13 Prettiest Downtown Strips In Tennessee

In most Tennessee towns the prettiest block is the one around the courthouse square. The old brick storefronts there are a century old and still in use. The square is the site of the parades and the Saturday shopping crowd. In Greeneville, an entire alley is painted with heirloom quilt squares. In Jonesborough, columned storefronts line the oldest street in the state. These thirteen downtowns are the best of them.

Jonesborough

Established 17 years before Tennessee was granted statehood, Jonesborough lays claim to being the oldest town in Tennessee. North Carolina first established it as the Washington County seat, and the historic courthouse stands at the center of this pretty downtown. White columns stand in front of this two-story red brick building overlooking the community.

Across the street, the International Storytelling Center hosts regular events, community programming, and performances. The center's mission includes sharing knowledge and tools to preserve oral storytelling, including spoken-word poetry. The center also hosts the annual National Storytelling Festival, featuring guest speakers from across the country in a week-long event in town.

History is everywhere here. On Main Street, the Chester Inn State Historic Site and Museum chronicles the legacy of Jonesborough, including a diorama depicting the town as it was in the 1850s and hosts rotating exhibits throughout the year. The original inn dates to 1797, when Main Street was an important stage road connecting travelers to the young nation's frontier. And nearby stands the Christopher Taylor House, a log cabin built in 1777.

A few blocks from downtown, the Watauga Valley Railroad Historical Society and the town maintain the Chuckey Depot Museum. The depot was built in 1906 in Chuckey, southwest of Jonesborough, and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It stood on Norfolk Southern property and faced demolition, so the town and the society took it apart piece by piece and rebuilt it beside the tracks here, opening it as a museum in 2017. The small museum exhibits railroad accessories and train equipment, and the society occasionally hosts dinner train excursions.

Greeneville

Heading west, red brick sidewalks line the streets of Greeneville's pretty downtown. Along Main Street, shops, restaurants, and art galleries fill the storefronts. The Greeneville Arts Council hosts monthly exhibits in the Mason House Gallery on Main Street. Next door, the artist co-op Artspace4 Gallery showcases a rotating selection of works by local and regional artists.

Quilt Alley, just off Main Street on Depot Street, displays the Downtown Greeneville Quilt Trail. Here, quilt squares are hung on the exterior of the buildings. The artworks celebrate the craft of quilt-making with colorful depictions of quilt squares in the outdoor gallery.

Further down Main Street, the City Garage Car Museum displays a diverse collection of antique and vintage cars. The collection includes vehicles as old as the 1915 Van Blerck Speedster and unique vehicles like the 1981 DeLorean Gullwing. The interior includes set pieces designed to give the vehicles historical scenery.

Another block down, the Greeneville Greene County History Museum displays selections from the museum's artifact collection, including handmade quilts, tools of early settlers, prehistoric fossils, and pieces from the region's Civil War history.

Sevierville

A statue of Dolly Parton in downtown Sevierville marks the singer's hometown. The statue is one of several monuments on the lawn of the Beaux Arts-style Sevier County Courthouse, just off Bruce Street, the pretty pedestrian-friendly commercial strip running through town. Shops and restaurants line Bruce Street, like The Cherry Pit, a quilting shop selling kits, patterns, and fabrics. The Appalachian offers farm-to-table dining with a menu that changes daily. For a particularly special experience, the chef's table gives patrons a front-row seat to all the kitchen action.

Sevierville's main draw is the proximity to nearby attractions. Dollywood is just 6 miles from downtown Sevierville. The 160-acre theme park is jointly owned by the country singer-songwriter. It features thrill rides like rollercoasters, but also celebrates rural traditions through food and crafts.

Also nearby Sevierville's downtown is Douglas Lake. The large reservoir was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority to generate electricity for the region. Today, the lake is a popular recreation spot for camping, boating, and fishing. The Mountain Cove Marina on the southern shore of the lake is just 8 miles from Bruce Street. The marina has docks, a bar and grill, and boat rentals.

Closer to town, the West Prong Greenway is a 2-mile walking and running trail. The path follows the water's edge along the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River. The path includes scenic viewing areas overlooking the river and picnic tables. The route also passes the McMahan Burial Mound, an archaeological site dating to the period of around 1200 to 1500.

