Tennessee vacations

Find your rhythm in America’s Music City, a hotbed of live concerts, fried chicken, one-of-a-kind museums and a steady dose of Southern charm to make it all go down easy.

The birthplace of rock ’n’ roll, Tennessee’s second-largest city lays claim to legendary music venues, must-see museums and some of the best barbecue joints in the state.

Tennessee’s ‘Scenic City’ is a place of epic mountains, sprawling parks and charming art districts. Plus, it’s packed with cultural highlights and up-and-coming restaurants.

The ‘Volunteer State’ gave us Dolly Parton, Aretha Franklin, Taylor Swift and Elvis Presley. One of the best things to do in Tennessee is to visit the estates of many of these stars, including Elvis’ gaudy Graceland mansion. Don’t miss Loretta Lynn’s sprawling or Dollywood, an amusement park that has a replica of the Tennessee mountain home where Dolly Parton grew up.

For carnivores traveling to the state, eating barbecue is obligatory. Tennessee-style barbecue is all about pork shoulder and ribs smoked at low temperatures for hours, made either ‘wet’ (with sauce) or ‘dry’ (rubbed with spices). The region’s best pitmasters compete each year at the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, held during the annual Memphis in May festival.

There are more than 40 distilleries turning Tennessee barley, rye, wheat and corn into award-winning whiskey. And most of them welcome visitors for tastings and tours. As one of the oldest distilleries in the US, Jack Daniel’s is the most famous. But there are also smaller, boutique distilleries that put their own spin on the centuries-old tradition.

From Elvis Week to Christmas at Dollywood, Tennessee likes to throw a party. The most revered of them all is CMA Fest, a four-day celebration in Nashville featuring the biggest names in country music, held each June. And the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival draws campers to Manchester with an eclectic lineup of music and comedy each summer.

Tennessee is a great place to get away from it all, whether you’re rafting down the Ocoee River or visiting an underground waterfall in Chattanooga’s Lookout Mountain. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most-visited park in the US. But with more than half a million acres of forests, waterfalls, meadows and hiking trails, there’s plenty of room for everyone.

Restaurants in Tennessee frequently serve ‘meat ’n’ three,’ a platter of protein and your choice of three sides, which might include macaroni and cheese, green beans and cornmeal fritters known as ‘hush puppies.’ Look out for other regional specialties like Nashville hot chicken (fried chicken doused in a scorching pepper sauce) and a Depression-era dessert called vinegar pie.

Don’t leave the state without visiting two legendary museums in Tennessee — the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis and Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame. The Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, is now the National Civil Rights Museum. Artifacts document everything from American slavery and the Civil War to the ongoing struggle for equal rights.

Summers in Tennessee can be hot and muggy, while winters tend to be wet but not too cold. The best time to visit Tennessee is in the spring, when the countryside explodes with wildflowers. Or visit in the fall, when the trees that carpet the Great Smoky Mountains turn to sunset tones. Many of the larger music events take place in summer.

With a cost of living about 9% below the national average, it’s not hard to plan a cheap vacation to Tennessee. You can find lunch or dinner on a budget for under 20 US dollars ($) and get a beer for around $7. Expect to pay about $10 or less for a short cab ride.