Small Towns in Tennessee Worth the Drive, East to West

The small towns in Tennessee most worth a drive are the ones built around one specific thing you can't do anywhere else. This guide picks 11 of them across the state's three Grand Divisions: Jonesborough, Rugby, Townsend and Tellico Plains in East Tennessee; Bell Buckle, Lynchburg and Columbia in Middle Tennessee; and Brownsville, Henning, Paris and Savannah in West Tennessee. Each one gets a single reason to go and a short plan for when you park.

A pattern shows up quickly. Several of these towns are famous for a story told in a particular spot: from a hay wagon, on a front porch, in a one-room schoolhouse. Tennessee's small towns are best when you go for the story and stay for the square.

How we chose these small towns

Every town here was checked against its own website, its visitors bureau or Tennessee's official tourism site, Tennessee Vacation, in November 2026. Nashville and Chattanooga were left out on purpose; plenty of guides cover them already. We wanted at least three towns per Grand Division, each with a reason to go you can name in one sentence.

We skipped any town we could only describe with words like charming or quaint. If we couldn't find something specific and verifiable to do, it didn't make the list. Hours and prices change, so treat any times below as typical and check the official site before you go.

East Tennessee small towns

East Tennessee's picks are a storytelling town, a Victorian village, a quiet gateway to the Smokies and the start of a mountain skyway.

1. Jonesborough: go for the storytelling

Why go: Jonesborough, in Washington County, calls itself Tennessee's oldest town; the town's own history page dates its founding to 1779, 17 years before statehood. It is also the home of the International Storytelling Center, a Smithsonian Affiliate at 100 W. Main Street.

What to do: Walk Main Street, then step into the Mary B. Martin Storytelling Hall. The center is typically open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. From May through October its Storytelling Live series puts a professional teller on stage at 2 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. The National Storytelling Festival fills town every October.

The festival started in 1973, when a local teacher pulled a hay wagon up near the courthouse and invited Appalachian storytellers to perform from it. The town's history page also notes that Jonesborough was the first capital of the short-lived State of Franklin. More in our Jonesborough area guide.

2. Rugby: go for the Victorian village

Why go: Rugby, on the Cumberland Plateau, was founded in 1880 by the British author Thomas Hughes as a colony. The nonprofit Historic Rugby keeps the village alive and says its 1882 Thomas Hughes Free Public Library is believed to be the oldest completely preserved public lending library in America.

What to do: Start at the Visitor Centre, 1331 Rugby Parkway, where a free 22-minute film sets the scene. Guided walking tours typically run Thursday through Sunday from mid-March to mid-December and take in the library, Hughes's 1884 home Kingstone Lisle, Christ Church Episcopal and the 1907 schoolhouse. Lunch is at the R.M. Brooks Store. Want to stay the night? Historic Rugby rents rooms in Newbury House and several cottages all year. See our Rugby area guide.

3. Townsend: go for the quiet way into the Smokies

Why go: Townsend sits in Tuckaleechee Cove and bills itself as the Peaceful Side of the Smokies. Explore Townsend calls it the gateway to Cades Cove, about a 20-minute drive south.

What to do: Drive the Cades Cove loop early, then come back for the town's own sights: the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center at 123 Cromwell Drive, Tuckaleechee Caverns at 825 Cavern Road and the Little River Railroad and Lumber Museum on East Lamar Alexander Parkway. Townsend's visitor site says the cove's archaeological record dates back to about 2000 B.C., and that the Cherokee knew it as a peaceful valley. More in our Townsend area guide.

4. Tellico Plains: go for the Cherohala Skyway

Why go: Tellico Plains, in Monroe County, is the Tennessee end of the Cherohala Skyway. Tennessee Vacation describes it as a 43-mile National Scenic Byway that climbs from 800 feet to 5,300 feet, with 15 overlooks, between Tellico Plains and Robbinsville, North Carolina.

