Derek and I recently miraculously both had a day off together! If you didn’t know, Derek is in the Nashville Symphony, and often our weekends are filled with concerts and rehearsals. So when we both end up having a day off on a weekend, I like to take advantage of it, and we have a “Taylor & Derek Day” haha It’s cheesy, but that’s actually what I call it. We don’t get to have a lot of days that we can entirely do what we want without other obligations, so when our schedules lined up I thought it would be a great time to go on a little day trip somewhere, and we thought Chatt would be perfect!
Nashville is only 2 hours from Chattanooga. It’s also just the right size to be able to do most things in a day! We were able to get in 2 meals, coffee, ice cream, the aquarium, drinks, photos, and lots of touristy things in about 7 hours!
Chatt is smaller than Nashville, and has a lot of historic, smalltown charm. It felt like a very cozy town to live in, and the cascading mountains provided a picturesque backdrop to the city. It was absolutely the perfect little day trip from Nashville, and we felt like we really were able to get a feel for the cute town in our time there!
If you’re heading to Chattanooga soon, here are some great things to include!:
Brunch or Lunch at
The Daily Ration
We started off our trip with food obviously! The Daily Ration came highly recommended to me, and so glad we decided to make this our first stop. It’s located in a former gas station, but the vibe of the place is so cool! We enjoyed lunch outside, and were both satisfied with our vegan and non-vegan meals. They even had oat milk for my latte!
Do touristy things and visit the
Chattanooga Choo Choo
I always knew the song Chattanooga Choo Choo more than the actual history of it, but we quickly got up to speed on our history after visiting the Chattanooga Choo Choo train terminal. Originally opened in the 1900s, the terminal is now part of the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel. The trains are since stationery, but you can dine in them and even stay in them! We had fun just exploring the terminal and trains as well as walking around in and out of shops in that area.
Get an afternoon treat at
Clumpies Ice Cream Co.
This one also came highly recommended. Apparently it’s pretty popular here, and for good reason! Their ice cream was the perfect afternoon treat for both of us. They had plenty of vegan options for me too!
Splurge on something fun and go to the
Tennessee Aquarium
We actually only have a zoo in Nashville, so we decided to check out the Tennessee Aquarium, and spent a large part of our day here. Tickets are about $35 per person so it is a bit of a splurge, but it was a great aquarium, and we were happy we went! They have 2 areas of the aquarium: Rivers and Oceans. Our favorite part was seeing the chameleons getting fed! We ended up spending about 3 hours here, and we had so much fun!
Relax, and get a drink at
The Dwell Hotel
This was a place I’d always wanted to go sheerly for the photos I’ve seen of it. It’s immaculately decorated, and SO up my alley in terms of design aesthetic. They have a bar, and restaurant inside the hotel so we stopped in during happy hour to relax and I giddily peaked around oodling at how gorgeous it is in there. I would definitely low to stay here one day!
Catch dinner at
Urban Stack
We had worked up an appetite after a long day and decided only burgers would do the trick. Urban Stack was just what we needed! Derek opted for a burger, and I got a house-made mushroom burger that were both so good! This place’s reviews are through the roof, and definitely agree!
Get some caffeine for the road (or really any time!) at
Rembrandt Coffee House
This European style cafe was everything we needed to end our trip, and get some fuel for the drive home. This full service cafe has a large assortment of sandwiches, soups, salads, and lots of chocolate and desserts. We skipped our on the food, and headed straight for the caffeine. We took our coffees for one last walk around the cafe that overlooks the river and bridges, and started to watch the sunset. It was the perfect way to the end trip!
Hope you guys get a chance to visit this cute town, and experience Chattanooga!