To some, Tennessee conjures up a picture of the majestic Smoky Mountains. There are those who think of nothing beyond the Country music of Nashville, while to others it is simply Memphis, the home of the Blues and birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
Yet it is all of these things and more, an amazing variety of scenery, culture and music that unless you’ve visited you can never fully appreciate.
Tennessee is the heart of the Deep South. It’s a place of Civil War battlefields such as Chickamauga and Shiloh; of railroad ghosts at the Casey Jones museum near Jackson; of Jack Daniel’s whiskey in the quaint town of Lynchburg; of natural underground wonders Ruby Falls and the Lost Sea; even of the world’s most affordable collection of Jack Nicklaus signature golf courses. Yet, more than anything, Tennessee is a place of music, a
melting pot where just about anything you hear today had its beginnings.
Memphis is where Elvis Presley started his career, and where his beloved home, Graceland, is now a shrine to fans from all over the world. It’s also a city where the Blues, along with Rock ‘n’ Roll and Soul, beat on in the heat of the night on Beale Street.
Nashville, always the corporate home of Country music, is now a treasure trove for tourists too, from the new Country Music Hall of Fame, to the honky tonks and bars of Lower Broadway.
Dolly Parton epitomises the spirit of Tennessee and her theme park Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge nestling in a scenic valley of the Smokies, brings together modern Country and the Bluegrass of the mountains.
Tennessee’s two other main cities, Chattanooga and Knoxville, resound to music of their own making. Chattanooga, famous for Glenn Miller’s million-selling classic Choo Choo song, was doubly celebrated recently as one of America’s top ten family destinations and one of the best walking cities in the USA. Knoxville, home to the rousing "volunteers" of the University of Tennessee, has some of the earliest roots of Country music going back to the Carter Family and Hank Williams.
It’s a year round destination, too, from the wild flowers in the warmth of spring, through the long, hot summer and into autumn, when the changing colours have no rival anywhere else. Even winters in the Smoky Mountains are surprisingly mild.
From the modern Southern style of the cities to the country areas that are a step back in time, Tennessee is whatever sort of holiday you want - and far, far more.