Chattanooga, TN

I needed a quick weekend getaway for my birthday weekend. And since Asheville is typically my go-to, I decided I’d give somewhere else a try. Chattanooga is only a little over a 5 hour drive from the Charlotte area, and I’d seen some of my favorite travel influencers speak highly of it. So yeah, I was influenced. LOL

Me and the family got an early morning start and made the drive. If you’ve read any of my other blogs, you know that I have a thing for trains. So when I found out there was a set of restored train cars at Hotel Chalet that had been turned into hotel rooms, you know I had to try it at least once. It was so cute and I really enjoyed the experience of sleeping in a historic train car, and if you really like trains, you have to do it. But I’ll be honest, one night there was enough. Because it’s themed, it is expensive, and it is just not worth it for more than a night. The hotel lobby was really cute also. But unfortunately, I can’t tell you much about the regular hotel rooms since we didn’t stay in one. They were much cheaper than the train car rooms, but I was using points for the rest of our stay so I needed to stay at a Marriott hotel for the remaining nights.

Because this was such a quick little weekend trip and because I also have a habit of waiting too long to write my travel blogs (bite me), I’m just going to do a quick summary on all of my favorite things while I was in Chattanooga.

Niedlov’s Cafe & Bakery - If you’re staying at Hotel Chalet, Niedlov’s is within walking distance of the hotel. Even if you’re not staying at the hotel, you still have to go. The pastries were delicious and weren’t pastries that you would find at just any bakery. But by far, my favorite thing was for sure the miso kale and shiitake skillet. It’s a hot vegetarian breakfast skillet that is served in a personal size cast iron skillet with toasted crostinis. I still crave it and am almost positive it will have me making a trip back to Chattanooga in the future just to have it. Now that I’m talking about it, I really want it now tbh. (Singing big back, big back in my head) And yep, still want it.

Ross’s Landing - We loved the sunset views from this green park on the water. It wasn’t anything special, but it was, if that makes sense. Greenery and water will always put me in a good mood. We sat here for over an hour and just enjoyed boats passing by, a guy sailing his toy boat in the water, families walking by, and just enjoying the scenery.

Ruby Fall’s - The full tour is underground and very interesting. We had a really good tour guide but not the most considerate tour mates in our group. Let’s just say our tour guide was a very patient person to put up with them. It was still a very enjoyable tour though. We went on a Friday and I prefer to do these really popular tours on a less popular day, but we had limited time. And I’m so glad we were able to see this wonder. I think the story of the guy that found it was just as impressive as the falls itself. I highly recommend this tour.

Rock City Gardens - Well duh, clearly you have to go here. This was the main reason I even chose Chattanooga because I wanted to go here. And it exceeded my expectations. Two of my family members are not really outdoorsy people at all and would have never done this if I didn’t want to do it for my birthday. This was everyone’s (including those two family members) favorite part of the trip. I don’t want to ruin the magic of this destination, but make sure you go if you’re even in the vicinity of Chattanooga. You won’t regret it.

Clumpie’s Ice Cream - This ice cream shop has become a social media sensation. However, the ice cream is really good. Grab a cup or cone and head over to Coolidge Park. Take a stroll or find a bench and enjoy the river from the other side of Ross’s Landing.

Rodizio Brazilian Steakhouse - There’s a Brazilian restaurant in most cities these days, but we did really enjoy this one for our last dinner in Chattanooga. Go hungry and don’t wear anything restricting. (Singing big back, big back again.)

Chattanooga is definitely more laid back than some of the other spots in TN like Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge and Nashville. It felt like the right speed for me. While I was there, I could tell that it is growing and I am happy for that, but I truly hope it doesn’t lose it’s slow pace. I really want to take the fall foliage train there, so that will probably be on my list for my next trip back (and Niedlov’s Bakery of course).

I didn’t mention the places that didn’t impress us, but there are a few. Send me a message on Instagram @fortravelfanaticsonly if you’d like to know what spots are not worth visiting in Chattanooga, IMO.