Chatanooga TN
I have driven through Chatanooga several times on my way to Georgia and North Carolina. I have never really stopped and explored the city until recently. A friend of mine does Vintage Market Days and travels to different cities. This time she had a show in Chatanooga and needed some help. I of course said YES! Any chance I can get to leave town and go somewhere I’ve never been I jump on it. So, we set off to Tennessee with trailer in tow. The drive there is absolutely beautiful. Driving through the Smokeys is unreal and nothing like it would seem especially at night. Darkness has a new meaning for sure.
As we rolled into town it was about 8pm and dark. So, we had no clue what kind of neighborhood our AirBNB was in. From the looks of it… it wasn’t the best part of town. My first impression of Chatanooga was exactly what I had been told. It seemed unsafe and a bit quirky… BUT don’t judge a book by its cover because the next day when the sun came up, we saw the people in the neighborhood, and it reminded me a lot of places here in the STL. Being the investigator that I am, I read up on the city and neighborhood. It seemed that the city was entering its “glow up” phase. After getting a bad reputation for being dangerous and unsafe, local leaders set out to change that. The small neighborhoods were taking old houses and flipping them into beautiful single-family homes. There is a huge art community within the city limits. Local artists have taken old buildings and painted beautiful murals on them. Brand new apartment complexes are going up everywhere. Old buildings were being torn down or rehabbed into new businesses. It is such a cool little city tucked away in the mountains.
The restaurants and small bars were so cute and quirky. I was unaware it was a college town so seeing downtown full of tents and tailgaters was so fun! We walked around downtown and to be honest I felt completely safe. There were tourists and locals everywhere. The architecture and history was very apparent in the buildings around town. Everyone we came into contact with was kind and helpful! I will say it reminded me of Austin TX. There were so many eclectic people and businesses there. Not at all what I expected from Tennesse/Georgia. The food was AMAZING along with the views.
I wish we had more time there to explore some more but it is definitely somewhere I would like to visit again. If you get the chance to stop, I suggest it and try allllllllll the food!!!
Restaurant Recs
The Pickel Barrell (21 &up ONLY) Fun building shape too… reminded me of Harry Potter
Hi-Fi Clydes - Staff was AMAZING and the bar itself was very interesting in its decor but so fun and inviting
The Boathouse- its literally on the water and the view is beautiful.
The Starbucks in the Chatanoogan Hotel (just because they were fabulous)
** Fun fact- The Walnut Street Bridge, erected in 1891, is one of the world’s longest pedestrian bridges at 2,376 feet in length.