What to do: Tennessee Vacation's Tanasi Trail suggests a simple order. Pick up maps at the Cherohala Skyway Visitor Center, browse the 70-plus local artisans at Scott Street Gallery and Studios, and grab something from Tellico Grains Bakery for the drive. The Charles Hall Museum shows local memorabilia, Native American artifacts and old photographs. The town was once the Overhill Cherokee town of Great Tellico.

Middle Tennessee small towns

Middle Tennessee's picks are a festival town, a whiskey town and a county seat with a presidential home.

5. Bell Buckle: go for the MoonPie

Why go: Bell Buckle, in Bedford County, throws the RC Cola-MoonPie Festival on the third Saturday in June. According to the Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce, the day ends at 3 p.m. with the cutting of the World's Largest MoonPie, served free to everyone.

What to do: Any other weekend, browse Bell Buckle's antique shops downtown and eat at the Bell Buckle Café, which the chamber's listing says is typically closed Monday and Tuesday. Go in March for Daffodil Day, held on the third Saturday. Thousands of daffodils line about six miles of highway into town. Local lore credits the founder of the Webb School with starting the plantings as a punishment for unruly students.

The chamber also says Bell Buckle is the smallest town in Tennessee to become a Tree City USA. See our Bell Buckle area guide.

6. Lynchburg: go for the distillery tour

Why go: Lynchburg, in Moore County, is home to the Jack Daniel's Distillery, which Tennessee Vacation's Jack Trail calls the oldest registered distillery in the United States.

What to do: Tours start at the visitor center, 133 Lynchburg Highway, and run daily. Book a specific tour on the distillery's site, since the lineup and times vary. One option, the Dry County Distillery Tour, skips the whiskey samples, a nod to Moore County's long-standing dry status. Afterward, the Metro Lynchburg Chamber has its welcome center inside the Tennessee Whiskey Trailhead at the same address. More in our Lynchburg area guide.

7. Columbia: go for Mule Day, or for President Polk

Why go: Columbia, the Maury County seat that calls itself Muletown, holds Mule Day, usually on the first weekend in April. Visit Columbia traces it to Breeder's Day in the 1840s, a one-day livestock show and mule market. The first official Mule Day came in 1934.

What to do: Any time of year, tour the James K. Polk Home and Museum at 301 W. 7th Street, a block from the courthouse square. It is the only surviving residence of the 11th president other than the White House. Walk-in tours typically run daily, with shorter Monday-to-Saturday hours from November through March. Stay for First Fridays or a concert on the square. See our Columbia area guide.

West Tennessee small towns

West Tennessee's picks are a music museum off Interstate 40, an author's boyhood home, a town with its own Eiffel Tower and a river town near Shiloh.

8. Brownsville: go for the Tina Turner Museum

Why go: Brownsville, in Haywood County, has the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, home of the Tina Turner Museum. The museum is inside Flagg Grove School, the one-room schoolhouse she attended as a child. According to the center, her great-uncle built the school in 1889, and it was moved to Brownsville from Nutbush.

What to do: The center is at 121 Sunny Hill Cove, at Interstate 40 Exit 56. It is typically open Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday afternoons, and self-guided tours are free. Inside the schoolhouse you'll find her costumes, gold records and high school yearbook alongside the original desks and chalkboard. Also on the grounds is the last home of blues pioneer Sleepy John Estes. More in our Brownsville area guide.

9. Henning: go for Alex Haley's front porch

Why go: Henning, in Lauderdale County, is where Alex Haley spent his boyhood. The Alex Haley Museum and Interpretive Center, at 535 Haley Avenue, says he heard his grandmother's family stories on the porch of this 1919 Craftsman bungalow. Those stories led to Roots.

What to do: Take the guided house tour, typically offered Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last tour at 3:30 p.m. Haley is buried beside the house. The museum asks visitors to schedule ahead. Then drive to Fort Pillow State Historic Park, also listed at Henning on Tennessee Vacation's Great River Road Trail, for a Civil War site on the Mississippi River bluffs. See our Henning area guide.