Gatlinburg

Just to the south, family-friendly attractions line Gatlinburg's pretty downtown along Parkway. Destinations like Arcade City entertain children with pinball, classic video games, and mechanical carnival games. Miniature golf enthusiasts will find a selection of unique courses right on the Parkway. The indoor Blacklight Golf takes players on a glow-in-the-dark, undersea adventure. The neon fish, pirate treasure, and a giant octopus glow under the black lights. Down the street, there is also Treasure Quest Miniature Golf, with themes inspired by well-known movie franchises featuring dinosaurs, sharks, mummies, and giant rolling rocks.

One way to see the whole town is from the AnaVista Tower, built on downtown Gatlinburg's highest point as part of the Anakeesta adventure park. Multiple attractions sit within the park, all reachable directly from the downtown strip by chairlift. Visitors are ferried to the top of the mountain, where they can then ascend the tower, explore the gardens, hike the forest adventure trail, or wander the themed villages built along the ridge.

Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies has a shark lagoon filled with large fish and assorted shark species. The Ocean Realm includes varieties of tropical fish, sea urchins, and jellies. For visitors seeking a hands-on experience, stingray swims are available by reservation. Ripley's Mirror Maze is also across the street, where visitors can get lost in their own reflections.

Sweetwater

Heading west, local history decorates Sweetwater's Main Street. The Sweetwater Train Car, a restored dining car, sits prominently in the center of downtown. The recently renovated structure now serves as a visitor center. The railcar sits in Circle Park alongside the historic gazebo, and the town holds events there like the Blooms, Bluegrass and BBQ Festival. The festival includes food vendors, live music, and a 5k race throughout the town, with the main stage in the park.

Sweetwater is a great place to go treasure hunting for antiques. Main Street Antique Mall has an entire section dedicated to vintage Pyrex, glassware, and ceramics, while Sweetwater Antiques offers a mix of items, including vintage furniture and sports memorabilia.

Sweetwater also has plenty of sweets. The Sweetwater Creamery offers dozens of flavors of ice cream with freshly made waffle cones, while Cup Runneth Over Coffeehouse has cookies, pastries, and unique coffee creations like the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Latte.

The main attraction in Sweetwater, though, lies just outside of town. Visitors at the Lost Sea Adventure can explore the largest underground lake in the United States. Located 140 feet below the ground, the lake is part of Craighead Caverns. Excursion boats ferry visitors around the lake that is more than 800 feet long and 220 feet wide.

Copperhill

Copperhill's pretty downtown straddles the Georgia border. The state line, not the river, is what separates Copperhill from McCaysville, and it cuts through the middle of town. Copperhill's main strip, Ocoee Street, continues across the line, becoming Toccoa Avenue, and the river running under the old steel bridge changes names, too, from the Ocoee on the Tennessee side to the Toccoa in Georgia. A blue line painted down the pavement marks the spot where visitors can stand in two states at the same time. The border is celebrated by local businesses like State Line BBQ, which serves up slow-cooked meat, while Border Brew and Bites offers coffee and milky, sugar-infused dirty sodas.

Travellers arriving on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway disembark in Georgia, but without crossing the street, can wander into Copperhill, where they will find local shops like Mustang Sally Clothing and Jewelry, selling a curated collection of apparel and accessories that draw inspiration from cowboy and indigenous cultures. Across the street, Barefoot in Blue Ridge sells locally made soaps.

Copperhill is also a great place to sip a locally produced drink. The Copperhill Brewing Company serves up craft beers and spirits from their sister company, Ocoee River Distilling. The women-led "brewstillery" produces a mix of beer styles and vodka, bourbon, and rum in their nearby Ducktown production facility.

Pikeville

Classic cars line Pikeville's Main Street during summer Cruise-In car show events. During the event, car enthusiasts with vintage or custom cars will open their vehicles' hoods and show off their fancy rides. Main Street also hosts the annual Fall Festival in town, featuring vendors selling handcrafted goods, local foods, live artist demonstrations, and a Kids Fun Zone for family-friendly entertainment.

