge filled with gorgeous native foliage. Lula Falls is a similar height, but features an even greater volume of water tumbling over the edge of the precipice. Instead of landing in a deep pool, the water thunders down upon a flat shelf of rock and large boulders to create a dramatic scene. 

Lookout Mountain is famous for its slogan “See Seven States,” and on a clear day, you really can spy Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama from the top of the peak. Wait, that’s only six. Oh yeah, look at your feet and you’ll see Tennessee. The famous Incline Railway carries visitors from the valley floor up to the top of Lookout Mountain to enjoy that view, and the ride up is half the fun. Another long-time attraction is the kitschy Rock City, with its dramatic overlooks, swinging bridges, and enchanted gardens filled with beautiful plants and slightly creepy statues of gnomes, it has been a popular destination since the first “See Rock City” sign was emblazoned on a roadside barn roof in 1935. The final attraction in the Lookout Mountain complex is actually underground, where Ruby Falls represents the tallest subterranean waterfall open to the general public. Visitors descend more than 250 feet below the surface to tour the caverns with colorful light shows reflecting off of limestone formations before reaching the 14-story tall waterfall tumbling from the surface to the pool below.