Day trips from Nashville · Town
Knoxville
180 miles from downtown Nashville · about 2 hours 45 minutes
Knox County, TN, on the Tennessee River
Long day or overnight, not an afternoon
Knoxville is Tennessee’s third-largest city, home to the University of Tennessee and the gold-globed Sunsphere left over from the 1982 World’s Fair. It is the shortest of the long drives on this list and the easiest of them to do in a single day.
- Distance
- About 180 miles, roughly 2 hours 45 minutes on I-40
- Time zone
- Eastern. The line is around Crossville, about halfway
- Sunsphere
- $10 adults, $5 children 12 and under
- Free
- Market Square and World’s Fair Park
Permits, fees and access
Most of downtown Knoxville is free. The Sunsphere, the zoo and Ijams parking are the paid items and none of them require advance booking.
Things to do in Knoxville
Addresses, hours and prices as published by each operator in August 15, 2026. Hours and prices move, so check before you go.
Market Square
The pedestrian square between Union Avenue and Market Street, and the center of downtown. Free and always open.
Market Square Farmers’ Market
Wednesdays 10am to 1pm and Saturdays 9am to 1pm from May through October, then Saturdays only 10am to 2pm November through March. Around 140 vendors in season.
The Sunsphere
810 Clinch Avenue. Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday from 9am, Sunday noon to 4pm. Adults and children over 12 $10, children 12 and under $5. Note the observation deck closes daily from 12:30 to 1:30 except Sundays.
World’s Fair Park
The grounds around the Sunsphere, free and open, with splash pads running into mid-October. The Tennessee Amphitheater there is closed for refurbishment until spring 2027.
Ijams Nature Center
2915 Island Home Avenue. Grounds open daily 8am to dusk, 365 days. No admission fee, parking is $5 per vehicle. On site are a zipline course, the Outpost and boat rentals.
Zoo Knoxville
3500 Knoxville Zoo Drive. Daily 9am to 5pm with last tickets an hour before close. Adults $26.95, children 3 to 12 and seniors $21.95, under 2 free. Parking $5. Buying online avoids a $2 per ticket in-park fee.
Tennessee Theatre
604 South Gay Street, with the box office at 224 Clinch Avenue. The box office is open weekdays 10am to 3pm and closed on weekends, so buy show tickets online.
One thing to know first
Knoxville is on Eastern time and the boundary is around Crossville, roughly halfway. Leave Nashville at nine and you arrive at one Eastern, which lands you exactly inside the Sunsphere’s daily 12:30 to 1:30 deck closure. Plan the hour.
Access rules, fees and closures verified August 15, 2026 against the agency that manages this place. They change, sometimes without notice. Check before you drive.
I keep this list because it is genuinely how people spend weekends here, and because almost every guide to it is out of date. If you are weighing a move to Middle Tennessee and want to know which part of it puts you closest to the things you actually like, ask me. No pitch.