Southside Historic District: Explore Chattanooga’s Liveliest Neighborhood

The best area to spend your time in Chattanooga is not downtown.  Instead, visit the Southside Historic District where local shops, bars and restaurants are all in walking distance. 

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Why you should visit the Southside Historic District

This is truly the most vibrant neighborhood in Chattanooga.  To me, downtown felt kind of quiet and definitely is catering more to travelers.  While out of towners should visit Chattanooga’s Southside, it’s definitely a local neighborhood. 

Chattanooga Southside Historic District Things to do

The most obvious thing to do here is eat and drink, and that is mostly due to the number of fantastic bars and restaurants.  More on that later because that’s not all there is to do here. 

Visit the Choo Choo

The Chattanooga Choo Choo is a beautifully preserved train station that dates back to 1909.  It  is by far the most iconic building in the city.  The outside is constructed of historic brick, with the vintage Choo Choo sign on the roof.  When you walk in you’ll encounter the large central dome ceiling and massive arched windows that flood the space with light.  

As you walk through the old terminal, you’ll exit to the courtyard with the old tracks where the trains used to arrive and depart.  There is a vintage train on the tracks to see while you walk around.  

Of course, this popular location has multiple bars, restaurants and a gift shop as well. 

Take a mural walk

There are murals painted throughout the city, but this Chattanooga historic district has probably the largest concentration after MLK Boulevard. 

You can find most of them on (or just off) W Main Street, with a few peppered in and around the Chattanooga Choo Choo.  

Want to make sure you hit them all?  Check out the city mural map from Visit Chattanooga. 

The Coker Museum

I’ll be honest, I don’t know or care all that much about cars, but I still really enjoy car museums.  There’s something about vintage cars that makes you really appreciate their design and craftsmanship. 

This is a smaller car museum compared to others that I’ve visited.  The Coker has over 100 cars, bikes, trucks, and even a few airplanes in their collection.  

The museum is open Tuesday – Sunday 10am – 4pm. At $8 for kids 4-11 and $12 for ages 12 and up, it’s an affordable activity for the whole family. 

Chattanooga Market

At the west end of Chattanooga’s historic Southside is the Chattanooga Market.  This is a mix of a farmer’s market and maker’s mart, with tons of food trucks thrown in.  There’s everything from vintage items and handmade clothes, to hot sauce and honey. 

The market is open Sundays from the end of April until Thanksgiving from 11am – 4pm.

Read all about the Chattanooga Market here 

Chattanooga Southside Historic District Shops

Of course no hip neighborhood would be complete without local shops, especially one for vintage clothes (visit Poor Taste) or vinyl (check out Dallos Vinyl Love). 

For non-vintage clothes find menswear at Sheepish Wolf and women’s items at Shop Orange You Glad.  Next to the Sheepish Wolf is Love Eros, a jewelry shop. 

And while the Bleu Fox is a cheese shop first, they also have a large market with housewares and elevated pantry goods. 

Chattanooga Southside Historic District Restaurants

There is no way to go hungry while in the Southside.  For ten blocks, restaurants line Main Street, and adjacent side streets.  You would honestly have to work hard to find a bad spot to eat.  With so much competition in the neighborhood, it won’t cut it to be just meh here. 

Want to fit in as many restaurants as possible?  Reserve a Chattanooga Food Tour. 

Breakfast & Lunch 

You can truly stay in this neighborhood all day (or weekend) without leaving.  

Mean Mug Coffeehouse is a local chain with a large breakfast menu and “world famous” biscuits. 

Honey Seed is known for their Montreal style bagels, and while they are open all day, they are known for their all day brunch.   

Chattanooga has Niedlov’s, a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Bakery.  They are a well loved bakery and cafe.  Stop in for pastries, pick up sandwiches at lunch, or grab a pizza at the end of the day. 

At the north end of the Southside neighborhood is Kenny’s.  They are only open from 7am – 2pm during the week and 3pm on weekends.  They have a mix of breakfast and lunch sandwiches and plates.  Their turkey & brie sandwich with apple butter was *chefs kiss*. 

Last on the lunch list is Bleu Fox Cheese Shop.  You can buy everything you need to have a girl lunch or dinner to go.  But, they also have a selection of cheese plates, salads and sandwiches to enjoy in their cafe space. 

Dinner

There are so many choices of where to eat in this neighborhood that you won’t have time to visit them all. 

