Hi! We recently took a family road trip to Knoxville, Tennessee, and had the best time! We visited Knoxville for an outdoor concert last summer, and we were excited to have a little more time to explore the city. It is a family-friendly destination and we loved walking around town and exploring with Remy.
A few of our favorite activities were visiting Zoo Knoxville, hiking at Ijams Nature Center, walking in Market Square, walking through the First Friday ArtWalk, and the Old City. Zoo Knoxville is home to over 1,200 animals and has a unique layout compared to most zoos we’ve visited. It has a more wild and immersive feel, and they are renowned for breeding more endangered red pandas than any other zoo in the world, and they are a leader in the breeding of endangered tortoises.
Remy LOVES turtles and they have the coolest indoor turtle exhibit at the new Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Campus (ARC). Zoo Knoxville is dedicated to conservation, and this facility that opened last spring is fantastic.
Market Square is a vibrant area of town with a ton of restaurants, shopping, and entertainment. The Old City is another walkable area full of character, history, and charm. We loved exploring both areas and visiting local boutiques. It is so cool that the Frist Friday tradition that started 15 years ago is alive and well today celebrating and supporting local artists, musicians and restaurants.
Our favorite meal was Emilia (amazing homemade pasta!) and we also loved the vibe of Pretentious Brewing Company. Pretentious is a local brewery with a wide variety of craft beers, but they also do glass blowing and it was really interesting to watch. We were super impressed with Knoxville’s food scene and all of the unique local restaurants.
We stayed at The Graduate Knoxville and they had the CUTEST adjoining kid’s bunk room! It was so nice to have the extra space for Remy to play. The Graduate is located near UT’s campus. We love Graduate hotels and have stayed at the Oxford and Nashville locations as well.
We also stayed at the Cumberland House which was another great family-friendly option and a little bit closer to most of the restaurants in town. This is a great spot if you’re looking to stay within walking distance of Market Square.
See below for all of our recommendations from our family road trip weekend in Knoxville!
Places to Eat
Breakfast
Lunch
- Stock & Barrel (American)
- Kaizen (Asian)
Dinner
Dessert
- Cruze Farm Ice Cream (Ice Cream)
- Phoenix Pharmacy and Fountain (Sundaes)
Drinks
Things to do with a Toddler
Places to Stay
As always, thanks for reading!
XO,
Hunter
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