Tennessee, the sixteenth state to join the Union, is a land of legends, both cultural and natural. Pictured here is the most visited national park in the country, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, located in the eastern portion of the state.
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Tennessee has played a greater part in the nation's music history than perhaps anywhere else. Historic Beale Street witnessed the birth of blues and rock 'n' roll, and it's made Memphis one of the most musically rich cities on the planet.
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Graceland, the Memphis home of The King, has taken on almost religious significance to the thousands of music fans who pass through its doors each month.
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Of all the rooms inside Elvis Presley's Graceland, none is quite so famous as the eclectic Jungle Room, which features an indoor waterfall, green shag carpet and Polynesian furniture.
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Come to Beale Street on a summer Wednesday night to take part in Bike Night - a weekly warm-weather event where the historic Memphis street fills up with choppers of all makes and sizes, perfect for people watching.
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You can't talk about Tennessee without talking about barbecue ... Memphis barbecue to be exact. Pulled pork, dry ribs and smoked meats characterize one of the four major regional styles of barbecue in the nation, along with Texas, Carolina and Kansas City.
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Memphis is more than just blues and barbecue, however. Tennessee's largest city is the commercial and cultural capital of the western half of the state, perched on the banks of the mighty Mississippi.
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Nashville, or "Music City," is Tennessee's second largest city after Memphis and a hotbed of music, history, culture and romance.
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What started as a small radio broadcast in 1925 has become one of the biggest shows in country music, the Grand Ole Opry. It's Nashville's most famous attraction: a must-see for any music fan visiting the city.
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If you want to know how Nashville came to be known as Music City, spend an evening honkey tonk-hopping along Music Row, home of RCA Studio B where Elvis recorded some 200 hits.
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For country music fans, Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame likely holds a spot near the top of the bucket list.
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Not all of Tennessee's famous residents are musicians; each day, fans flock to the Peabody Hotel in Memphis to spot a different kind of celebrity, the famous flock of Mallard ducks who parade through the lobby twice daily. They even get their own red carpet.
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If there's anything Tennessee is known for as much as music, it's whisky. It's in Lynchburg that you'll find the state's most famous producer, the Jack Daniel Distillery.
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Outdoor enthusiasts will find a lot to love about Tennessee. For some of the most spectacular views, especially in fall, make the climb to the top of Bee Rock, located about halfway between Knoxville and Nashville.
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The first Europeans settled in Cades Cove in the early 1800s, and today, it's one of the most popular spots within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, thanks to its collection of historic structures and plentiful wildlife.
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Blackbarry Farm, one of the South's most celebrated inns, provides excellent service, impeccable accommodations and delicious food on a 4,200-acre estate in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains.
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Tennessee's natural beauty isn't limited to the Smoky Mountains. In Bays Mountain Park - the state's largest city-owned park - visitors can enjoy 3,550 acres of recreational space, including a lake, nature center, planetarium and animal habitats.
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Boyd's Gap, a favorite destination among mountain bikers, offers sweeping views of Cherokee National Forest in Eastern Tennessee.
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Beautiful, bike-friendly Chattanooga, the state's fourth largest city, is among its most scenic as well. The Tennessee River runs right through the middle, creating a bustling waterfront district.
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For the best views of the scenic Tennessee River, hop aboard the Southern Belle riverboat for a leisurely cruise departing from Chattanooga.
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Those looking to enjoy the Tennessee River in a more active way can skip the riverboat and jump in a kayak instead.
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One of Chattanooga's top attractions, Rock City Gardens, features ancient rock formations and panoramic lookouts where it's possible to see seven states at once. Pictured here is the romantically named Lovers' Leap lookout.
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For a thrill, ride the world's steepest passenger railway up Lookout Mountain, just outside of Chattanooga. The views from the top are well worth the scares. This is where you'll find the previously mentioned Rock City as well.
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If riding the railway up Lookout Mountain isn't adrenaline-pumping enough, you can opt to hang glide from the top instead, and quite literally see Tennessee from a bird's eye perspective.
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Located on Chattanooga's Lookout Mountain, Ruby Falls is a 145-foot tall subterranean waterfall - one of Tennessee's great natural wonders.
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For the best show of spring color in Tennessee, it doesn't get much better than the 55-acre Cheekwood Botanical Garden just outside Nashville.
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Tucked in a valley on the eastern edge of the Cumberland Mountains sits Cove Lake State Park, a place famous for its nature and bike trails, spring wildflowers, fall leaf-peeping and winter birdwatching.
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Thanks to its mild winters, Tennessee enjoys year-round golf, and there's a course for every level of player. Pictured here is the Vanderbilt Legends Club of Tennessee.
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While Tennessee winters tend to be on the mild side, the occasional freeze transforms the countryside into a winter wonderland.
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Clarksville in middle Tennessee combines small-town charm with big-city energy and a world-class cultural scene, and its Cumberland River Walk is especially lovely in spring.
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Gatlinburg has become one of the nation's great family travel destinations, and the Ober Gatlinburg aerial tramway is one of its most popular attractions.
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Twenty miles long and seven miles wide, Reelfoot Lake is known for its bald cypress trees and the pairs of bald eagles who nest in them.
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Located in the Soutern Appalachians, Roan Mountain State Park attracts visitors with its wildflower-covered foothills and world-class trout fishing.
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Another of Tennessee's beautiful state parks is Falls Creek State Park, a nature-lover's playground of more than 20,000 acres of gorges, hardwood forests and waterfalls on the Cumberland Plateau.
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For a bit of presidential history in Tennessee, spend some time touring the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greeneville, where you can see his home and pay respects at his gravesite atop Monument Hill.
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The town of Pigeon Forge has become synonomous with country crooner Dolly Parton, whose Dixie Stampede dinner show has become one of the state's most popular family-friendly attractions, along with nearby Dollywood.
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Families and train enthusiasts can learn all about the heroic feat of Casey Jones at the Casey Jones Home & Railroad Museum in Jackson.
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NASCAR fans can catch a race at the legendary short-track Bristol Motor Speedway, nicknamed "The Last Great Colosseum" or "Thunder Valley."
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Knoxville, the capital of Appalachia and Tennessee's third largest city, has all the trappings of a laid-back college town set within the stunning Smoky Mountains.
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Knoxville is home to the University of Tennessee, and come autumn, a sea of fans -some 100,000 of them collectively known as Orange Nation - transform the town into a sea of orange to support the Volunteers.
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Bordered by no fewer than eight states, Tennessee is accessible to tens of millions of Americans. From large, thriving cities (Nashville and Memphis) to the Great Smoky Mountains, the state provides visitors with a variety of options. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the Tennessee's eastern portion, while the mighty Mississippi River forms the state's western borders with Arkansas and Missouri. In Nashville and Memphis – two of the South's largest and most-visited cities – Tennessee offers some of the country's most iconic music and dining opportunities. The former is the undisputed home of country music; the latter attracts fans of barbecue, the blues, and Elvis from all over the world. Nature lovers pack the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the nation's most visited national park.
Explore by interest:
- Outdoor recreation
- Food and wine
- History and heritage
- Spectator sports