Within the Chattanooga Choo Choo you’ll find Stir and Elsie’s Daughter (part of the Hotel Chalet). Seafood lovers, Stir is for you.  They have a large seafood menu, and even have an oyster and raw bar.  Elsie’s Daughter is as well known for its ambiance as it is for their food.  If the weather is nice, ask for a table in the Caboose Courtyard. 

Main Street Meats is a butcher shop by day and farm to table restaurant in the afternoon and evening. 

Amex cardholders and Resy lovers rejoice!  There are quite a few restaurants in Chattanooga on Resy.  You can enjoy a great meal and get your card credits at the same time.  There are a handful of Southside Chattanooga restaurants to choose from on Resy. 

For those that like to sample a little bit of everything, or share plates, Amada Tapas is perfect for you. Be sure to order the bacon wrapped dates.  

2nd and Alleia are sister restaurants. 2nd features elevated American cuisine, while Alleia is Italian fare.  The service at 2nd was impeccable, and the beer can chicken is a great selection.

Bona Fide, Hello Monty and The Trinity are additional Resy options in the neighborhood.

Other popular restaurants include Bluegrass Grill, Feed Table & Tavern and State of Confusion. 

Where to Grab a Drink

Like restaurants, there’s no shortage of options for bars and breweries in the Southside. 

Beer

Love sampling local micro breweries while traveling?  The Southside has you covered.  There are three breweries within a few blocks of one another.  Dynamo Brewing & Beverage (located within Hello Monty), Five Wits Brewing Company, TailGate Brewery and Wanderlinger Brewing Company (located in the Choo Choo). 

Although technically just outside of the neighborhood, Oddstory Brewing Co is just east of the train tracks on the east edge of the Southside Historic District. 

While they are not a brewery, Hoptown Southside is a beer bar with dozens of different beers on tap. 

Cocktails

Aside from the oyster bar, Stir is also a well known craft cocktail bar with their signature artisanal ice (if that’s your thing).  

There are two local distilleries in the area, Chattanooga Whiskey Experimental Distillery and Gate 11 Distillery.  Like daydrinking? Chattanooga Whiskey Experimental Distillery offers 90 minute tours and tastings for $18/person.  Gate 11 also offers a 60 minute tasting tour and a 2 hour cocktail making class. 

You can find more drinks in the Chattanooga Choo Choo at Backstage Bar and Fifty Fifty Wine and Martini Bar. 

The neighborhood’s most unique and maybe infamous bar is the Boneyard.  Part dive bar, arcade, and music venue, but doing all that while serving legit cocktails.  They also host tons of different events which are posted on their instagram page. 

Where is Chattanooga’s Southside Historic District?

The Southside Historic District is one mile south of the West Village and Chattanooga’s central downtown area, and 1.5 miles south of the Riverfront.  

The popular Chattanooga Choo Choo is the central hub of the district.  Most of the action is found on Main Street, but there will be some shops and restaurants scattered on Broad and Market as well. 

How to Get Here

From downtown or the Riverfront the best and cheapest way to get here is to take the free Chattanooga shuttle.  This bus service runs morning to night from the Riverfront south to the Southside station next to the Chattanooga Choo Choo.  Once you’re here, it is easy to walk anywhere in the neighborhood.

There are also bike stands throughout town, as well as scooters from Bike Chattanooga that you can rent by the minute. 

Chattanooga Southside Historic District Hotels

Being one of the most popular areas of town, it’s no surprise that there are a number of hotels in the Southside Historic District.  

On a budget or traveling solo and looking to meet new people?  Try The Crash Pad, a modern hostel with a sustainable mission.  For a mid budget stay check out The Moxy or the La Quinta.  Read my review of the La Quinta Chattanooga.  Travel hackers will love The Caption by Hyatt.

For a more elevated or unique stay, check out The Landing Social House and The Hotel Chalet where you can stay in a renovated train car. 

Search for the perfect Chattanooga hotel for you 

Chattanooga Southside Historic District Map

Find everywhere you need to go in the Southside in the map below. 

Chattanooga Southside FAQs

Where is Southside Historic District?

The Southside Historic District is one mile south of the West Village and Chattanooga’s central downtown area, and 1.5 miles south of the Riverfront. 

Is Southside Historic District Chattanooga safe?

Yes, this is a very popular and very safe neighborhood in Chattanooga.  You can walk around day or night with no issues. 

What are some lesser known sights to see when visiting Chattanooga TN

Just east of the Southside Historic District is the Sculpture Fields at Montague Park.  This 33 acre park is often missed or overlooked by visitors in favor of caves or the aquarium.