Being completely real here, I’m sure if you have been to Downtown Chattanooga at least one time in your life, you’ve seen Coolidge Park, The Tennessee Aquarium, Creative Discovery Museum, Ruby Falls, and the Incline Railway. Using my better judgement, I’d also bet that you’ve eaten at Mellow Mushroom, Taco Mamacita, and Big River. The leading question, though, is where have you not been that you need to?

If you’re a nature freak like the average tourist, you would especially appreciate all of the nature reserves that Chattanooga has to offer you. The Chickamauga And Chattanooga National Military Park is a great park to start; Here, you can find a multitude of nature and history to get your fill, since it is on Lookout Mountain. Although Rock City is a little more full, you still go through the twisting rock mazes just to come out on the other side, staring right at the High Falls. There’s plenty of nice lunch and dinner (and even desert) options throughout the Gardens as well, including Big Rock Grill, and the famous Fudge Kitchen. Rock city even offers a beautiful fairyland experience towards christmas time, as they decorate for the holidays every year for the Enchanted Garden Of Lights.

Contrarily, when it’s cold out, or maybe even extremely hot out, you may not want to visit these outdoorsy areas; That’s what High Point Climbing and Fitness is for, along with the Hunter Museum Of American Art, and the Southern Belle Riverboat. All three of these places have much to offer: an exhilarating rock climbing experience to start, a cool down at the Hunter Museum, and finally, dinner on the Southern Belle. That’s a fine day according to anyone. 

On the topic of dinner locations, The Purple Daisy is a town favorite. Although they’re known for their prodigious banana pudding, they have an array of filling BBQ options, or even non-bbq items for the considered “unamericans.” Close to The Purple Daisy (in location and ranking) is Scottie’s On The River. It’s a casual American dining restaurant full of flavorful seafood options, fantastically seared steaks, and the menu’s famous hush puppy appetizer. Although some people would consider it a very popular place to eat, it can be extremely tricky to find. Sometimes when you’re looking for that one place to just hit the spot, you have to go beyond the internet reviews and take a cruise in the city yourself. It’s the Holes in the Wall that surprise you.