Chattanooga (the whole town, not just the aquarium) has been one of my family's favorite day/weekend trip destinations for several years -- we generally go up once a year at least. Besides aquarium and the waterfront area, the Chattanooga Choo Choo Holiday Inn building and grounds are worth checking out (the building is the old main railroad station, the track platforms have mostly been turned into gardens, there are train cars that serve as some of the rooms, there's a shopping arcade with train-themed stores, etc., and a vintage New Orleans streetcar that makes a circuit around the grounds) and is just a short ride on the free electric shuttle buses away from the Aquarium/waterfront. The
Chattanooga Lookouts, the Class AA Southern League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, are one of the most storied franchises in minor league baseball and play their home games at AT&T Field, just a few steps up the hill from the waterfront area. The
Hunter Museum of American Art sits on a bluff overlooking the river, also just a few steps away from the aquarium, and is quite well-regarded. There's also the Walnut Street Bridge (broken link), which has been closed to vehicle traffic and remodeled as a pedestrian bridge to allow access on foot from downtown across the river to
Coolidge Park with its play fountain and restored 100-year-old carousel. On the outskirts of town, there's also the
Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum with interesting rolling stock on permanent display as well as excursion trips, some operated with steam engines.
That doesn't even mention Rock City, Point Park, Chicamauga, the Incline Railway, Ruby Falls, or a host of other things to do and see. We always come back with a list of stuff we want to do on the next trip.
Asheville's another decent suggestion for a weekend trip -- I tend to forget about it since my wife's family lives there and we're always heading up there for family visits, etc., so it's not on my mental list of cool getaway spots.
If you do go to Birmingham and have any interest at all in baseball and/or history, you have to check out
Rickwood Field, the oldest baseball park in America, and the only place in the world where you can drive up, park your car, and walk out onto the same baseball field where hundreds of baseball greats have played. It's truly an amazing place, and one that few people seem to know about. Since the Birmingham Barons moved out to the suburbs several years ago, it has hosted a variety of college, high school, semi-pro, and amateur baseball events, and has served as a movie set for numerous films about baseball in the early 20th Century (including
Cobb,
The Babe, and others) but when it's not in use you can walk around the park and the field at your leisure, for free. For a taste of what it's like, check out the
photos I took at the annual Rickwood Classic in 2006 (the Barons return to Rickwood for one game each year, with the proceeds from ticket souvenir sales going to preservation/restoration of the park).
Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 700,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. 
Linear Mode
