© Visit Knoxville/Bruce McCamish

Knoxville

Dubbed a 'scruffy little city' by the Wall Street Journal before the 1982 World's Fair, Knoxville is strutting its stuff these days as an increasingly prominent and polished destination for outdoor, gastronomy and craft-beer enthusiasts. Knoxville is also home to the University of Tennessee and its rabid college-football fan base.

Knoxville is a handy base for visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Sugarlands Visitor Center is just 29 miles away, and Knoxville is a far more enticing spot to eat and drink than other cities near the park. For hikers and mountain bikers, the city's ever-expanding Urban Wilderness is becoming its own reason to visit.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Knoxville.

  • Museum

    Museum of East Tennessee History

    This glossy museum spotlights key moments in the history of East Tennessee as well as regional cultural topics, from 'hillbilly' music to mountain tourism. It's well done and very informative. Surprising historical notes include the fact that many East Tennesseans were passionately opposed to the state's move to secede during the Civil War. There's also coverage of the uranium and plutonium research and development carried on in nearby Oak Ridge as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project during WWII.

  • Museum

    Green McAdoo Cultural Center

    In front of this small museum an eye-catching statue portrays the 12 African American high-school students who desegregated Clinton High School in 1956. Twenty miles northwest of Knoxville, Clinton was the first state-supported school in the South to integrate, and exhibits trace the fascinating story of the students and the school. Although integration began peacefully, with support from the community and the state, white supremacists from elsewhere initiated a violent response that culminated in the bombing of the school.

  • Museum

    Knoxville Museum of Art

    If you're planning to explore the region, the landscape paintings of mountains, forests and streams are a lovely source of inspiration at this small museum. You can find them inside the Higher Ground exhibition, which covers regional art and artists. Kids like to take an up-close look at the miniature home interiors in the Thorne Rooms diorama collection.

  • Museum

    Beck Cultural Exchange Center

    This center preserves and shares the history of African Americans in Knoxville. Key exhibits highlight urban renewal in the city and trace the interesting life of Knoxville local William H Hastie, who became the first African American federal judge. You'll also find a few artifacts from Africa and some connected to the Jim Crow era.

  • Museum

    Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

    You can't miss the massive orange basketball that marks the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, a nifty look at the sport from the time when women were forced to play in full-length dresses. Interactive features include a half-time locker-room talk by legendary University of Tennessee coach Pat Summitt and a dribbling course to test your skills.

  • Landmark

    Sunsphere

    The city's visual centerpiece is the Sunsphere, a golden orb (disco ball!) atop a tower that's the main remnant of the 1982 World's Fair. You can take the elevator to the 4th-floor observation deck to see the skyline.

  • Museum

    McClung Museum of Natural History

    On the campus of UT, this small natural-history museum is a good rainy-day distraction for families. You'll find dinosaur bones from Tennessee in the Geology & Fossil History of Tennessee Gallery (as well as dinosaur eggs from China, contrary to the gallery name). Artifacts related to Egyptian burials are showcased in the Ancient Egypt Gallery.

  • Museum

    American Museum of Science & Energy

    During WWII the US military began the Manhattan Project, a top-secret program to develop the atomic bomb. Oak Ridge was one of the key research and development sites, along with Los Alamos, NM, and Hanford, WA. Scientists at Oak Ridge studied uranium enrichment and the creation of plutonium. This science-driven museum examines life in the secret city but supplements the fascinating history with a slew of equally fascinating exhibits about current scientific research at Oak Ridge.

  • Museum

    Museum of Appalachia

    Sprawled across 65 acres dotted with cabins and livestock, this comprehensive museum spotlights the history and culture of the mountain communities in the southern Appalachians. Signage is low tech and the two-story exhibit barn resembles an overstuffed attic, but there are treasures tucked here and there, especially among the musical instruments. The stories attached to some of the artifacts – like the pie safe versus the thieving sow – are engagingly specific and bring some life to it all.