terrific tennessee

top things to do in tennessee

i wanted to start my first travel blog post with a great state i have been lucky enough to visit three times in the last three years….tennessee! do you love mountains? do you love music? do you love nature? do you love moonshine? if any of these sound like something you love, i would recommend adding tennessee to your future travel list!. i’ve taken one girls trip with my sister, was lucky enough to spend my honeymoon here, and even got to visit tennessee for work! so let’s take a look at some of my favorite things! save this for later

things to do

nashville

i’ve been lucky enough to visit nashville twice in the past three years: once with my sister and once with my husband. grand ole opry: if you are a country music fan, this is a must. tickets for a tour are a little pricey, so my sister and i skipped it, but i was able to find tickets for a show and tour for our honeymoon. my husband is a huge country music fan so this was high on his wish list. we did an evening show and then the tour afterwards. it was pretty awesome and included getting to see dressing rooms, be backstage, see where artists come and go (and if you’re lucky see some artists themselves), and stand on stage! there weren’t any big current names performing when we were there, but we got to see a lot of good performers and a lot of old country stars. if country music is your thing, i highly recommend it.

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music row: this is the area of town that you’ve heard about. blocks of bars with live music. there is so much to see here! in my two trips i would also call it the home of bachelorette parties. seriously, when you visit start counting. with my husband we got 30+ in one day! my suggestion here is to start early (relatively, it is vacation after all). both times we started after brunch and stopped in a few different bars. when you find a band you like the sound of, find a table and stay for their set! no one plays all day, but we heard some amazing groups. actually on both trips we ended up spending a good chunk of time in tin roof. some bars have more of a party atmosphere, some are quieter, some are older (like tootsies), some are newer. just find a sound you like, have a drink, and enjoy!

farmers market: nashville has a huge farmers market with lots of vendors for both food and crafts. there is even an indoor area with restaurants with some great food. when my sister and i traveled we were lucky enough to be there during the peach festival. for two texas girls peaches are where it’s at, so we couldn’t pass that up! they had special peach dishes to try including drinks/slushies and it was great! it is also close to the bicentennial capital mall, so you can walk around both at the same time. there are monuments here as well as fountains and a cool map of tennessee on the ground.

the listening room: this spot is similar to the blue bird cafe. this is a place for songwriters to perform and a spot to see up and coming artists. a few things that make it nice is that they take reservations in advance! no need to stand in line for hours to get in. they also have a good food menu and bar. we went here on our honeymoon and really enjoyed it. if you plan on going, go to the earlier of the two shows for the night because you can stay and sit at the bar for the second show (which is a different band) for free!

gatlinburg

the gateway to the smoky mountains. i’ve gotten to see this amazing scenery twice; with my sister and with my husband.

moonshine/wine tasting: walking down the main street in gatlinburg you will see many moonshine/wine tastings. my advice is again to start early. plan out your day so you can do these tastings and have time to sober up while walking the rest of the tourist trap that is gatlinburg and before heading back to your lodging for the night (or better yet have a DD). while the sample size for each flavor of moonshine or wine is not very much, a full tasting can leave you feeling pretty good, especially if you hit up a few of them! the flavors and process changed between my two trips there, but in general you get multiple flavors to test, like at least 6, along with an entertaining “bartender”.  it is seriously a fun time and i recommend trying at least one of them out. some places even let you tour the distillery (right up my alley with my chemical engineering degree!)

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old timey pics: so how many of you have been in tourist towns with these old timey photo places everywhere? i have definitely seen them when travelling with my parents, but we were never lucky enough to do them. well, lucky may not be the right word, i was a pretty shy and awkward kid to be honest. i will say however, after some moonshine tasting they are a great idea! i even talked my husband into doing one! there are so many places on the main strip in gatlinburg i will let you pick your own, but nothing goes better for getting in the “moonshiner” mood than some old timey pictures!

smoky mountain national park: ok, so now let’s be honest. all the touristy stuff in gatlinburg has it’s place, but the real reason to come here is because the town is literally at the entrance to one of the few free national parks left in the US, smoky mountain national park. most of our family vacations growing up either revolved around visiting family or some sort of national park or nature wonder, but somehow this had never made our list. let me just say that from the right vantage point, i quickly learned why they are called the smoky mountains! something truly amazing happens for sunset and sunrise here and the view is spectacular. both trips we missed the huge gathering of fireflies, but if you will be there in may, june, or july please look into it because i have heard it is something truly amazing to experience. the land of a thousand drips is a great scenic drive, and laurel falls is an easy and pretty hike. you can also hop on the appalachian trail from here if you’re looking for something bigger! and as always be on the lookout for bears! nothing beats running into a hungry cub on a trail like my sister and i did!

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memphis

i got to visit memphis earlier this year for work. i helped start up a boiler similar to the one i had just installed at my plant. because of that dang work getting in the way, i didn’t get to do as much sight seeing as i would have liked, but i did eat well! beale st: so beale street is very similar in concept to music row in nashville, but with more of a focus on the blues. there are countless statues of elvis throughout memphis so you know where their music loyalties lie. there are countless bars with live music, so again just find a sound you like and hang out. here there is also a huge outdoor concert arena. there are free concerts in these areas in the summer and i was lucky enough to catch one while the weather was nice. it is a great spot to walk, have a drink, people watch, and probably meet an elvis or two!

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peabody hotel: any fans of this is us here? it is one of my favorite shows! if you are then you know the peabody hotel as where they march ducks to a fountain in a super fancy hotel! because of that whole work thing i didn’t get to see the ducks, but i did walk around the lobby of this fancy hotel and have a drink. it’s a beautiful hotel and you should check it out, even just walk through if you have a few minutes. bass pro shop: where are my guys at? this is a giant bass pro shop with lakes with full size boats and giant fish. it has huge (fake) cypress trees as well as tons of stuffed wild animals and an aquarium. there is a target shooting range for kids and of course every outdoor supply you could ever need. there is also a huge free standing elevator to take you up to see a great view and a restaurant up there! and did i mention it is shaped like a pyramid? something my husband was super jealous he missed and if you haven’t been it’s worth an hour or so of your time, especially if you have kids.

final thoughts

tennessee has so much to offer to all sorts of people. it has things for nature lovers, music lovers, city lovers, and so much more! there is so much to see, do, and eat that it can’t afford to be missed! stay tuned for my next post on what to eat in tennessee!

what do you think? what did i leave off the list for terrific tennessee? did i miss your favorite thing to do on my list? let me know below! follow us on social media to stay up to date on all our adventures! facebook, instagram, twitter, and pinterest are great places to get travel and adventure inspiration!