VACATION DETAILS

Nashville is the perfect destination for all kinds of visitors - from music lovers to history buffs to Southern lovers to sports enthusiasts and nature lovers. Nashville is the Country Music capital of the world. Have fun searching through the past or getting close to the Country Music stars of the present. Hike, bike, golf, go for a balloon ride and take tours guiding you through the history of country music. View homes of current stars including: Joe Diffie, Bryan White, Brooks & Dunn, Lorrie Morgan, George Jones, Reba McEntire, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Marty Stuart, Dolly Parton and more. Find tons of historic sites from the Civil War dating back to the 1700s.

Sitting at the edge of the Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and its neighbors Pigeon Forge and Sevierville form the busiest tourism hub in eastern Tennessee. The area is popular with vacationing families, and its many wedding chapels also draw couples.

The towns owe their existence, in part, to the steady flow of visitors heading to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The park puts the focus on nature, but the gateway towns are much more about man-made attractions such as water parks, shrines to country-music performers, miniature-golf courses and music theaters.

They're the type of high-volume travel destinations people either love or hate. You'll need a high tolerance for commercialization to enjoy them, but the attractions can be fun and the setting is beautiful.

The highest-profile Gatlinburg attraction is the Ober Gatlinburg Ski Resort and Amusement Park. It sits high on Mount Harrison, and the preferred way of getting there is aboard the aerial tram that runs from downtown Gatlinburg.

Winterfest is when Gatlinburg truly glitters, with 2 million lights illuminating the town. Spring's wildflower pilgrimage showcases the area's natural beauty. Other activities include skiing in winter, amusement-park rides and a bear habitat in the warmer months, and shopping year-round.

In town, there's a large collection of attractions owned by Ripley's, including a Believe It or Not! Museum, a "Moving Theater" and the Aquarium of the Smokies. Among the many other amusement attractions in town, consider a visit to Mysterious Mansion, a haunted house with moving floors, secret panels and the like.

Christ in the Smokies Museum and Gardens mixes sightseeing with religion, offering dioramas depicting biblical scenes. Downtown Gatlinburg is also the site of the prestigious Arrowmount School of Arts and Crafts, which offers classes in everything from woodworking and warm glass to paper and fiber arts and drawing, painting and sculpture. The galleries and gift shop are open year-round to visitors.

Golfers will be pleased with the scenic and challenging golf courses in the area. And there's plenty of opportunity to shop for arts-and-crafts items. They're especially prominent during the Craftsmen's Fairs in July and October.

Nestled firmly between the Great Smoky Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains, Asheville has many great qualities that attract a truly diverse population, hence the city's moniker: "Asheville: Discovery, Inside and Out."

Although Asheville is nationally known for the Biltmore Estate, George W. Vanderbilt's palatial home built in the 1890s, it represents just one of the attractions the western North Carolina city has to offer.

Since the railroads created easier access to western North Carolina in the late 19th century, swarms of people have been drawn to Asheville's magnificent beauty and hospitable climate. People-watching from one of the city's many outdoor cafes reveals its character more than any tour could: Among the constant flow of tourists, you'll see plenty of young professionals and hippies, retired couples, street performers and mountain folk.

The number of attractions in Asheville is astounding for such a modest city. In addition to the Biltmore Estate, you'll find seemingly countless restaurants of almost every variety, museums, art galleries, theaters, cozy pubs, breweries, eclectic shops and pristine natural attractions. Nearby Pisgah National Forest is a favorite place for locals to squeeze in a weekend hike or simply relax in the woods.

If you're strolling through downtown on a Friday night, you might happen upon an odd sight. In Pritchard Park, hundreds of people of every description, both young and old, gather to dance to the rhythms of a local drum circle. Strange as it might seem at first, it's sights like these that may just entice you to stay in Asheville for good.

