USA TODAY 10Best
Graceland named Best Tennessee Attraction!
Best Tennessee Attraction (2018)
From the country twang of Nashville to the rock and roll beats of Memphis, Tennessee takes its music seriously. While the Volunteer State is home to some of the country's top musical attractions, it's also a state of immense natural beauty and storied – at times tumultuous – history.
We asked a panel of Tennessee travel writers and photographers to nominate their favorite state attractions, and for the past four weeks our readers have been voting for their favorites.
The top 10 winners in the category Best Tennessee Attraction are as follows:
- Lookout Mountain - Chattanooga
- Andrew Jackson's Hermitage - Nashville
- Birthplace of Country Music Museum - Bristol
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Sewanee: The University of the South - Sewanee
- Tennessee Aquarium - Chattanooga
- National Civil Rights Museum - Memphis
- Grand Ole Opry - Nashville
- Dollywood - Pigeon Forge
- Graceland - Memphis
No. 10:
Located just outside Chattanooga along the border with Georgia, Lookout Mountain's northern Tennessee side is home to some of the state's star attractions – a 145-foot underground waterfall known as Ruby Falls and an incline railway that has been in operation since 1895.
Photo courtesy of Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp
No. 9:
The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's beloved estate just outside of Nashville, started as a modest log cabin when Jackson purchased it in 1804. The man whose face graces the twenty dollar bill eventually converted The Hermitage into a 1000-acre, wildly successful cotton plantation, and his log farmhouse into a stately mansion.
Photo courtesy of Swampyank / Wikimedia Commons
No. 8:
Beginning with the opening of a modest recording studio in 1927, the town of Bristol made music history when 76 songs by 19 different country music artists were recorded – one of the most significant collections of early music in the genre. Todya Bristol is known as the birthplace of country music, and this Smithsonian-affiliated museum explores the rich musical heritage that made it so.
Photo courtesy of iStock / WerksMedia
No. 7:
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, straddling the border between North Carolina and Tennessee, is one of the most biodiverse areas in North America. It's also the most visited national park in the nation for good reason; visitors can tour historic homes, see black bears in their natural habitat or spot some of the 1,500 species of flowering plants.
Photo courtesy of Sewanee: The University of the South
No. 6:
Situated in Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau, Sewanee: The University of the South sits on some 13,000 acres of land. Architectural highlights include the All Saints' Chapel, where the stained-glass rose window was modeled after one in Notre Dame in Paris. Come autumn, the foliage is stunning.
Photo courtesy of Chattanooga Convention & Visitors Bureau
No. 5:
Visitors to the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga trace the journey of water from the mountains through the Appalachian Cove Forest, into the Ohio River where it joins with the Mississippi that flows into the Gulf of Mexico. A broad array of wildlife highlights ecosystems along the way, including alligators, otters, snapping turtles, catfish and sunfish. Featured habitats — delta swamp, tropical rain forest, spiny forest and reefs — provide homes for frogs, penguins, sharks, jellyfish, cuttlefish and lemurs, while professional keepers and divers happily share their expertise with visiting guests.
Photo courtesy of Kees Wielemaker / Flickr
No. 4:
Part sacred ground, and part in-your-face challenge to your personal concept of equality, the museum’s focal point is the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was gunned down in April 1968. Vivid exhibits chronicle the assassination of King and the hunt for his killer, explore the faces and places that defined the American civil rights movement and examine the continuing fight around the world for universal equality.
Photo courtesy of Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp
No. 3:
The Grand Ole Opry is easily considered the most esteemed stage for country music on the planet. Some even call it the home for “American music,” overall. The Opry, located in Nashville, started in the ‘20s as a radio broadcast of live music. Visitors can still hear Opry broadcasts online or join the many other fans who come to the stage to see the top country musicians perform live.
No. 2:
Tucked amid the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, country music-themed Dollywood has all the makings of a great theme park – thrill rides, coasters, kiddie rides and everything in between. It really shines in its other extras; live craft demonstrations, lavish stage shows and a full calendar of special events mean there's always something going on, and the Southern-inspired food offerings are a cut above the typical theme park fare.
