Knoxville, in Knox County, is the third-largest city in Tennessee. It is the home of the University of Tennessee's primary campus (UTK) and site of the 1982 World's Fair.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
Knoxville sits nestled on the Tennessee River about an hour from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. On any evening of the week, throngs of residents and visitors can be seen at the sidewalk cafes, theaters, restaurants and night clubs along Gay Street and Market Square. The University of Tennessee, with its 27,000 students, is within walking distance of the downtown, separated only by the World's Fair Park. You can still see remnants of the 1982 World's Fair in the Sunsphere, a rising structure topped with a gold sphere which dots Knoxville's skyline.
Although parking is usually easy to come by in most of the city, it may be mildly difficult at times to find adequate parking downtown and around the University of Tennessee. Walking is convenient downtown, but in other areas, most major roads are not amenable to pedestrians or bicyclists. In the outer areas of the city, because the bus service is infrequent and some places don't have sidewalks, traveling by car is the way to go. Knoxville Area Transit, or KAT. KAT runs a bus service throughout the City of Knoxville and parts of Knox County. Most KAT bus stops are served on an hourly interval, so exploring Knoxville via KAT bus is somewhat difficult.
Fort Sanders neighborhood. A multitude of Victorian-era houses. Market Square. A small, historic downtown square, home to dining, retail, a twice weekly farmer's market, and special events. Market Square takes its name from the Market House that once stood at its center. Farmers from surrounding areas would bring their wagons into Knoxville's Market House to sell their wares. Today the square is full of interesting little shops and restaurants. Entering the southern end of the square from Union Avenue, one may pass the bell from the old Market House as well as a statue commemorating Tennessee's role in the fight for women's suffrage.
Fishing The Tennessee River's bass producing waters feature an abundance of fishing opportunities. From the lower end of Pickwick, legendary for world-class smallmouth fishing, the river pours through a powerful tailwater before winding many miles until backing into the Kentucky Lake basin. Kentucky Lake, covering 164,000 acres (109,000 in Tennessee), is legendary for its largemouth bass fishing. Whether you enjoy pure river fishing, open-reservoir structure fishing or casting to cover in creeks or backwaters, there's a Tennessee fishing experience waiting for you. Motorcycling Living in the Knoxville area puts you near America's number one motorcycle road: The Tail of the Dragon.
Knoxville has plenty of restaurants, although the diversity and quality of them can be disappointing if you're not willing to look beyond the major chain locations. Persevere, however, and you will find some diamonds in the rough. Vegetarians and vegans are generally not well catered to, there are exceptions and the vigilant vegetarian or vegan will not starve. Knoxville has most typical fast-food chains in one or more places around town. Petro's. Petro's was founded in Knoxville during the energy-themed 1982 World's Fair. The petro consists of corn chips, chili, cheese, green onions, tomatoes, and sour cream, and it comes in beef, chicken, and vegetarian varieties.
Market Square and the Old City house a number of bars, probably too many to list here. Below are a few popular locations in those areas and elsewhere. 1 Barley's Taproom and Pizzeria, 200 East Jackson Ave (In Old City), ☏ +1 865-521-0092, barleysbooking@gmail.com. 48 drafts. Concerts on weekends. Pizzas. Billiard Room. (updated Dec 2016) 2 Downtown Grill & Brewery, 424 S. Gay St (Downtown), ☏ +1 865-633-8111. Great bar and grill on Historic Gay Street in downtown Knoxville. Good selection of beers brewed on site. Standard pub fare. Pool tables, television, and live music. Front and back patios. Popular with locals.
In general, Knoxville is a safe town. Practice the same precautions you would in any other mid-sized American town -- for example, lock your car and don't leave valuables sitting in plain view in your car. Low-income areas downtown should be traversed carefully. Avoid the area around University and Fifth. You don't want to go there after dark. This is not at the University of Tennessee. Be careful where you park in the "Old City" area. It's right next to the mission district.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Nov, Knoxville typically sees ~16°C daytime highs and 9 rainy days.
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