Chattanooga Travel Guide – Weekend Getaway

Read here for a Chattanooga Travel Guide for a quick weekend itinerary for getaway. The perfect itinerary for a girls trip or couples trip!

Chattanooga is great quick road trip away from Nashville – only about 2 hours. My friend Stella and I went on a last minute whim basically just to hangout in another city besides Nashville. We had no agenda, except to see the city by foot, eat and drink. Basically do the things we love but in a different city! And a hangout session for 48 hours instead of the usual 4-5 hours for dinner and drinks.

Chattanooga Where to Stay Recommendation

The Reed House Hotel is the perfect place to stay if you are a history buff. It’s stayed open since the Civil War and on the list of National Historic Hotels. The hotel is modern and recently renovated, but they did a great job blending in the new elements with the original. Many famous stays here – including Al Capone during his federal trial. And if you’re into ghost stories – this hotel is definitely for you.

The Reed House Hotel – Ghost Story of Room 311

At the Reed Hotel – there are reports of ghost sightings lurking around the halls – old Civil War soldiers who died in the building when the hotel was converted to a hospital. My favorite story though – is the haunted of Room 311 where Annalisa Netherly was allegedly beheaded in the bathtub by a jealous lover. We were able to get a tour of the room, which is now renovated to Annalisa’s liking – back to the 1920s. You can even spend the night in Room 311 for $666 in October, or $999 on Halloween night. Beware – she hates men and those that smoke.

Chattanooga Restaurant Recommendations – Chattanooga Travel Guide

For 2 people, we were able to make weekend dinner reservations only a few days in advance, but for later times after 7:30. I’m sure if you had a bigger party, more than a few days notice would be ideal!

Side note – Instagram is my favorite search tool for finding good restaurants (first google best restaurants in Chattanooga, but immediately go to Instagram to get the vibes and actually see food). The dark, blurry Yelp pictures just don’t do it for me. I also love to look at tagged photos of the restaurant to make sure I enjoy the ambiance.

The Flying Squirrel – Chattanooga Restaurant Recommendation

First up – we discovered Flying Squirrel and we ate their the first night. Absolutely, 150% recommend. Stella and I are both self proclaimed food connoisseurs, so finding a restaurant that not only has good food, but has an ambiance we will enjoy is very important to us.

When you make reservations, they give you all the seating options and I highly recommend the mezzanine that overlooks the restaurant. We got even luckier by getting the 1 of 2 tables that actually has a 180 view of the restaurant downstairs. It’s a little unconventional with couch sitting on the mezzanine, so be aware. We personally loved it.

The food is tapas / small plates style – and four plates were perfect for the two of us. It was tasty and somewhat healthy – we ate charred cauliflower, mushroom pastor tacos, and ahi tuna. They have a Japanese pancake (okonomiyaki) which is one of their specialties filled with veggies.

Stir – Chattanooga Restaurant Recommendation

Flying Squirrel was so amazing it was worth three paragraphs, so the honorable mention goes to Stir! It’s at the Chattanooga train station, so the outdoor patio is really nice to sit at. They pride themselves in artesian ice, so all the ice is made from purified water, elevating the taste of the drinks! Menu is pretty American standard, so it’s better for picky eaters.

Whiskey Thief – Best Bar Chattanooga

If you’re looking for best rooftop patio with views overlooking the river – this is it! Located inside The Edwin Hotel, Autograph Collection this is not your average “hotel bar.” It has it own small plates menu, amazing whiskey + cocktails while you enjoy the sunset over the river. We went here 2 nights in a row we loved it so much!

The Local Juicery + Kitchen – Healthy Lunch or Breakfast Spot Chattanooga

We were saving our room for dinner every night, so we ate light during the day. A breakfast/lunch at The Local Juice was perfect! They have great avocado and hummus toast, as well as juices and smoothie bowls! Green bowl all the way. They also sell to-go “food” from local shops. – we picked up CBD rice krisipes made my LoLo Bars.

Rembrant’s Coffee House

The perfect patio to sit and sip on coffee in the morning! Need to get some work done? Bring your laptop! A laid back coffee shop with a wisteria covered patio – it’s so peaceful here! I got lavender latte!

Walking Around Downtown Chattanooga – Chattanooga Travel Guide

Honestly, we didn’t do much except – eat and explore by foot. Chattanooga is a quaint, walkable downtown! The Reed Hotel was pretty much city center, and everywhere we ate at was within a 1 mile radius. It was the perfect quick trip getaway, where you want to have a relaxing weekend away with no plans. Walking along the riverfront was beautiful, and the Tennessee Aquarium is also right on the water if you go with kids!

We found an umbrella outdoor art display right around the corner from the Reed House Hotel – it was the perfect backdrop to take a picture!

Rembrants Coffee area was near the Riverfront and honestly felt like we were in Florida with all the wisterias and architecture.

Overall, I highly recommended heading to Chattanooga for a quick road trip if you live in Nashville! Stella and I kept saying we thought the people were WAY nicer – everyone was so friendly!

And if you’re in Tennessee – you can read my Nashville Weekend Travel Guide here!

Thanks for reading the Chattanooga Travel Guide!