If visitors stay in hotels in West Memphis instead of Memphis (West Memphis is in Arkansas rather than Tennessee), they will cut hotel costs significantly and find that places are generally quieter than in Memphis. We stayed at Best Western near where interstates 40 and 55 merge, which meant that the journey to downtown in Memphis was about ten minutes. Before tax, a room with breakfast and access to a pool cost $49.
Whether staying there or not, Peabody Hotel, 149 Union Avenue, has to be seen to be believed. There is no problem if, as a non-resident, you pop inside to admire the impressive lobby and the wide hallways with their attractive shops.
One of the delights of Memphis is the river, in this case the Mississippi. Along the riverbank are great views punctuated every so often by mighty bridges.
There are now half a dozen excellent houses worth seeing in Victorian Village on Adams Avenue east of downtown, and the views from Victorian Village to downtown are memorable. However, the cash-strapped city government has had to close to visitors all but one of the houses, Mallory-Neely, 652 Adams Avenue.
Victorian Village, Memphis
Interesting buildings, etc. not mentioned above include Lorraine Motel/National Civil Rights Museum, Amtrak Station, Beale Street (Beale Street has to be seen, but once is enough unless you intend to catch some live music), Graceland and Sun Recording Studios.
Lorraine Motel, Memphis
Beale Street, Memphis
Beale Street, Memphis
Graceland, Memphis
Graceland, Memphis
The young woman who showed our group around Sun Recording Studios had tattooed her chest with “Honky Tonk Angel”. The young man of Indian origin who helped to run our hotel had a personalised Arkansas numberplate on his car: “SHIV” for Lord Shiva.
If travelling between Memphis and Nashville, pull off Interstate 40 to visit Casey Jones Village to see a preserved steam locomotive, some rolling stock, a small station and Casey Jones’ House. The 1890s’ Train Station Railroad Museum, which contains all these things, is free to wander around. Nearby is the excellent Old Country Store with antiques, modern souvenirs, interesting food such as jams, sweets and relishes, and a cafe and a restaurant. Allow at least an hour for the visit.
Casey Jones Village
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Demonbreun between 4th and 5th in Nashville, is one of the best indoor places to spend a day in the USA, even if, as in our case, country and western is not your favourite musical genre. The collection of interesting memorabilia is remarkable. Moreover, the booths where visitors retire to hear landmark recordings knock spots off how music is accessed at the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City. The displays are so full of learned insights that it takes more than a day to do full justice to them. Given how cheap admission is compared with Graceland in Memphis ($17-50 compared with $30 for the full works at the tacky Elvis Presley showcase) and that every visitor will find something to love and/or admire (we spent over an hour in an excellent exhibition devoted to Ray Charles), the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum must rate as one of the top music-themed museums anywhere in the world. Add to this that you can see live acts for free in a small theatre at regular intervals during the day and that the museum’s restaurant, SoBro Grill, does great American food with imaginative twists without charging much more than a typical diner, and you have what amounts to an excellent all-round experience.
How much better Broadway is than Beale Street in Memphis. The Broadway bars, cafes and restaurants, many with free live music, are considerably more appealing and friendly than the ones on Beale Street. At the bottom of the street, near the Cumberland River and the station for the light rail trains to Lebanon, is Big River Grille and Brewing Works where starters, sandwiches and mains cost an average of $9, $9 and $12 respectively. The micro-brewery serves excellent beers.
Broadway, Nashville
Nashville
Nashville
Broadway, Nashville
For people who want a treat, the obvious place to stay is Union Station, which is now a Wyndham Historic Hotel. We were encouraged to walk around the hotel which has beautiful bedrooms, lounges and dining rooms. At present, the least expensive bedrooms cost $139 with breakfast. Dating from 1900, the one-time station benefitted from an extensive restoration programme in 2006 and reopened as a hotel in early 2007. Marvel at the 65 foot barrel-vaulted ceiling with Tiffany-style stained glass about 100 years old and the rare bas-relief sculptures. No passenger trains currently run through Nashville (the nearest Amtrak stations appear to be in Memphis and Louisville, the latter in Kentucky), but plenty of freight trains rumble along the tracks.
Union Station/Wyndham Historic Hotel, Nashville
Interesting buildings, etc. not mentioned already include Fort Nashborough, Ryman Auditorium, State Capitol, War Memorial Auditorium, Bellsouth, LP Field (home of the NFL Tennessee Titans), Printers Alley, 2nd Avenue North and Music Row. Also look out for the elaborate shop signs, adverts and murals painted onto walls along or close to Broadway.
Nashville
Nashville
Townsend is the best, quietest and least commercialised town or city in which to stay if not camping in the Smoky Mountains themselves. Why? Because it is small, the mountains can be seen from the main street, mist often enhances the early mornings, there is a small railroad museum (Little River Railroad and Lumber Company Museum), there are six economy or moderately priced hotels and motels along Highway 32 and the Little River winds through the valley where paths along the riverbank provide views of pretty houses and old wooden barns.
Townsend
From Townsend, Cades Cove is only a 25 mile drive via Laurel Creek Road. Once there, drive around Cades Cove Loop Road; visit some of the historically important houses, churches, barns (some of the barns are cantilevered) and mills (one mill has a dam race); and complete a short trek or two to see deer, otters, herons, wild turkeys, bats and, if you are very lucky, a black bear. Return to Townsend via the one-way lanes called Rich River Road and Old Cades Cove Road.
Cades Cove Loop Road is so beautiful we went around it twice in two days.
From the car park at Abrams Fall Trailhead, a delightful 2.5 mile track leads to the waterfall in 50 minutes one way. Many more ambitious trails lead from the loop. Information about all the trails can be secured from the Cable Mill Historic Area and Visitor Centre (where half a dozen important wooden buildings from the early settler days have been re-assembled).
Near Townsend
Near Townsend
Cade’s Cove
Cade’s Cove
We drove east and south from Cades Cove past Chimney Tops to Newfound Gap (5,048 feet) on the border between the states of Tennessee and North Carolina. Towering above Newfound Gap is Clingman’s Dome (6,643 feet). We continued about 15 miles into North Carolina just to say we had visited the state.
Newfound Gap
The USA: Landscapes and Urban Spaces 