The Chattanooga area of course is awash with Civil War history and has a very nice aquarium. Between Chattanooga and Knoxville there is Dayton, the home of the famous monkey trial and the Lost Sea in Sweetwater. The Knoxville area has the Women��s Basketball Hall of Fame and to the north in Norris is the Museum of Appalachia. In Upper East Tennessee you will find the home of Andrew Johnson in Greeneville along with the home where Confederate General John H. Morgan was ambushed and killed. Near Greeneville is the Davy Crockett birthplace state park and over in Rogersville you will find the oldest Courthouse still in use in the state. Jonesboro is the oldest town in Tennessee and the downtown is full of great little shops and historic homes. If there is anything in particular that you are interested in just send me a private message and I will try to help. Oh, there is also a huge fireworks display in Knoxville on Labor Day called Boomsday.
If you were coming to Northeast TN, I could provide more first-hand recommendations, but here are some links to things you can do in Knoxville and Chattanooga. I think you have a good plan to stay away from the Smokies/Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg because it will probably be very crowded there.Things to do in Knoxville-visit the Sunsphere (built for a World s Fair in the 80s); they just reopened the observation deck this summer.-visit UT campus, maybe watch the football game (I think they re playing Away that weekend, though).-zoo (it s pretty small)http://knoxville.org/eventshttp://www.10best.com/Knoxville/FYI, they are doing a LOT of road construction on the interstate through Knoxville, so it s a mess right now. Sorry I can t give better ideas, but I usually just go to Knoxville to visit my sister.Things to do in Chattanooga-aquarium-riverfront has all kinds of things to do.-See Rock City! (Okay, that s kind of a joke because there are signs all along the interstate for Rock City and Ruby Falls)http://www.chattanoogafun.com/http://www.10best.com/Chattanooga/Hopefully you can use the websites to find something that sounds interesting to you, as I don t know exactly what kinds of things interest you, so my suggestions are pretty general. Have a great trip.
I suppose it depends on what time of year you go, but there are some wonderful things to do in East Tennessee. Of course it also depends on what you like to do.Jonesborough, TN. - one of the best story telling festivals that I have ever been to.October 5-7, 2007Phone: 423-753-2171Toll-Free: 800-952-8392Chattanooga, TN - there is a large shopping area, I believe it is called Warehouse Row. Of course you have the TN Aquarium and the IMAX Theater. If you have children they might enjoy the Creative Discovery Museum. And,of course there is always the yummy Russell Stover s Candy Store.Knoxville, TN - UT Vols!!!! - Anyone can buy tickets and go see a great game. Course, if you aren t a foot ball fan, sometimes its fun to just go watch the crazy people. Knoxville also has a good zoo and the Old City district with lots of shopping at Market Square, with over 600 yummy restaurants to choose from in town.Crossville,TN - Has the Cumberland County Playhouse, which has had many great Plays, including Broadway favorites like Cats. Here is their website - http://www.ccplayhouse.com/Well, I hope this helped a little. And, have fun discovering East TN.
Go to Chattanooga and go to the Aquarium and the Imax theaters (right near each other.)And of course Nashville....music city!