//
City in Tennessee, United States
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. JGlover assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
Knoxville, in Knox County, is the third-largest city in Tennessee. It is the home of the University of Tennessee's primary campus (UTK) and site of the 1982 World's Fair.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
A small, historic downtown square, home to dining, retail, a twice weekly farmer's market, and special events. Market Square takes its name from the Market House that once stood at its center. Farmers from surrounding areas would bring their wagons into Knoxville's Market House to sell their wares. Today the square is full of interesting little shops and restaurants. Entering the southern end of the square from Union Avenue, one may pass the bell from the old Market House as well as a statue commemorating Tennessee's role in the fight for women's suffrage. Dotted with benches and tables, Market Square is a lovely place to spend a few hours browsing the shops, dining with friends, or watching children play in the small fountain. A lucky square patron may happen upon anything from a pair of cellists playing Beatles songs to an ice cream give away. Unless an event is taking place in the downtown area, parking at the Market Street garage (on Walnut) is free on weeknights after six pm and all day on weekends. Event parking is usually five dollars.
On Gay Street downtown. The state theater of Tennessee and is an interesting example of Moorish architecture.
A modernistic monument built for the 1982 World's Fair
Showcases regional art of Eastern Tennessee.
The East Tennessee Historical Society off Market Square has a new and fascinating museum about the history of the area, from Native Americans through Davy Crockett, the Revolutionary War, industrialization (the city was once called the Underwear Capital of the World), the Civil War, and modern history, including the role of the area in producing the first atomic bomb.
The historic home, studio and gallery of artist Adelia Armstrong Lutz.
A 275-acre large park and wildlife preserve, Ijams has hiking trails, educational activities, and events about stewardship, local flora and fauna, and more.
Knoxville Zoo
A nice but smallish zoo with 800 animals and a lot of success breeding red pandas. There's also a reptile center and kids play area.
Over 1,000 woody plants are under long term observation and 2,000 varieties of annual herbaceous plants comprise the primary collections of this 12-acre urban public garden. The University of Tennessee (UT) Gardens have been open to the public at no charge every day year-round since 1982 and now serve an estimated 50,000 visitors annually.
Knoxville's other botanical garden, operated by the city.
Axe, Hatchet or Tomahawk Throwing
A destination for axe-throwing, tomahawk, and hatchet enthusiasts. Craft beverages are available. Groups and parties welcome. Experts will guide you through axe-throwing, ensuring a safe and entertaining experience for all skill levels.
The Tennessee Vols and Lady Vols (the "Lady" nickname is used in several women's sports, most notably basketball) are an integral part of the Knoxville lifestyle. Neyland Stadium packs in over 100,000 Tennessee football fans as one of the country's largest and most popular college stadiums. (~$45 and up) You'll know why when you hear the roar of the fans and feel the energy that fills the stadium at every game! After the football team, the most storied team on campus is the Lady Vols basketball team, perennial national championship contenders and one of the most successful teams in all of American women's sports ($10-70). Watch the University of Tennessee's men's basketball team in the second largest on-campus arena in the nation.
Knoxville Smokies
Watch the AA level Knoxville Smokies play their Southern League rivals at Covenant Health Park. They are an affiliate of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, and the park even serves Old Style beer, a Chicago staple.
Knoxville Ice Bears
Watch this Southern Professional Hockey League and three time champion battle their rivals for the Commissioner's and President's Cups at the James White Civic Coliseum.
Knoxville Rugby Club
Come see the amusingly named Possums of Knoxville play in the second Division of the USA Rugby South Territory.
CBT is a professional LORT theatre affiliated with the University of Tennessee. Shows produced at the CBT feature undergraduate theatre students, MFA theatre candidates, and professional actors and directors.
The beautiful Tennessee Theatre is located downtown. Built in 1927, it was fully renovated and reopened in January 2005. Past performances include the Knoxville Symphony, John Legend, Alison Krauss and Union Station, David Sedaris, Savion Glover, Lily Tomlin. They also screen classic movies.
In addition to being housed in Knoxville's fourth oldest building, the Bijou Theatre has an atmosphere that's perfect for live music and the performing arts. Many performers and music fans consider the Bijou the best-sounding room in Knoxville. Tennessee Shines is a radio show broadcast live from the Bijou the last Wednesday of each month. Sponsored by WDVX, the show celebrates Appalachian and other genres of American music.
Daily live performance radio show at noon on weekdays at WDBX recording studio, which is located at the Knoxville visitor center. Music genre varies from blues to bluegrass, country to Celtic, folk to funk, rockabilly to hillbilly, local to international. Audience are welcome to bring their lunch.
Knoxville’s Urban Wilderness is a spectacular 1000-acre outdoor adventure area where you can hike, bike, climb, paddle or just wander in the woods – all within the heart of the city. Over 50 miles of trails and greenways connect you to a beautiful nature center, pristine lakes, historic sites, dramatic quarries, adventure playgrounds, five city parks and a 500-acre wildlife area.
Breakfast, outdoor pool.
Petro's was founded in Knoxville during the energy-themed 1982 World's Fair. The petro consists of corn chips, chili, cheese, green onions, tomatoes, and sour cream, and it comes in beef, chicken, and vegetarian varieties. It goes well with Petro's Hint-of-Orange Iced Tea.
For melt-in-your-mouth barbeque, go to this small cement block setup, open daily.
Great New York-style pizza and other Italian offerings.
Jacob's Timeout Deli
Fantastic burgers and deli sandwiches. Run by Jacob, who immigrated from Israel in the late 1960s and opened up this restaurant.
