The Great Southern Road Trip: Knoxville, TN

Welcome to my hometown, Knoxville, TN. We are in the eastern part of Tennessee, right beside the Great Smoky mountains. We are a medium sized city and we are growing by leaps and bounds! The past ten years has been a sort of renaissance for our downtown area and it continues to grow and change exponentially every year.

View of Knoxville downtown waterfront

     Right now in summer, this is when our college town is much slower paced. Our students have left for the summer, for the most part , and no university sporting events are happening. Football is huge here in the fall. There are tons of festivals going on almost every weekend, and so much local food, beer, and culture to immerse yourself in.

Where to Stay:

The Olivier Royale is a lovely boutique hotel in downtown, just steps away from Market Square which is full of great restaurants, and lots of other happening events.
The Oliver Hotel, Knoxville

Air B&B
You can stay in a Scotish castle across the river for a really neat experience! It's in a wooded area, right on a 300 acre nature preserve, and there are even secret passages and towers!

Williamswood Castle on Air B&B

What to Do:

I would recommend walking through the market square farmer's market, if you are here for the weekend. It goes on every Saturday morning here from April- November. There are so many things to buy here! Cute flower arrangements in mason jars, local meats, honey, huge selection of locally farm grown produce- if you are here in the summer, you must try a Grainger county tomato! And don't miss all the food trucks The Cruze Farm dairy sets up a food truck with homemade buttermilk biscuits, and ice cream that is to die for!

http://marketsquarefarmersmarket.org/
http://www.cruzefarm.com/

Knoxville Brew Tours:

Knoxville has opened quite a few new breweries in the last year or two. We are adding more constantly and if you like craft beer, this is a great thing to try!
http://www.knoxbrewtours.com/

Where to Eat:
For breakfast or brunch:
The Tomato Head has a really interesting , unique brunch menu and is a very popular local restaurant, also is one of the oldest on Market square.

Hope you enjoy my hometown as much as I enjoy living here!