Photo courtesy of Tennessee Department of Tourist Development
No. 1:
Graceland is one of the most-visited private homes in the nation. Every year, more than 600,000 people go to Elvis Presley’s former estate in Memphis. This revival-style mansion on nearly 14 acres is more than just an inside look at the famous musician’s life; it’s a symbol to fans of the American Dream. Elvis lived in Graceland for more than 20 years, and he died here, too. Today, Graceland is a National Historic Landmark and museum that is open to the public. Take a guided iPad tour, walk through the meditation garden or even rent the space here for special events, like weddings.
A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to picked the initial 20 nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote. Experts Tom Adkinson (KnoxvilleDailySun.com), Jason Frye, Katy Koontz, Cory Lee (CurbFreeWithCoryLee.com), Margaret Littman, Kristin Luna (Camels & Chocolate) and Jerry Park (Jerry Park Photography) were chosen based on their knowledge and experience of travel in Tennessee.
Congratulations to all these winning attractions.
About 10Best Readers' Choice Awards
Nominees are submitted by a panel of experts. 10Best editors narrow the field to select the final set of nominees for the Readers’ Choice Awards. Readers can vote once per category, per day. For any questions or comments, please read the FAQ or email USA TODAY 10Best.
The Experts
Cory Lee
Cory Lee was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular... Read More
Cory Lee was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy at the age of two, but that certainly has not diminished his desire to travel – wheelchair and all. He has traversed six continents and blogs about his accessible (and sometimes not so accessible) travel adventures on CurbFreeWithCoryLee.com. From trekking through the Amazon Rainforest to hot air ballooning over the deserts of Israel and everything in between, Cory shows that anything is possible with enough determination. Since starting his blog in 2013, he has gained more than 50,000 followers across social media, won the 2017 Lowell Thomas Award for Best Travel Blog, and is a proud member of the Society of American Travel Writers. Cory hopes to inspire others to break out of their comfort zones and start rolling around the world.
Cory Lee
Cory Lee was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy at the age of two, but that certainly has not diminished his desire to travel – wheelchair and all. He has traversed six continents and blogs about his accessible (and sometimes not so accessible) travel adventures on CurbFreeWithCoryLee.com. From trekking through the Amazon Rainforest to hot air ballooning over the deserts of Israel and everything in between, Cory shows that anything is possible with enough determination. Since starting his blog in 2013, he has gained more than 50,000 followers across social media, won the 2017 Lowell Thomas Award for Best Travel Blog, and is a proud member of the Society of American Travel Writers. Cory hopes to inspire others to break out of their comfort zones and start rolling around the world.
Jason Frye
Jason Frye is a travel and food writer and the... Read More
Jason Frye is a travel and food writer and the author of Moon North Carolina, Moon Blue Ridge Parkway Road Trip and Moon Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He writes for Dallas Morning News, Cruise Critic, Coastal Living and DK Travel, among others. Follow his adventures on Instagram.
Jason Frye
Jason Frye is a travel and food writer and the author of Moon North Carolina, Moon Blue Ridge Parkway Road Trip and Moon Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He writes for Dallas Morning News, Cruise Critic, Coastal Living and DK Travel, among others. Follow his adventures on Instagram.
Jerry Park
A Southerner, born and raised, Jerry Park is a... Read More
A Southerner, born and raised, Jerry Park is a writer and photographer whose work demonstrates emphatically how deeply his roots have been imprinted upon his soul. Educated at Wofford College and UNC at Chapel Hill, Jerry built careers at Xerox, in the Christian music world and in book and Bible publishing, finishing each in executive positions. His photography is exhibited in Nashville at The Arts Company. His work is collected by several commercial clients and has been published in books, magazines and newspapers. Jerry published his first book, Slow Roads Tennessee, in October, 2015. It became a best seller across the state during that fall. Contact him at Jerry Park Photography.