Fresh seafood, steaks, and salads. Voted "Best of Knoxville" in the Knoxville-News Sentinel.
Voted as serving the best ribs in all of America, Calhoun's offers what they call a "taste of Tennessee". Calhoun's also operates a microbrewery at each of their locations.
A Knoxville favorite for great steaks and chops in a warm, friendly environment.
Fresh seafood and dry-aged steaks.
Big, stylish microbrewery on two floors with huge copper brewers' tanks in the center. Upscale pub fare: steaks, seafood, sandwiches and fry ups, as well as the tasty house-brand beers.
Purportedly has the best salsa in town.
Some of the best burgers that can be found in Tennessee, and their patties have a remarkably robust and well balanced flavor that is almost sweet. All baked goods are prepared fresh daily in-store by a team of bakers who arrive to prepare the day's goodies before first light. The Tuesday lunch special is fried chicken, broccoli casserole, and banana pudding. Their red velvet cake is simply the best, and their "dinner plate" chocolate chip and sugar cookies (literally the size of small dinner plates) are not to be missed.
One of the better sushi joints in Knoxville.
A restaurant and brewery in western Knoxville.
Knoxville's Community Food Co-op
Three Rivers Market is a natural foods grocery store with a great hot food bar serving daily seasonal menus. There is also a full service deli case, a fresh sushi counter, and a grab-and-go case with drinks, sandwiches, wraps, and...cupcakes from Magpie's Bakery.
The Tomato Head is a favorite restaurant of many locals. They have fabulous (and veggie friendly) salads, sandwiches, pizza, and calzones.
High-end restaurant serving urban western cuisine. It's in the classic Patrick Sullivan building that's been around since 1888.
Excellent steaks, among other things.
Ye Olde Steak House racks up Best Steak House in Knoxville awards every year, but its fame extends far beyond the city limits. It's one of Knoxville's oldest and most popular restaurant, family-owned since 1968.
48 drafts. Concerts on weekends. Pizzas. Billiard Room.
Great bar and grill on Historic Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. Good selection of beers brewed on site. Standard pub fare. Pool tables, television, and live music. Front and back patios. Popular with locals.
Really interesting place from a perspective of European traveler, a bar full of old 25-cent arcade games (more than ten machines like Donkey Kong, Street Fighter II, Mario Bros) plus cheap beer (different kinds) especially on Tuesdays. Smoking only outside, on a funny small patio. Great, relaxed atmosphere.
Good beer selection, live music.
Low key pub scene, far from centre.
Extended-stay hotel with weekly housekeeping service, coffee makers, hair dryers, irons, ironing boards, fully equipped kitchens, microwaves, refrigerators, pillow-top mattresses, and cable TV. Some rooms have work desks, sofa sleepers and balconies.
Downtown Knoxville location. Complimentary WiFi access throughout the hotel.
West Town is the more upscale of Knoxville's two malls and is anchored by Belk, Dillard's, Sears, Belk, and JCPenney. West Town contains a food court and most traditional "mall" stores. The Centre at Deane Hill (cross Morrell Road, east of the mall) contains a Borders, PetSmart, Kohl's, Bed Bath and Beyond, Food City, and many smaller stores and restaurants.
A "Lifestyle Center" containing many different restaurants, clothing stores, a very large movie theater (Regal Cinemas Pinnacle Theater 18.) Large retailers include Walmart, Super Target, Old Navy, Borders, and Belk.
The shops lining Market Square include several locally owned clothing and home accessories boutiques. In addition, the square is often home to vendors during events such as the Dogwood Arts Festival.
Harking back to the square's original function, the Market Square District Association hosts a farmer's market each Wednesday (11AM-2PM) and Saturday (9AM-1PM.)
Once the center of life in Knoxville, Gay Street is slowly becoming a destination for shopping and socializing. Mast General Store and Yee-Haw industries make up the limited but hopefully growing retail. At the north end of Gay Street, the Emporium Center for the Arts contains studios of local artists and gallery space. The visitors' center (located on the corner of Gay and Summit Hill), the East Tennessee History Center, and Blount Mansion also have gift shops with souvenirs and local products.
A warehouse-sized extravaganza of cheap, used books, CDs, DVDs, videos, audiobooks, CD-ROMs, and video games. As well as shopping, you can sell your used items for cash or store credit.
By car
Southbound Interstate 75 and westbound Interstate 40 converge in the middle of Knoxville via Interstate 275 and run concurrently through western Knoxville.
By bus
By boat
The Tennessee River runs through Knoxville and is accessible by personal watercraft. Many boaters routinely navigate the Tennessee River for both pleasure and travel.
Public transportation
Biking and walking
gov/government/city_departments_offices/parks_and_recreation/greenways_trails that allows cyclists and pedestrians to travel into downtown from nearby suburbs such as Sequoyah Hills and Island Home.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Knoxville/Maryville · International · TYS
Loading places around the airport…
Articles and travel topics about Knoxville and United States.
Nature & adventureHow to use the America the Beautiful pass, navigate timed-entry reservations and win hiking permits across America's top national parks.
7 min read
Travel tipsHow to master the NYC subway with OMNY contactless pay, dodge airport transfer traps and explore iconic Manhattan and Brooklyn neighborhoods.
7 min read
ItinerariesHow to plan the classic California Highway 1 road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles, navigating Big Sur closures, coastal stops and vehicle tips.
6 min read
Travel tipsSplitting a city stay between two hotels can cut costs, save hours of travel and buy you a night of luxury. Here is how to do it well.
7 min read
Every section of the guide. Open one to read it in full.