As close as I have lived all my life, I haven’t really tooled around Knoxville, TN very much at all. I’ve done it far less than either Atlanta or Nashville. Let’s see what there is to do in the Marble City!
WALKING & DRIVING TOURS
The Knoxville Visitor’s Center has several options for self-guided walking and driving tours around town. There’s a fantastic Historic Downtown Knoxville Walking Tour that covers all the major streets, events, and buildings in central downtown. And you can park at the center for free while you walk around.
There’s the interactive map of Knox Walk With Me, starting at Gay Street Bridge. Use your smartphone and some earbuds to get insight into each multi-media stop. Here’s a page with directions to each of the city’s colorful murals. Or back at the Visitor’s Center, pick up a driving tour of all of Knoxville’s important Civil War spots.
If you’d prefer someone else to show you around, Laura Still of Knoxville’s Walking Tours can certainly help you out. She offers tours of the historic city, the cemetery, civil war sites, Knoxville’s musical past, and wild west-like history. Laura also offers two ghost tours and a holiday tour in December. Tours are $15 for adults, $10 for kids 6-12.
SUNSPHERE/WORLD’S FAIR PARK
In 1982, Knoxville hosted the World’s Fair! The fair hosted 22 countries and saw 11 million visitors. It also debuted the invention of touch screen displays and cherry-flavored Coca-Cola. Today, there is a large World’s Fair Park with several concert venue areas hosting events throughout the year. And FREE to the public is the Sunsphere observation deck, built for the fair.
HISTORIC HOMES
The Historic Homes of Knoxville have a unique partnership, in that, you can visit each one individually or purchase a combo pass to visit all of them under one ticket that doesn’t expire. (though I’d assume you can only visit each one once.)
BLOUNT MANSION
The Blount Mansion is where signer of the Declaration of Independence William Blount built his “proper wooden house” in 1792, vs. the rough log cabins in Tennessee at the time. Cost on its own is $7 and under, open 9:30-5 Tues-Fri, 10-2 on Sat.
CRESCENT BEND
Crescent Bend House & Gardens on Armstrong Farm figured heavily as a site of civil war fighting, and the farmhouse itself was used as a command center and hospital by both Confederate and Union armies. Cost is $7 and under, open 10-4 Wed-Fri, and 10-2 on Sat.
JAMES WHITE’S FORT
The founder of Knoxville built his house in 1786 and ended up ceding some his land to form the new town of Knoxville when it was established in 1791. Now you can tour James White’s Fort, Knoxville’s first home, for $7. Open 9:30-5 Mon-Sat. Closes at 4 Dec-March.
MABRY-HAZEN HOUSE
The stately Mabry-Hazen House has sat high on a hill above downtown Knoxville for the last 130 years. This popular site costs $10 and under and is open 11-5 Mon-Fri, 10-3 on Sat with guided tours on the hour. The house also hosts one Night at the Museum from 6-9 pm on Aug. 22 for a unique tour in the dusk. Also, visit Bethel Confederate Cemetery down the street (FREE admission.)
MARBLE SPRINGS
Marble Springs may sound fancy, and it is the last remaining home of John Sevier, Tennessee’s first governor. But instead, this log cabin and outbuildings serve as a look into early pioneer living. Cost is $5 and under, open from 10-5 Wed-Sat, 12-5 on Sun.
RAMSEY HOUSE
The historic Ramsey House is a beautiful example of the work of Knoxville’s first builder, Thomas Hope in 1797, and was known as finest home in Tennessee when it was built. This stone plantation house offers tours and can be booked for events. Stop by to see a vintage baseball game! Cost to tour is $7 and under, open from 10-4 Wed-Sat.
WESTWOOD
The Westwood is a stunning red-brick Queen Anne Victorian mansion lived in by the same family from 1890-2012. Now you can take a tour or rent it for your own event. Open 10-4 Mon-Thurs, or by appointment. (No info on cost.)
IJAMS NATURE CENTER & OTHER URBAN PARKS
Knoxville boasts a wealth of outdoor activities right near downtown. The Ijams Nature Center offers trails around old marble quarries, a recreational lake, and rental & snack facilities. The boardwalk near the headwaters of the Tennessee River looks particularly cool. There’s also Fort Dickerson Park, a Civil War Fort and lake area. High Ground Park is another old fort. Marie Myers Park is 34 acres of woods and trails connected to Hastie Natural Area, and the private Anderson School land, which together offers over 20 miles of trails.
You can also walk or bike a 12.5-mile loop through many of these parks in a huge South Loop Route, marked with blazes and signage. See this page for a list of trail maps.