Jerry Park
A Southerner, born and raised, Jerry Park is a writer and photographer whose work demonstrates emphatically how deeply his roots have been imprinted upon his soul. Educated at Wofford College and UNC at Chapel Hill, Jerry built careers at Xerox, in the Christian music world and in book and Bible publishing, finishing each in executive positions. His photography is exhibited in Nashville at The Arts Company. His work is collected by several commercial clients and has been published in books, magazines and newspapers. Jerry published his first book, Slow Roads Tennessee, in October, 2015. It became a best seller across the state during that fall. Contact him at Jerry Park Photography.
Katy Koontz
Longtime, award-winning travel writer Katy... Read More
Longtime, award-winning travel writer Katy Koontz has written travel books, travel articles and a travel app. While her specialty is the Great Smoky Mountains (near her home in Knoxville, Tennessee), she also writes stories on other domestic and foreign destinations as well as articles about family travel, adventure travel, spiritual travel, travel health and consumer-related travel topics. Her travel story about visiting Petra in Jordan for Unity Magazine was a Folio: Magazine Eddie Award finalist in 2015. She is the author of Family Fun in the Smokies (Great Smoky Mountains Association, 2012). Katy is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers.
Katy Koontz
Longtime, award-winning travel writer Katy Koontz has written travel books, travel articles and a travel app. While her specialty is the Great Smoky Mountains (near her home in Knoxville, Tennessee), she also writes stories on other domestic and foreign destinations as well as articles about family travel, adventure travel, spiritual travel, travel health and consumer-related travel topics. Her travel story about visiting Petra in Jordan for Unity Magazine was a Folio: Magazine Eddie Award finalist in 2015. She is the author of Family Fun in the Smokies (Great Smoky Mountains Association, 2012). Katy is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers.
Kristin Luna
Kristin Luna is a Nashville-based travel writer... Read More
Kristin Luna is a Nashville-based travel writer who has contributed to Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, USA TODAY, Southern Living and many more. You can follow her adventures via her blog Camels & Chocolate or on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Kristin Luna
Kristin Luna is a Nashville-based travel writer who has contributed to Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, USA TODAY, Southern Living and many more. You can follow her adventures via her blog Camels & Chocolate or on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Margaret Littman
Journalist Margaret Littman is a both a relative... Read More
Journalist Margaret Littman is a both a relative newcomer to Nashville as well as an old-timer, having returned to what once was her college town as an adult. She is the author of many guidebooks, including Moon Tennessee, Moon Nashville and Moon Nashville to New Orleans Road Trip. Her work appears in Nashville Lifestyles, the Nashville Scene, PUNCH and other publications. Since moving to Music City she has acquired a 1967 Ford pickup and a lot of pairs of cowboy boots, but still not the ability to carry a tune. In her free time, she's working her way through paddling in all 50 states.
Margaret Littman
Journalist Margaret Littman is a both a relative newcomer to Nashville as well as an old-timer, having returned to what once was her college town as an adult. She is the author of many guidebooks, including Moon Tennessee, Moon Nashville and Moon Nashville to New Orleans Road Trip. Her work appears in Nashville Lifestyles, the Nashville Scene, PUNCH and other publications. Since moving to Music City she has acquired a 1967 Ford pickup and a lot of pairs of cowboy boots, but still not the ability to carry a tune. In her free time, she's working her way through paddling in all 50 states.
Tom Adkinson
Tom Adkinson, a Marco Polo honoree member of the... Read More
Tom Adkinson, a Marco Polo honoree member of the Society of American Travel Writers, knows the Southeast particularly well, but he has visited all 50 states and filed stories from most of them. He worked on staff at daily newspapers in Tennessee and Alabama and at Southern Living Magazine before a long career in destination public relations. He now is a freelancer whose articles and photographs have appeared in publications throughout the U.S. You can see some of his work at KnoxvilleDailySun.com.
Tom Adkinson
Tom Adkinson, a Marco Polo honoree member of the Society of American Travel Writers, knows the Southeast particularly well, but he has visited all 50 states and filed stories from most of them. He worked on staff at daily newspapers in Tennessee and Alabama and at Southern Living Magazine before a long career in destination public relations. He now is a freelancer whose articles and photographs have appeared in publications throughout the U.S. You can see some of his work at KnoxvilleDailySun.com.
