In short, Chattanooga cleaned up its act. Now, in an incredible turnaround that has served as a model for other industrial-type cities, there’s hardly a year that goes by that it doesn’t make one “best of ” list or another. There’s Top Destination to Live, Work and Play (National Geographic Traveler, Southern Living), Bike-Friendly City in the United States (Bicycling Magazine), and 2011 Best Town Ever (Outside Magazine), to name a few.
-The BluffView Ar t District (bluffviewar tdistrict. com). A picturesque collection of galleries, gardens, shops and dining on the bluffs overlooking the Tennessee River, the awardwinning BluffView is a cultural and culinar y center. The River Galler y Sculpture Garden – listed in Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Gardens – features an impressive permanent collection and changing exhibit. The charming, European-style district also allows After the ugliness of old, the “new ” Chattanooga visitors to get up close and personal with their became a haven for creatives, ready and willing food. Watch chefs, bakers, pasta makers and to help in the reinvention. “ They saw this kind coffee roasters per fect their craft. of cool, hip place to move to, to tr y something new and different,” said Stephen Genovesi, -Hunter Museum of American Ar t (huntermuseum. vice president of sales and marketing for the org). The undisputed masterpiece of the city, the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau. Hunter is actually three buildings representing 100 years of architecture in the original mansion, The result is that Chattanooga is one of the a 1970s addition, and the ultra-modern expansion most surprising, enticing and exciting ar tistic in 2002. The stunning complex houses one of the destinations in the South. Check out these must- nation’s largest collections of American ar t. The sees on any visit to the Scenic City : lobby ’s 40-foot wall of glass offers spectacular November-December 2011 | On The Town 105