OT: Chattanooga

[DawgRockur]

Been about 15 years since Ive been to Chattanooga. Just me and the wife are going. Staying downtown(not on the train).
What does everything recommend? We will have three nights, two full days.

[tcdog70]

Go to Reed House and eat at Bridgeman's Chop house.

[RocketDawg]

They have a pretty good minor baseball experience, and there's an antique car museum there somewhere that we went to that was really neat. And admission was free. The acquarium is fantastic.

Stay away from the river boat cruise ... the food was terrible and no entertainment. If you want to do one of those, go to Nashville and the General Jackson.

[InTheIttaBenaHotSun]

If y’all like the outdoors, I suggest rafting the Ocoee River. 3 hr trip is really fun and not expensive at all. Might be a little cold though this time of year.

[sandwolf]

Eat at the Maple Street Biscuit Company for breakfast one day.

Urban Stack and Boathouse are both really good options for both lunch and dinner.

Their aquarium is fantastic.

They turned their old river bridge into a pedestrian bridge and on the weekends locals will set up booths trying to sell art, etc. My wife and I enjoyed strolling across the bridge and looking at everything and then there are some good restaurants when you get to the other side of the river.

Great city to walk in and there should be outdoor festivals you can go to if the weather is good.

Enjoy yourself. Chattanooga is an awesome city.

[StateDawg44]

I second the aquarium.

Bridgeman's is good. Not sure if it's worth the money though.

Tupelo Honey is good. Public House is good. All at Warehouse Row. Shopping area also.

Check out Matilda Midnight and The Dwell Hotel. Designer hotel where each room is designed differently. Only a block or so from Tupelo Honey and Warehouse Row. They will give tours of empty rooms if you ask at the front desk. The downstairs bar (Matilda Midnight) has some crazy drink concoctions. Even if you aren't drinking it is still a really cool funky unique lobby area. Like you step back in time. 100% a place to pop in and check out.
https://www.matildamidnight.com/

Mainstreet Meats - easily one of the best burgers I've ever had. Never ordered anything else from there.
http://www.mainstreetmeatschatt.com/


Taco Mamacita is good. Will probably run into a short wait if you go at night. Parking lot can be packed some times too. DO NOT park in front of the Family Dollar. They are like hawks waiting to call a tow truck.
https://tacomamacita.com/

Tony's Italian is definitely good. Rembrandts next door to Tony's for coffee or desserts.
https://bluffviewartdistrictchattanooga.com/tonys-pasta-shop/


If you are wanting brunch, may want to make reservations or get where you're going fairly early. Definitely make reservations to Food Works if you are wanting to go. Flying Squirrel is also a good brunch spot with good indoor/outdoor areas.
http://www.foodworksrestaurant.com/
https://flyingsquirrelbar.com/


Not sure when you are coming but Chattanooga Market is opening the end of April. Weekly thing on weekends that is 100% worth checking out.
https://chattanoogamarket.com/


Soutside Social - Outdoor games and also other games like bowling, pool, ping pong. Lots to do and keep busy with games. Fairly close to Main Street Meats.


There's a new ax throwing place here. Sounds crazy but it's actually a lot of fun to throw axes at the wall. Not sure if they serve drinks at this one here though.
https://www.civilaxethrowing.com/chattanooga


You can take a tequila shot and throw your ice shot glass at a bell at this place downtown. Good food too. It's next to the Westin downtown around shopping also. Shots ain't cheap either though. Even w/ cheaper tequila.
https://www.citronetsel.com/


Pedestrian bridge and other parts of riverwalk are easy and it's nice this time of the year. Warm in the day and cool at nights. Great time of the year to come up.

All of this listed is in the downtown area or nearby.

[Doggie_Style]

If you have time drive up to The University of the South (Sewanee). It's truly a beautiful place. All Saints Chapel is incredible. They have some great hikes also on their 15,000 acre campus including the perimeter trail. They have one of the best 9 hole golf courses in the US with several holes overlooking the valley below. Shenanigan's is a great place for a sandwich and draft beer.

[Bothrops]

Chattanooga is a cool town and probably a little underrated.

[Prediction? Pain.]

