Great Smoky Mountains National Park

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park (nps.gov/grsm), located on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina, is the most-visited National Park in the United States. Known for the beauty of its mountains and for its remnants of Southern Appalachian culture, the park is the most biologically diverse area in the world's temperate zone. The park features more than 1500 bears and more than 1600 varieties of flowering plants. The park offers more than 800 miles of hiking trails, as well as opportunities for camping, swimming and bird-watching. Because elevations in the park range from 900 to 6500 feet, temperatures vary.
  
  

Chattanooga

• Chattanooga, located in southeastern Tennessee near the borders of Alabama and Georgia, offers a variety of sites of interest to travelers. Museums include the Hunter Museum of American Art (huntermuseum.org), the Houston Museum of Decorative Arts (thehoustonmuseum.com) and the Creative Discovery Museum (cdmfun.org), a center specializing in interactive exhibits for kids. The Battles for Chattanooga Museum (battlesforchattanooga.com) is on the Civil War site of the "Battle Above the Clouds." The Tennessee Aquarium (tennesseeaquarium.org), the world's largest freshwater aquarium, has aquatic exhibits covering the area from the Appalachian High Country to the Mississippi Delta.
  
  

Knoxville

• Knoxville, located near the border of North Carolina in the far northeastern corner of Tennessee, is also home to a variety of historical and cultural sites. The city's museums include the Knoxville Museum of Art (knoxart.org), the Old Smoky Railway Museum (no website; 306 W. Depot Avenue, Knoxville; 865-522-0713), the Farragut Folklife Museum (townoffarragut.org) and the Mabry Hazen House Museum (mabryhazen.com). The city is also home to the Knoxville Zoo (knoxville-zoo.org), which has more than 230 species of animals on display. Knoxville has its own symphony, opera and ballet companies.
  
  

Agritourism

• East Tennessee offers many options for agritourism, with farms offering tours, farmers markets, bed and breakfast stays, and other activities. Magna Vista Farm (no website; 585 Thomas Road, Bristol; 423-878-2831 ), is a 470-acre farm and bed and breakfast that allows guests to plant or harvest the garden and ride horseback on four miles of trails. Mayfield Farm and Nursery (no website; 257 Highway 307, Athens; 423-746-9859), which has been in the same family since 1820, has a farmers market from April to October, as well as a corn maze in October and November.