Tag: Knoxville

It's all fun and games at these five Southern toy stores, offering everything from dolls and Legos to painting lessons and trading cards.

Many a song has been written about Tennessee. Countless artists have dedicated their work to her beauty, drawing inspiration from her mountains and waterways. And now, the Volunteer State can claim another love letter of sorts—a luxury hotel called the Tennessean that honors its birthplace at every turn.

Knoxville’s population—approximately 185,000—is about one-third that of Memphis and Nashville. And while Memphis claims Elvis and Nashville the Grand Ole Opry, Knoxville boasts an unlikely pair of native sons: country singer Kenny Chesney and filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.

Travel to Knoxville to hear big names at the Big Ears Festival, visit a family-friendly Saint Patrick's Day festival in Savannah, see the wardrobe of "Downton Abbey" at Asheville's Biltmore, and more.

Although Knoxville retains its Southern grit, the east Tennessee city has put on some polish in the last three decades. The downtown is home to the bustling University of Tennessee campus, as well as a vibrant urban center offering a blend of old and new, rustic and refined.

It’s been more than thirty years since Knoxville hosted the World’s Fair, and there’s only been one such expo in the United States since (New Orleans in 1984). Yet after its fifteen minutes of international fame, “Knoxpatch” settled back into its easygoing, unpretentious ways.