Tennessee is a landlocked state in the U.S. South. Its capital, centrally located Nashville, is the heart of the country-music scene, with the long-running Grand Ole Opry, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and a legendary stretch of honky-tonks and dance halls. Memphis, in the far southwest, is the home of Elvis Presley’s Graceland, rock-and-roll pioneering Sun Studio and the blues clubs of Beale Street.
The geographic diversity of Tennessee has generated a variety of economic, social, and cultural patterns that have led residents to perceive the state in terms of three “grand divisions”: East, Middle, and West Tennessee. East Tennessee, dominated geographically by the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau (also called Cumberland Mountains), is the home of the state’s well-known mountain traditions.
Chattanooga, Knoxville, and Kingsport are East Tennessee’s major population centres. Middle Tennessee has level, fertile land interrupted regularly by gently rolling hills; it traditionally has been a balanced agricultural and commercial region, with Nashville as its main urban centre. West Tennessee is mainly flat land with rich soil and long has had an economy based on plantation agriculture, notably cotton. Memphis is by far the region’s dominant urban centre.
Capital: Nashville, TN
Population: 7,051,339 (2022)
Official Website: https://www.tn.gov/
Tourism website: https://www.tnvacation.com/
Tourist Attractions for Tennessee:
This area of outstanding natural beauty in the “Volunteer State” sees nearly three times as many visitors each year as its nearest rival, the Grand Canyon. Much of Tennessee’s popularity is due to its accessibility, being surrounded by eight other states. It also has much to do with its astonishing natural beauty, rich history, and first-rate attractions.
There’s also the music. From the rock ‘n’ roll legacy of Elvis Presley to country stars such as Johnny Cash, Tennessee was the starting place for many of America’s greatest artists and musical genres. Discover the top scenic and music-related sites, as well as civil war sites and national landmarks with our list of top tourist attractions in Tennessee.
- The Smokies: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Graceland, Memphis
- Dollywood, Pigeon Forge
- Nashville: Music City USA
- Home of the Blues: Memphis
- The Titanic Museum, Pigeon Forge
- National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis
- Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga
- Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage
- Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga
- TN’s Civil War Heritage
- Downtown Knoxville
- Chattanooga & the Tennessee Valley Railroad
- The Parthenon, Nashville
- American Museum of Science & Energy, Oak Ridge
- The Museum of Appalachia