The storefronts downtown offer a mix of shops and restaurants. The Lazy Buzzard features board and card games and hosts regular in-store gaming events. Magic: The Gathering fans can find competitive play with prizes. Miller's Bread is a local bakery cafe serving up breakfast and lunch.

The downtown also features live entertainment at The Venue, just off Main Street, where there is regularly live music or karaoke. The bar also has games like billiards, darts, and axe-throwing.

West of town, the 29,800-acre Fall Creek Falls State Park contains six waterfalls, including the 256-foot-tall namesake. Fall Creek Falls is one of the highest drops in the Eastern United States. There are 56 miles of hiking trails through the park, with several shorter segments available to bikers.

Winchester

Winchester's historic downtown surrounds the Art Deco-style Franklin County Courthouse. Shops and restaurants along First Avenue create a walkable community along this pretty strip. The Walnut Hill Coffee Company's corner location overlooks the courthouse square. Besides caffeinated drinks, the shop serves up tacos, sandwiches, and baked goods like cake pops. A few doors down, the Southern Sugar Saloon serves up 21 flavors of ice cream and has assorted chocolates and candies.

Downtown also has the historic Oldham Theater. The Art Moderne style theater opened in 1950, named for the owner who passed away before the new building was completed. Today, the name glows in bright neon lights just as it did when the doors first opened. The two-screen venue hosts first run films and even offers matinee ticket pricing.

Tims Ford Lake encircles the north side of the town. The artificial reservoir was formed with the damming of the Elk River and provides plenty of recreational opportunities. The Twin Creeks Marina and Resort on the north side of town has boat slips available and rents pontoon boats and kayaks. The resort also offers RV spots and waterfront cottages.

Winchester also hosts the annual High on the Hog Festival, launched almost four decades ago as part of a main street revitalization project. Today, the festival is hosted on the shores of Tims Ford Lake on the north side of town. In addition to barbecue cookoff contests, the festival includes a vintage car cruise-in, craft show, cornhole and disc golf tournaments, and a motorcycle poker run. Kids can get in on the excitement too with their own cooking competition.

Lynchburg

Just down the road from Winchester, the oldest registered distillery in the United States calls Lynchburg home. The Jack Daniel's Distillery was founded in 1866 and today is a short walk from Lynchburg's pretty downtown. The distillery offers tours of the production facility along with tastings. The visitor center complex can be accessed down the Jack Daniel's Bridge, right off Main Street.

The Moore County Courthouse stands at the center of the downtown. The original building was built in 1885, but as the county's need grew, the local government considered replacing it. Luckily, a local contractor had matching bricks, and instead of demolishing the building, the county expanded it. Today the red brick building is a considerable part of the historic downtown strip.

Across from the courthouse, the Moore County Jail Museum showcases local historical artifacts. The two-cell jail facility became obsolete when a replacement was built in 1990, but the old cells are still on display at the museum.

Surrounding the courthouse square are numerous shops and restaurants, many of which celebrate their proximity to the Jack Daniel's distillery. The Jack Daniel's Barrel Store, not affiliated with the distillery, offers gifts celebrating the brand, such as woodcraft made from aging barrels. The Tennessee Jack Shack focuses on collectible bottles of the famous drink.

Bell Buckle

A bright red caboose sits at the center of tiny Bell Buckle. Once a stop on the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, the community flourished during the age of the railroad and faced economic hardship with the decline in the importance of trains. However, ironically, the economic decline led to the preservation of many Victorian and Arts and Crafts style buildings. By the time economic circumstances improved, appreciation for those older buildings had grown, saving them from demolition. Today, the historic district covers 40 structures in a town known for its quirky, Victorian village feel.

The commercial buildings along Railroad Square contain an eclectic mix of antique and gift shops. Doodlebug has candles, decor, and jewelry, while Farm Girlz Goodz features one-of-a-kind handcrafted products from local artists and fair trade sources.

Antiques are a big part of shopping here, with places like the Livery Stable Antique Mall featuring rare books, collectibles, and model trains. Even the local ice cream shop, Bluebird Antiques and Ice Cream Parlor, has vintage collectibles for sale.

