Chattanooga, TN City Guide
Wow! I have been on the road lately. Between Edisto Island week before last and Chattanooga last week, I have to admit- I am happy to be home! Last week, I visited Chattanooga, TN for the first time ever with my best friend for life (literally), Maggie! I have known Maggie since the actual day that she was born. We were MUCH overdue for a girls trip and she found herself with a week off of work, so we took off!
We had so much fun. We stayed in the cutest, and cleanest, Air BNB that was so close to downtown. I will link that here for you in case you are interested! It was within walking distance to downtown and in a very safe area. We had great recommendations from friends to get our trip started, and of course found some great places on the go too! Today I am sharing all that we did in Chattanooga as far as dining, activities, and drinks go! It is just under 4 hours from WNC and is the perfect place for a weekend getaway!
DINING
Feed Table & Tavern // Our first meal in town! This is definitely a Chattanooga staple with great home cookin’ food! We had the fried green tomatoes and buffalo chicken tenders, what a great first meal!
Tony’s Pasta Shop & Trattoria // YUM! We found this handmade pasta shop on a whim and were incredibly impressed. It is located in this sweet little village that is also walking distance to the Whiskey Thief rooftop bar. I would say this was our favorite meal!
The Daily Ration // The next morning we drove to the north side of Chattanooga and visited The Daily Ration for breakfast. We sat outside and had pimento cheese and all kinds of biscuits! I also had a latte and it was wonderful. I should also say that it was right across the street from some sweet shops where I got a lot of Christmas shopping done! 😉
Mike’s Hole In The Wall // I am sad to say that this place was a total bust. We also found it on a whim one night when we were in a hurry to get to our next activity and it was a bad choice. Food wasn’t great, atmosphere was very bad. We were definitely drawn in by the name because we LOVE hole-in-the-wall restaurants, but it was a no-go for us.
ACTIVITIES
Choo Choo District // As soon as we got into town we walked to the choo choo sign! We stayed just a few blocks down and it was an easy walk to this part of town. This is a cool place where you can visit the museum, have a drink at one of the multiple bars inside, and even go in to the old train cars!
Gunbarrel Road Shopping // The next day, we spent the majority of the day shopping on Gunbarrel Road. They had a fantastic Target, and pretty much any other shop you can imagine- including a mall! This is a great rainy day activity.
Lookout Mountain // We drove up to the Incline Railroad on Lookout Mountain and the drive up is beautiful! We stopped at the Incline because it is free to visit. If you want to visit Rock City or Pointe Park, you will have to pay a fee. This spot offered us beautiful views for just the small price of parking. If you drive on to Pointe Park, you can see seven states from one spot!
Board and Brush // One night we traveled over to Board and Brush to do a mini sign! At home we have an AR workshop, which is very similar to Board and Brush but neither one of us had ever done this before! We had the time and this is something that we both agreed we wouldn’t take the time to do at home. We each signed up for a project online and when we got in the class they offered additional signs for just $10! We had an absolute blast. I would most definitely recommend this for a fun girls night out.
Cambridge Square // Board and Brush is located inside of Cambridge Square, much like Biltmore Park! It is full of fun and unique shops and dining. We got there early and shopped around in Sweet E’s Children’s Boutique and Barn Door Boutique!
DRINKS & SNACKS
STIR // When we walked to the Choo Choo District, we decided to sit down and have a drink in STIR! They are inside of the historic building there and they make their own really big ice cubes – such a cool added touch! I had a margarita and Mag had a mule. Their food menu looked good too, but the atmosphere was just right for an afternoon drink!
Blue Fox Cheese Shop // When Maggie and I were little, we would play “school” all day long with of course taking lunch breaks. On those lunch breaks, we would demand that our Mom’s made us “snack trays”. On those snack trays were cheese, pickles, and chips. Which nowadays, is called a very fancy “charcuterie board” 🙂 We got the smallest size (feeds 1) cheese box to-go for an afternoon snack and it was just perfect!
Whiskey Thief // Probably my favorite spot in Chattanooga! They are located on top of the Edwin Hotel and most definitely has the best view in town. The drinks were fantastic and the sweet waiter even went outside to take a photo of us.
Unknown Caller // Another great spot for a drink! After dinner at Tony’s we took a short walk and found Unknown Caller. It’s a speakeasy! Shhh! You enter a phone booth, pick-up the phone and dial a number and the door opens for you. A really great experience. Once inside, there is awesome decor and sweet people. This is a must-do when downtown!
The Hot Chocolatier // For another afternoon snack we visited The Hot Chocolatier. We each got a coffee and two small chocolate truffles before heading out for an afternoon of shopping. It was such a great blend of rich chocolate, but not too over-powering.
Hope this is helpful if you find yourself in Chattanooga in the future!