Chattanooga tourist information

Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in Tennessee (behind Memphis, Nashville and Knoxville), and the seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee in the United States of America. It is located in Southeast Tennessee on the Tennessee River, near the border of Georgia, and at the junction of three interstate highways.

The city, which lies at the transition between the ridge-and-valley portion of the Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau, is surrounded by ridges.

Things to do

Museums
Chattanooga is the home to the Hunter Museum of Art, a well known art museum. In addition, Chattanooga, since it is the birthplace of the tow truck, is the fitting home of the International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum, also the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum the largest operating historic railroad in the south. A number of other museums can be found in town as well, including the Chattanooga Regional History Museum, the National Medal of Honor Museum, the Houston Museum and the Chattanooga African American Museum.

Performing Arts
Chattanooga is home to the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera which is currently lead by Musical Director & Conductor Robert Bernhardt and holds its performances at the Tivoli Theatre.

Tourist Attractions
Chattanooga has traditionally marketed its tourist attractions very aggressively, including the Tennessee Aquarium (a major expansion, coinciding with a completion of a major riverfront development project, opened in May, 2005), caverns, and developments along the Tennessee River. In the downtown area are both the Creative Discovery Museum (a hands on children's museum dedicated to science, art, and music), the IMAX 3D Theatre, and the Hunter Museum of Art (which also completed a recent expansion). Chattanooga is also home to the Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park. Just two miles outside of downtown Chattanooga is the Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park which is Chattanooga's own zoo. The red-and-black painted barns along highways in the Southeast are remnants of a now classic Americana tourism campaign to attract visitors to the Rock City tourist attraction in nearby Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Incidentally, Chattanooga means "rock coming to a point" in the Creek Indian language (most believe it refers to Lookout Mountain or the rock outcroppings thereon). Other attractions in the Lookout Mountain area are Ruby Falls, an underground waterfall, and the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, a steep funicular railway which rises to the top of the mountain. Near Chattanooga, the Raccoon Mountain Caverns in Lookout Valley hold a number of sightseeing and family fun opportunities. Other points of interest include:

* Bonny Oaks Arboretum * Cherokee Arboretum at Audubon Acres * Cherokee Trail Arboretum

Festivals
Chattanooga is also notable for the Riverbend Festival, an annual week-long music festival held in June in the downtown area that is known for drawing huge crowds from in and around the Tennessee Valley. One of the most popular events of the festival is the Bessie Smith Strut, a one night showcase of blues and jazz music. The event is named for Bessie Smith, a pioneering blues singer from Chattanooga. As of recent the Bessie Smith Strut has been shortened due to security concerns that arose due to an incendent in 2003 in which a young man was shot during the strut.

The most prominent natural features in and around Chattanooga are the Tennessee River and the surrounding mountains. A Tennessee Valley Authority dam creates Chickamauga Lake north of the downtown area. Five automobile bridges, one railroad trestle, and one pedestrian bridge cross the river.

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