The town's biggest attraction, though, may be the annual RC Cola-MoonPie Festival. The outdoor event celebrates the classic southern pairing of an RC Cola and a MoonPie, a snack made of graham cracker and marshmallow covered in chocolate. The festival includes live music, food and craft vendors, and oddball contests. The day kicks off with foot races through town, but wraps up with a "who travelled the furthest" contest and a cutting of the self-proclaimed world's largest MoonPie.

Shelbyville

North America's most biodiverse river flows through Shelbyville. There are 151 species of fish and 60 species of mussels identified in Duck River. The river bends around the pretty downtown of Shelbyville, where the Old City Dam creates a scenic waterfall.

Brightly colored commercial buildings surround the Bedford County Courthouse. Some of the unique shops include the Gingham Jellybean, an upscale children's apparel store for infants to young children, and SADDOG Games and Hobbies, which has a wide selection of board and collectible card games.

Local art studio Arty All The Time provides space for adults and children to learn about and create artworks, with events, classes and private parties designed around any age group. The studio also serves as a local tea and coffee shop with a full espresso drink menu and baked goods.

Just around the corner in the restored Fly Manufacturing Building, the Fly Arts Center and the Bedford County Arts Council offer diverse programming in visual arts, performances, and other opportunities for local artisans. The Maker Market, held four times a year indoors, features products from local artists and artisans. The curated market avoids oversaturation in each product segment to create an exciting and diverse experience. The Fly Art Gallery features works from local Bedford County artists displaying painting, photography, pottery and more, and The Fly Community Theatre provides at least five main stage productions each year.

Savannah

Continuing west, you'll find Savannah on the banks of the Tennessee River and home to the Tennessee River Museum. Detailing the region's legacy from prehistoric life through post-war reconciliation, the museum's permanent exhibits include paleontological displays of fossils and petrified wood, the Golden Age of Steamboats, and a look at the Trail of Tears.

Across the street from the museum is the Savannah Farmers Market, a public events venue with a large pavilion. Once home to the Farris Hotel, the building facade housing the venue amenities recreates the 1930s brick streetscape. In addition to weekly farm markets, the pavilion also hosts live music and other public events.

Around the corner is the historic Savannah Theater. The original theater was built in 1931 and then renovated in 2013 into a modern performance space. The space now hosts plays, movie screenings, live music, and even Elvis impersonators.

Savannah also hosts the annual Wayne Jerrolds Bluegrass Festival. Jerrolds, a world champion fiddler, founded the festival in 1978 and still takes the stage at it. The weekend splits between his namesake riverfront park and the Savannah Market downtown.

Paris

Buildings from the 1920s line the main downtown streets of Paris. Independent shops fill the storefronts around the historic Henry County Courthouse. There are numerous apparel shops like Bo and Company with clothing and accessories for men and women, or Ivy Lee, a women's boutique. My Favorite Things has a wider selection of home goods, decor, gourmet foods, and holiday selections.

The Henry County Fairgrounds sits on the east side of town. The Annual Henry County Fair features livestock shows, cooking demonstrations, pageants, tractor pulls, and demolition derby competitions. The fairgrounds hosts other events throughout the year as well, like the annual World's Biggest Fish Fry. The fish tent offers all-you-can-eat fried catfish dinners, and a parade marches through downtown Paris.

Festivals are a big part of the fun in Paris, and the Tennessee River Jam brings live music to the downtown strip. Attendees are affectionately known as "River Jammers." They enjoy food, music, and shop at local and regional vendors who join the festival right on the downtown strip.

A town named Paris would be incomplete without an Eiffel Tower. A 60-foot steel version of the iconic structure stands in the middle of Eiffel Tower Park at the edge of town. The community-focused park is filled with amenities like a playground, pickleball courts, a swimming pool, and a trout pond. Free summer concerts with a mix of musical styles are held in the park.

Finding Excitement in Tennessee's Pretty Downtowns

These downtown strips are great places to wander on foot, exploring unique shops, local history, and pretty scenery. The historic streets are great places to find antiques, like at the shops lining the streets of Bell Buckle and Sweetwater. And these pretty downtowns are ideal venues for large festivals like the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough or the Fall Festival in Pikeville. These strong towns leverage their pretty downtowns to build active communities filled with opportunities and entertainment.