I've droned on about Chattanooga's glories ad nauseum before, so I won't rehash the love fest. Here's a link (https://forums.sixpackspeak.com/showthread.php?182854-OT-Chattanooga&p=1447975#post1447975) to big Chattanooga post I did on SPS, complete with a link bonanza. I posted several more messages in that thread, including ones with additional links and pictures, I think.

If you have any specific questions or would like more recommendations, feel free to PM me.

ETA: After re-reading that SPS post, I'd like to remove Puckett's from the list of recommended restaurants. The past two times I've been, the food's been generic and bland. It's super convenient, but even still, I'd pick Easy Bistro (http://www.easybistro.com/) or Sitar (http://www.sitarchattanooga.com/) (an Indian restaurant) if you're dead set on eating really close to the Aquarium.

[basedog]

If y’all like the outdoors, I suggest rafting the Ocoee River. 3 hr trip is really fun and not expensive at all. Might be a little cold though this time of year.

Yes to this, done this about 3 or 4 times.

[Political Hack]

Ocoee is great. There's an age limit though. Also, depending on your tolerance of risk, you should check the upper and middle Oconee. One has the Olympia shoot with Humongous and Godzilla rapids in it. They named it Godzilla because the Japanese Olympic white water team never made it through without wiping out.

Everyone raves about the aquarium. Supposed to be one of the best in the country. Never been though.

[BigEasyDawg]

Maple Street Biscuit Company is a must stop. Get their classic (idk what its called). Biscuit with a huge piece of fried chicken in the middle, cheese, bacon, and smothered in gravy.

They also have amazing chicken and waffles.

[Political Hack]

Maple Street Biscuit Company is a must stop. Get their classic (idk what its called). Biscuit with a huge piece of fried chicken in the middle, cheese, bacon, and smothered in gravy.

They also have amazing chicken and waffles.

They just opened one in downtown Duluth, GA. It's great.

[TDawg73]

Don't miss Songbird's Guitar Museum. It is incredible and make sure to check the schedule for the artist that will be playing there. There is also a comedy club.

[drummerdawg]

Check out the military park on top of Lookout Mountain. Great views and cool history. My great (x4) grandfather was captured at Missionary Ridge so I did a lot of historical things while I was there.

Ruby Falls is great.

The aquarium was really good too. It is divided in to two sections, the freshwater and ocean. And imo the freshwater part was a lot better than the ocean which I was a little surprised by. Would definitely recommend going.

Ate at Slick's Burgers and it was good. I'd definitely go again. My kids really liked Mr. T's. It's a pizza and an icecream place. It's good and I was surprised how cheap everything was. It's located at the base of Lookout I believe in a pretty cool little part of the town.

The Chattanooga Choo Choo was an interesting place to visit. I believe you can stay in the train cars (we did not) but it's something kids like. The lobby is beautiful and has some good restaurants/bars on site. They were renovating when we went but it looks like they were adding some extra things. I'm sure once finished it will be a really cool place to visit.

[RocketDawg]

There's a new ax throwing place here. Sounds crazy but it's actually a lot of fun to throw axes at the wall. Not sure if they serve drinks at this one here though.
https://www.civilaxethrowing.com/chattanooga

Apparently ax throwing is catching on just about everywhere (probalbly thanks to ESPN for broadcasting some events). I think there are 3 locations here alone. Looks like it might be fun.

[RocketDawg]

Chattanooga is a cool town and probably a little underrated.


For a long time, Chattanooga was stuck in the doldrums, was stagnant at best in population, and generally wasn't all that great. In the past few years (maybe 20-25) it has undergone a resurgence and is a very nice town now.

[RocketDawg]

If y’all like the outdoors, I suggest rafting the Ocoee River. 3 hr trip is really fun and not expensive at all. Might be a little cold though this time of year.

The Ocoee was used for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics. It's in a really beautiful area too, I believe not too far from where "Deliverance" was filmed.

[DawgRockur]

Awesome tips. Thanks to everyone!

[Bothrops]

For a long time, Chattanooga was stuck in the doldrums, was stagnant at best in population, and generally wasn't all that great. In the past few years (maybe 20-25) it has undergone a resurgence and is a very nice town now.

It's a smaller town/metro with more than it's fair share of things to see and do.

[sandwolf]

Maple Street Biscuit Company is a must stop.

This really can't be emphasized enough. It is phenomenal.