Dear Slow Travelers in TN,

In a few weeks I will be visiting a friend who is currently working in Smyrna, TN. She is Spanish (I wrote about her here previously and got some good advice on Nashville) and I would love for her to see a real college town. Having gone to the University of Georgia myself, I know that any college town in TN will be pale in comparison to Athens, GA ( ); still, I think we should give it a try. Since UT is in Knoxville, would that be our best bet? Is it a fun place to spend a day?

I just re-read the Yankees in TN but it focused more on what it is like to live there. I noted the info on the hotels and BBs and the historic neighborhoods, but would love some info on UT and on restaurants.

Thanks!

I can hardly believe this-- two threads with questions about Knoxville in the same year!

Chiocciola, I teach at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and am on campus and dealing with students a couple days a week. There are 26,400 students at UT, undergrads and grad students.

For what it's worth (not the ranking a university wants to have!), UTK is frequently on lists of top party schools. The main areas where students head seem to be the Cumberland Strip (adjacent to campus), the Old City, and now downtown Knoxville and Market Square. All these areas have a variety of clubs and restaurants. AC Entertainment, the company that runs the big music festival called Bonnaroo, brings lots of great entertainment to the beautiful and recently-restored Tennessee Theatre downtown. You might want to plan a visit around a performance that interests you-- see information here. The smaller Bijou Theatre just down the street is also an old restored theatre with frequent live performances.

The alternative newspaper for Knoxville is the MetroPulse, which includes all the info about entertainment, restaurants, and activities. It's available for free all over the town.

Knoxville really comes to life around college sports. Neyland Stadium is one of the largest in the USA, seating over 102,000 people. It's an amazing experience to be part of the crowd of orange, especially when UT is having a great season. Basketball is also a very big deal here, both the men's and women's teams. Coach Bruce Pearl has really ignited the men's team and the fans, and the men were just ranked #3 in the nation on the AP poll. Acclaimed coach Pat Head Summit has led the Lady Vols to seven national championships, including last year. (They are now ranked #2.) You could probably get tickets to a women's game if that interested you, and you would have a great time. I think tickets for the men's games are much more difficult to get now, but I'm sure you could buy from a scalper on the street.

I don't know if Knoxville is the best college town in Tennessee, but these are some ideas for your visit. Let us know what you end up doing!

Kathy

Kathy,

Thanks so much!! Great advise. I looked up the Lady Vols schedule and unfortunately they are not playing when we are going (Saturday, February 9th.) Still seems like a nice place to visit, so I am pretty sure we will do it. I usually love college towns and have been curious to see what Knoxville is like.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it!

C.

OK I finally bought my ticket (luckily I still got a good deal on Southwest) and I am off on Friday to Smyrna to see my friend and then we will take a road trip to Knoxville! I am looking forward to it and it will be fun to see some more of TN. Maybe I will write a tiny tiny trip report about it!