10. Paris: go for the Eiffel Tower and the catfish

Why go: Paris, the Henry County seat, has a scale replica of the Eiffel Tower in downtown Eiffel Tower Park. Tennessee Vacation says Christian Brothers University in Memphis built it for the 1990 Memphis in May festival before it moved to Paris.

What to do: Photograph the tower, then look for the catfish statues on downtown street corners. Go in the last full week of April for the World's Biggest Fish Fry, with all-you-can-eat catfish at the Henry County Fairgrounds, a parade on East Wood Street and catfish races on the courthouse lawn. The meal is still served in what everyone calls the Fish Tent, even though it's now a building. More in our Paris area guide.

11. Savannah: go for the historic district and Shiloh

Why go: Savannah is the Hardin County seat on the Tennessee River and a handy base for visiting Shiloh National Military Park. Explore Pickwick, the county's tourism site, maps a 2-mile self-guided historic district tour of 42 homes and buildings starting at Cherry Mansion.

What to do: Walk or drive the historic tour, keeping to the street because the homes are private. Then head to Shiloh National Military Park for its self-guided driving tour. The county site notes that both the land and water routes of the Trail of Tears pass through Savannah.

How can you see these small towns in three days?

The easiest way to see these Tennessee small towns is one Grand Division per day. Here is a route to screenshot.

1. Day 1, East Tennessee: a morning in Jonesborough, then Townsend for an afternoon in Cades Cove. Save Rugby and Tellico Plains for a second trip.
2. Day 2, Middle Tennessee: a Bell Buckle breakfast, a midday Lynchburg distillery tour, then the Polk Home in Columbia before it closes.
3. Day 3, West Tennessee: Brownsville at Exit 56 when it opens, Henning for the Haley tour, then north to Paris for sunset at the tower.

Before you go:

• Check opening days. Rugby, the Haley museum and the distillery tours don't all run seven days a week.
• Book the Jack Daniel's tour and the Haley museum ahead.
• Pin festival weekends: Daffodil Day in March, Mule Day and the World's Biggest Fish Fry in April, the RC Cola-MoonPie Festival in June, and the National Storytelling Festival in October.
• Fill the tank before the Cherohala Skyway.
• For more drives, see our road trips page.

Which small town in Tennessee should you pick first?

Pick the town that matches your one reason. If it's stories, go to Jonesborough or Henning. For music history, head to Brownsville. For food and festivals, choose Bell Buckle or Paris. For mountain driving, pick Townsend or Tellico Plains. For presidents and battlefields, it's Columbia or Savannah.

Last verified: November 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What are some small towns in Tennessee worth visiting?

Small towns in Tennessee worth the drive include Jonesborough, Rugby, Townsend and Tellico Plains in East Tennessee; Bell Buckle, Lynchburg and Columbia in Middle Tennessee; and Brownsville, Henning, Paris and Savannah in West Tennessee. Each has a specific reason to go, from the International Storytelling Center to the Tina Turner Museum.

What is the oldest town in Tennessee?

Jonesborough is Tennessee's oldest town, founded in 1779 according to the Town of Jonesborough. That was 17 years before Tennessee became a state.

Is there really an Eiffel Tower in Tennessee?

Yes. Paris, Tennessee, has a scale replica of the Eiffel Tower in its downtown Eiffel Tower Park. Tennessee Vacation says Christian Brothers University in Memphis built it for the 1990 Memphis in May festival.

Is the Tina Turner Museum in Brownsville free?

Yes. Self-guided tours of the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, including the Tina Turner Museum, are free. The center charges for guided tours, which it asks you to reserve.

When is the RC Cola-MoonPie Festival in Bell Buckle?

The RC Cola-MoonPie Festival in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, is held on the third Saturday in June. The World's Largest MoonPie is cut and served free at 3 p.m., according to the Bell Buckle Chamber of Commerce.

Where is Alex Haley buried?

Alex Haley is buried beside his boyhood home in Henning, Tennessee, now the Alex Haley Museum and Interpretive Center at 535 Haley Avenue. The museum offers guided tours of the house.