In September 2024, Asheville experienced widespread, destructive flooding when Hurricane Helene dumped record-breaking amounts of rain in the mountains of western North Carolina. The storm washed away homes, flooded businesses and destroyed infrastructure, including interstate highways and other roads. Recovery efforts are underway, but the damage to the city and surrounding communities was devastating, and it will take time to fully rebuild.

The region is again welcoming visitors, as tourism dollars are crucial to the local economy, but please exercise patience and compassion when you visit.

The spectacularly beautiful Shenandoah area incorporates the peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains and rolling hills of orchards and farmland. Its pastoral beauty makes it hard to believe that life-and-death drama unfolded there during the Civil War. In 1862, Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson earned his reputation as a brilliant commander after a series of victories in the valley. The farms in the Shenandoah were a valuable source of food for the Confederate forces—so much so that the Union's Gen. Philip Sheridan eventually laid waste to the area in 1864, burning houses, stripping the fields and slaughtering livestock.

The region's natural beauty is showcased in Shenandoah National Park, a vast mountain wilderness of oak, hickory, birch, dogwood and chestnut trees. Wildlife includes foxes, bobcats, black bears, deer and hundreds of varieties of birds. The principal route through the park follows Skyline Drive, which is particularly beautiful in spring and fall. Join the route at Front Royal and drive south to Waynesboro. The drive is only 105 mi/170 km, but because the spectacular scenery demands stops for photographs and close-up viewing, plan on the better part of a day. Those who choose to linger in the national park will find ready access to picnic spots, camping, nature trails, horseback riding, food service, a souvenir shop and a store. Backcountry use requires permits. Lodging is available in the park—some of the cabins have stone fireplaces—but reserve space far in advance. Some facilities and the parkway may be closed part of the year and during inclement weather.

Other Shenandoah Valley attractions include towns rich in history. Winchester changed hands 72 times during the Civil War, and it now contains the restored headquarters of Stonewall Jackson. Other sights in town include the small log building used as an office by George Washington in the mid-1700s and the Glen Burnie Manor House and Gardens, a restored estate that was built in 1736.

New Market is home to New Market Battlefield Park, where a corps of young cadets from Virginia Military Institute turned back Union troops. Also near New Market, you'll find American Celebration on Parade, a collection of floats used in past presidential inaugural parades, the Rose Parade in California and the Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York. Several nearby caverns are open to the public—the Luray Caverns are the most popular.

Another sort of feud can be relived at Cooter's Place in Luray, which commemorates the 1970s TV show The Dukes of Hazzard and chronicles the Duke boys' struggles with the show's dimwitted rural cops. There's even a replica of the General Lee, the 1969 Dodge Charger that tooted "Dixie" on its horn everytime the boys eluded the fuzz by soaring over a mudpit or breaking through a roadblock (in other words, in every episode). If you're lucky, you'll stop by at a time when the museum's namesake proprietor—Ben Jones, the fellow who played the mechanic Cooter on the show—is around.

In Staunton, Shakespeare lovers should see a production at the Blackfriars Playhouse, a detailed reconstruction of one the Bard's favorite theaters. The plays, too, are produced and performed as they would have been in Shakespeare's time (for example, sparse sets, period costumes). History buffs will want to stop at the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace (the restored first home of the 28th president) and the McCormick Farm and Workshop Museum (dedicated to the man who invented the first reaper). Staunton's Frontier Culture Museum is a living-history museum with working farms. It presents life in various parts of Europe from the 1600s to the 1800s—then shows how Europe influenced life on a U.S. farm in the 1800s.

Washington D.C. is the nations capital and is full of things to see and do. See where the President lives or even where the laws are made; take a tour of the Capitol building and White House. Washington D.C. is situated perfectly between Virginia and Maryland which allows its visitors the convenience of great attractions and activities. There are tons of museums, historical landmarks, art galleries, monuments, and all the government buildings right in Washington D.C. for you to visit. For a little more excitement visit Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, and Six Flags America close by.

Excursions