KNOXVILLE MUSEUM OF ART
Not far from the World’s Fair Park downtown is Knoxville’s Museum of Art. Featuring artists from East Tennessee, this museum is FREE for all visitors. Open Tues-Sat 10-5, and Sunday 1-5.
MCCLUNG MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
I’m not going to mention mega-university UTC or their football team here, except to point out that on campus is the FREE McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture. Like the art museum, it doesn’t look huge, but it looks at least interesting and FREE. Note that parking may be unavailable during large sporting events.
The Museum is open from 9-5 Mon-Sat, 1-5 on Sun.
KNOXVILLE ZOO
As I mentioned in my last post, the Knoxville Zoo is a nicely sprawling tangle of paths leading you to all sorts of adventures with animals. You can get pretty darn close to elephants, tigers, rhinos, bears, lions, gorillas, chimpanzees, giraffes, zebras, baboons, otters, wolves, and red pandas. Not to mention a full complement of beautiful birds, snakes, and reptiles.
Make sure to check out fun food events like Feast with the Beasts (Aug. 11, $99) or Brew at the Zoo (Sept 21, $60.) The zoo is open 9-5 every day. Tickets cost $19.95 for adults, $16.95 for kids and seniors. Parking costs $5.
MAPLE HALL BOWLING
I wouldn’t normally put a bowling alley in any top things list, but this one is just so cute! Billed as a “boutique” alley, Maple Hall Bowling is an 11-lane bowling alley in a historic downtown building. They have a full-service bar and small plates, cozy lounge areas and a stage. So basically, it is a bar with a bowling alley in it. That sounds like fun to me!
Maple Hall is open from 4 pm – 1:30 am Monday-Friday. Open Saturdays and Sunday 11 am-1:30 am. Cost is per hour, not per game–$20 per hour most of the week, $30 per hour Friday and Saturday nights, and $10 an hour late on Sundays.
WHATS UP BALLOONING
If you thought boutique bowling was expensive, wait until you hear how much it costs to go up in a hot air balloon! I’ve mostly seen balloon rides as part of a limited-run festival, and I suspect they just go up and down like an elevator. Knoxville, however, has a permanently-running balloon outfit in What’s Up Ballooning, where you’ll depart at dawn for an hour-long flight.
This once-in-a-lifetime adventure will set you back $250 minimum if you’re willing to share with other riders. If you want to book a basket just for yourself and your main squeeze, it costs $325 per person. Flights take off about 25 minutes out of town, in New Market/Jefferson City area.
BROADWAY SHOWS
For more indoorsy luxury splurges, think about taking in a Broadway show at the historic Tennessee Theater. This season includes The King & I, Les Miserables, Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Something Rotten (which I would totally love to see!), Jersey Boys, and Finding Neverland.
Otherwise, at the Tennessee Theater, you’ll find Celtic Thunder, a summer movie series, Alison Krauss, Lyle Lovette, and some Manheim Steamroller for Christmas. Ticket prices depend on the event–Broadway costs from $44-99, movies $9 and under, Christmas Nutcracker from $31-$178.
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVALS
I really love that Knoxville has several international festival events during the year, and starting right about now, too. I went to the Knox Asian Festival last year and it was amazing! There were tea ceremonies, tons of food booths, traditional dances, and demonstrations from local artists representing several Asian countries. All of that was capped off by an enormously entertaining performance by Matsuriza, Japanese Taiko drummers from Disney’s Epcot. And all of it (except food and merchandise purchases) was FREE, even parking! For 2018, Matsuriza Taiko is back for three performances during the festival.
Along with the Asian Festival in Market Square downtown on August 25th, there is the African 8th of August Jubilee in Chilhowee Park on August 11; Germanfest on August 25 at the First Lutheran Church ($2), the Hola Festival September 29-30 in Market Square; an International Food Festival at the World’s Fair Park on October 13; and Arab Fest on the UTK campus October 26 & 27.
THREE RIVERS RAMBLER–HALLOWEEN & CHRISTMAS
Around the end of the year, you and your family can enjoy a train ride on the Three Rivers Rambler. For eight dates in October (all Friday, Saturdays, and Sundays) you can take the All Hallows’ Eve Special at 4:13 or 7:13. And on 17 dates in November and December take a ride on the Christmas Lantern Express for daytime rides at 9:45 am, 1 pm, or 4:15 pm, depending on the day.
Tickets cost $28.50 per adult, $27.50 for seniors 55+, $16 for kids ages 3-12, $7.50 for toddlers age 1-2, and free for infants. The train depot is in University Commons, surrounded by plenty of free parking and lots of shopping and dining options.
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