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All the United States Tennessee

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Tennessee

175 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Tennessee

Updated June 2, 2025

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Cities

Top Cities
Nashville Parthenon
Nashville
The Crystal Shrine Grotto
Memphis
Ruby Falls.
Chattanooga
The Body Farm.
Knoxville
Prepare for one of nature’s most dazzling displays.
Gatlinburg
A display at American Museum of Science and Energy
Oak Ridge
All Cities
  1. Brownsville
  2. Chattanooga
  3. Clinton
  4. Crossville
  5. Gatlinburg
  6. Jackson
  7. Knoxville
  8. Memphis
  9. Nashville
  10. Oak Ridge
  11. Pigeon Forge
  12. Sevierville
  13. Sewanee
  14. South Pittsburg
  15. Sparta
  16. Townsend
Attractions
Food & Drink
Map
Leaderboards
Stories

Unusual Attractions in Tennessee

Prepare for one of nature’s most dazzling displays.

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Synchronous Fireflies of the Great Smoky Mountains

For two weeks every June, fireflies in the Smoky Mountains perform an astonishing light show.
The Lost Sea

Sweetwater, Tennessee

Lost Sea

Enormous lake at the bottom of a unique cave system.
Bell Witch Cave

Adams, Tennessee

The Bell Witch Cave

Home of an evil witch famous within southern folklore.
Grotto of Evil Spirits

Sevierville, Tennessee

Forbidden Caverns

Wild lights and sound effects turn a walk through some caves into an eye-popping 1960s tourist attraction.
Still from the movie

Morristown, Tennessee

The 'Evil Dead' Cabin

All that's left of the quintessential "cabin in the woods."
Ruby Falls.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Ruby Falls

The mysterious wonder of an underground waterfall is illuminated by multicolored lights.
The Body Farm.

Knoxville, Tennessee

William M. Bass Forensic Anthropology Center

Better known as the "Body Farm," this unique research facility has been studying how human bodies break down since the 1980s.

Sparta, Tennessee

Virgin Falls Pocket Wilderness

Visit this playground of waterfalls, caves and sinkholes.
See All 175 Things To Do in Tennessee

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Silky O'Sullivan's

Home to drunken tower-climbing goats... seriously.
Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Salt & Pepper Shaker Museum

Over 20,000 sets of spice shakers reveal the surprisingly telling history of our most basic spices.
Whiskey barrels in the distillery.

Lynchburg, Tennessee

Jack Daniel's Distillery Tour

All you ever needed or wanted to know about America's favorite whiskey, but not a drop to drink.
Earnestine & Hazel’s.

Memphis, Tennessee

Earnestine & Hazel's

The juke joint where legendary soul artists ate, drank, and made merry.
See all 31 Places to Eat in Tennessee
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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

The Explorer’s Guide to Road Tripping Around Appalachia

The world still doesn’t quite know what to make of Appalachia. The mountainous, multi-state region has long been defined both by mystery and misconceptions. In many ways, it’s been America’s shadow since the nation’s birth. Early settlers fretted about American Indian tribes, dark hollows, and looming wilderness in the 1600s and 1700s, while modern folks tend to worry more about the environmental degradation and concentration of Trump voters. Yet, Appalachia is much like America as a whole—it sprawls from south to north across several states, spawning local cultures marked as much by their diversity and differences than what they have in common. And these mountains are old. Rocks formed during the Precambrian era have been found in some places. Parts of the Appalachian Mountains are thought to be even older than Saturn’s rings, and millennia of erosion have given rise to one of the richest temperate ecosystems in the world. This diverse bioregion has become home to a melting pot of culture. Archaeological findings indicate that American Indian tribes inhabited the region 20,000 years ago. The first Europeans arrived in the 1500s, when Spanish conquistadors ventured up from what is now Florida. English and French settlers followed, establishing a general pattern that continues into the present: Newcomers bring their cultural traditions into the region, where they are absorbed into the greater whole.

View Itinerary
Although much of Appalachia’s old-growth forests have been destroyed, those that survive are glorious.

Explore Tennessee

Music 19
Museums 18
History 13
Caves 12
Architecture 11
Ecosystems 11
Art 10
Restaurants 9
Parks 9
Statues 8
Nature 8
Animals 8
Unique Restaurants & Bars 5
Places To Stay 2

Tennessee Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. KenJ
    12
  2. Josh Belcher
    5
  3. Edward Denny
    4
  4. Mason Adams
    4
  5. thudson3055
    4
Join the Ranks!
Add an unusual place to Tennessee.

Places Edited

  1. Collector of Experiences
    33
  2. KenJ
    23
  3. breaingram
    9
  4. mocchiatto
    9
  5. Rachel
    9
Join the Ranks!
Improve the Atlas with edits and photos.

Places Visited

  1. musecurator
    78
  2. Erik
    64
  3. jjcarte1
    62
  4. KenJ
    57
  5. fnc122431
    54

Recent Tennessee Activity

  • Ilikefoodfood666

    wants to go to Pinckney's Tomb

  • racheldonaldson05

    wants to go to William M. Bass Forensic Anthropology Center

  • tinyg94

    wants to go to Spaceship House

  • msmith516

    wants to go to Knoxville Weather Kiosk

  • kaplinger

    wants to go to Ciderville Music Store

Stories About Tennessee

View from the overlook on Kuwohi of the mountain peaks and ridges of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Tallest of the Great Smoky Mountains Is—Officially—Kuwohi

The return of the Indigenous name of Tennessee’s highest point has meaning beyond what’s on a map.
by Seth T. Kannarr and Derek H. Alderman
November 4, 2024

Podcast: Small Town, Big Story: The Storytellers of Jonesborough, TN

Every October, amateurs and professionals alike gather in this small town in the Appalachian Mountains to hone their storytelling chops and share them with crowds of thousands.
Sponsored by GoUSA TV

Podcast: Dolly Parton’s Dreambox

An unheard song is just one treasure in a box locked till the star's 100th birthday.
by The Podcast Team
November 9, 2023
Orfelia fultoni are the only bioluminescent fly species in North America, and the larvae produce the bluest light in the insect world.

Meet the Glowing 'Worms' of the American South

There is a lot to learn about Orfelia fultoni, the only bioluminescent fly in North America, but its larvae put on a show.
by Maggie Gigandet
August 18, 2023
The haunting by the entity known as the Bell Witch has resonated across centuries of American history.

The Elusive, Maddening Mystery of the Bell Witch

A classic ghost story has something to say about America—200 years ago, 100 years ago, and today.
by Colin Dickey
May 2, 2023

What’s Inside the New Gastro Obscura Vending Machine?

The second iteration is filled with rare and unexpected treats from the American South.
Sponsored by Partners of Travel South
Pauline Cushman masqueraded as a Southern woman in search of her lost brother to gain access to a Confederate camp in Tennessee.

A Struggling Actress’s Greatest Role Was as a Real Civil War Spy

Pauline Cushman’s contributions to U.S. war efforts earned her the honorary title of “Major.”
by April White
March 8, 2022

Podcast: Minister's Treehouse

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
by The Podcast Team
March 24, 2021

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