Chattanooga
A city of 180,000 people nestled in a bend of the Tennessee River, at the foot of a mountain you climb by funicular, where you descend underground to a waterfall and from where, so they say, you can see seven states. Down below, a freshwater aquarium, an 1891 footbridge and a museum of American art perched on a cliff have turned an industrial city into a well-rounded Southern weekend.
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Chattanooga · Photo K / Pexels
Things to do in Chattanooga in 4 days
Day 1
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Two glass buildings on the river, one following a drop of water from Appalachian streams to the Gulf of Mexico with otters and alligators, the other adding sharks, rays, penguins and butterflies.
💡 Buy a dated ticket online and start with River Journey in the morning, before the school groups arrive. Both buildings can be visited with the same ticket. Price: $39.95, about €34, per adult, $29.95, about €26, for ages 4 to 17, free for under-3s.
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Two centuries of American painting and sculpture in a 1905 mansion on a cliff above the river, extended by a dramatic steel and glass wing, with terraces overlooking the Walnut Street Bridge.
💡 The museum is closed on Tuesdays and stays open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays. Parking is free if you register your number plate at the front desk. Price: $20, about €17, per adult; free for under-17s.
Ɱ / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 2
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A 44-metre underground waterfall inside Lookout Mountain, reached by a glass lift and a guided walk through a gallery of stalactites to the colour-lit chamber of the falls.
💡 Tours run at fixed times: book online, as weekend slots go quickly. Allow up to two hours on your feet and around fifty steps. Tickets are sold online only. Price: $29.95, about €26, per adult for the classic tour, $19.95, about €17, for ages 4 to 12; special tours up to $42.95, about €37.
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The northern tip of Lookout Mountain, part of the country's first national military park, scene of the 1863 Battle Above the Clouds, with the most famous view of the city and Moccasin Bend.
💡 The visitor centre opens from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Payment by card only. Walk down the trail to Cravens House, which is free, to see the battleground. Price: $10, about €9, per person aged 16 and over, valid for 7 days.
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A 724-metre steel truss bridge from 1891, saved from demolition and given back to pedestrians in 1993, linking downtown and Bluff View to Coolidge Park and North Shore.
💡 Cross it at sunset, when the low light falls on Lookout Mountain to the west, then have dinner in North Shore. Price: free.
Stephen Matthew Milligan / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 3
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An 1895 funicular climbing about 1.6 km from St. Elmo to the top of Lookout Mountain, with a 72.7% gradient near the top, one of the steepest passenger railways in the world.
💡 Park at the lower station in St. Elmo, $3 for three hours, ride the funicular up and visit Point Park on foot before coming back down. Departures are every 20 minutes. Price: $24.99, about €21, return for adults; $12.99, about €11, for ages 3 to 12.
Dclemens1971 / CC BY 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)Learn moreMore
A 1930s garden among the sandstone boulders on top of Lookout Mountain, with narrow squeezes, a swinging bridge, the Lover's Leap lookout and gleefully kitsch fairy caverns.
💡 Book online the day before: pricing is dynamic and the ticket is noticeably cheaper in advance. At the end of the year, the evening illuminations transform the trail. Price: $43-45, about €37-39, per adult on the day, $10 less for children aged 3 to 12.
NealVickers / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Day 4
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The almost untouched fields and woods of one of the Civil War's deadliest battles, dotted with more than a thousand monuments and overlooked by the 26-metre Wilder Brigade tower.
💡 Start at the visitor centre, open from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m., for the map, then drive the tour road, stopping at the signs. The park closes half an hour after sunset, and the Wilder tower is closed every year from 1 December to 15 March. Price: free.
DrStew82 / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)"Book" (hotels) and "via GetYourGuide" (activities) are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide). Prices, times and distances are approximate.
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Good to know before you go
🍽️ Must-try food
Burgers and barbecue
brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl
the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
Mexican food
tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
Pancakes and weekend brunch
a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
Dishes to look for in the good places: Chattanooga.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
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The little details that make all the difference once you're there.
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