Rescued from dilapidation and decay in the early 1970s the Terminal Station in downtown Chattanooga was renovated into a vacation complex based on the catchy 1941 Glen Miller Orchestra hit, “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” The worldwide-known million seller remains a standard to this day.

The Chattanooga Choo Choo impresses guests from around the world with its variety of restaurants and fine dining, assorted retail shops and formal gardens. The Station House restaurant has singing waiters and waitresses and the Jukebox Junction Theater offers live entertainment Thursdays through Saturdays.

Guests can enjoy an entertainment arcade and a self-guided tour of the Model Railroad Museum, one of the largest model railroad displays in the world. More than 3,000 feet of track, 320 structures, 150 switches, 120 locomotives of all types, 1000 freight cars, 80 passenger cars, three major yards, two small yards, and four passenger stations adorn the impressive display.

Amenities include two tennis courts, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a fitness room and horse and carriage rides. Plus free electric shuttles leave every ten minutes for the Tennessee Aquarium and all downtown Chattanooga attractions.

A premier hands-on children’s museum, the Creative Discovery Museum allows young viisitors to explore the how Tennessee River works in the RiverPlay adventure and draw, design, create and sculpt in the Visual Arts Gallery. From building with clay to stop motion photography, the visual expedition is guaranteed to thrill.

Ever dug up a dinosaur bone? Exactly what can be found underground? The answers abound in the Excavation Station where young hands can investigate the subterranean wonders under our feet.

There’s no fear of doctors at the Corner Clinic. Designed to help children become more comfortable with visits to the doctor’s office by exposing them to medical instruments and situations in a realistic non-threatening doctor’s office environment.

From newborn to four years, the Little Yellow House gives the young ones a fully equipped discovery kitchen and a tree house designed just for tiny hands.

Everyone is a star as they drum, strum and sing in the Performing Arts Gallery. From player pianos to Djembe hand drums, fledgling musicians can join in the fun of music exploration.

It’s okay to play with electricity at the plasma ball in the Inventors’ Clubhouse. See balls float on air and send messages back and forth using pneumatic tubes.

See things in a new light with the surreal, entrancing exhibit made for the Creative Discovery Museum by Gregory Barsamian. Science combines with art by using persistence of vision, a scientific principle, to dupe the eye into seeing a sculpture move in animation.

There’s always a positive buzz at the Creative Discovery Museum thanks to the Bee Garden. Some of the most complex and interesting societal creatures are bees and the Honey Bee Observation Hive gives visitors an inside glimpse of the hive.

There’s shouting from the rooftop at the Rooftop Fun Factory. Simple machines abound to educate and entertain at the outdoor play area. While there take in the Lookout Tower and enjoy a bird’s eye view of downtown from the tower’s observation deck.

Never boring, and always fun and exciting; That’s a visit to the Creative Discovery Museum.

The breathtaking, panoramic views from high atop Lookout Mountain are unforgettable. Guests “See 7 States” from the Seven States Flag Court and marvel at scene from the colossal outcropping known as Lovers Leap and thrill to the heights of Eagles Nest.

As guests take an extraordinary 60-90 minute self-guided 4,100 foot journey down the Enchanted Trail they are surrounded by the flora of the beautiful Georgia-Tennessee mountains, towering rock formations and caves that populate the fourteen acre property. At 1,700 feet above sea level the 200 million year-old rock formations include the massive 1,000 ton Balanced Rock and the tight confines of the Needles Eye and Fat Man’s Squeeze.

Guests enjoy the sweeping scenic views of the Chattanooga Valley and savor the history of the Missionary Ridge Civil War battlefields. For many it’s a difficult choice between a nearly 200 foot long swinging bridge and the solid Stone Bridge but everyone is awed by the 140 foot tall High Falls waterfall.

For more than 80 years Rock City has provided wonder and delight to millions of visitors. Each of the four seasons bring a new and incredibly different look to the facility. It’s no wonder that visitors return time and time again to marvel and appreciate the wonders that are Rock City Gardens.

Like a favorite fishing spot, people return to the Tennessee Aquarium to see amazing animals that swim, fly and crawl in natural habitats. This remarkable journey from the mountains to the sea takes visitors through three living forests under glass and puts them eye to eye with 10-foot sharks, giant spider crabs, river otters and alligators.

Sojourners at the aquarium follow the trip of raindrops from the Appalachian Cove into and down the Tennessee River, through Nickajack and Reelfoot Lakes the Ohio River and into the mighty Mississippi River and finally to the Gulf of Mexico and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Along the way visitors experience the always changing sights, sounds and feel of the rivers, lakes, swamps and forests.

The adventure doesn’t stop when the raindrops meet the ocean. Venturers plunge beneath the waves and embark on the Ocean Journey, a visually stimulating passage through colorful coral reefs packed with bright reef fish and then down into the vast depths teeming with sharks, stingrays, jellyfish, barracuda and a giant octopus.

The Boneless Beauties gallery is home to bulbous octopus, as well as thousands of pulsating jellyfish and the Seahorse: Beyond Imagination gallery gives guests a panoramic view of sea horses both big and small.

As if that is not enough, there’s a lot more. The Tennessee Aquarium is not just what you see, you can actually touch stingrays and sharks at the Tropical Cove, home of the hyacinth macaw and bright flowers found around the world and you can share open space with thousands of beautiful butterflies in the Butterfly Garden.

The Tennessee Aquarium also gives guests an up close look at the ecosystems and animal inhabitants of Asian rivers, the amazon and the cold climate favorites – penguins at Penguins’ Rock. Swimming, waddling, diving and gobbling down fish is the good life enjoyed by these amazing frigid fond birds.

With so much to see and do, it’s no wonder that the Tennessee Aquarium draws nearly a million visitors a year. It is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas and is accessible to people with disabilities.

She’s been called The Dynamo of Dixie, The Gateway to the South, The Scenic City of the South, Chatt-Town, Chatta-Vegas, Chatta-Boogie, The Smartest City, the City of Lights and, of course, Choo Choo Town. But whatever you call her, Chattanooga is a world class city with more to see, more to do and more to offer than ever imagined.

ChooChooTown.com is a compilation of all things Chattanooga, and a place you can explore the history filled home of famous people, beautiful places, extraordinary events and notable businesses and industries. Chattanooga is a welcoming place to visit and a wonderful place to live. And ChooChooTown.com is a reflection of this wonderful city.

Stretching in all directions from downtown at the base of Lookout Mountain to include parts of Alabama and Georgia, metro-Chattanooga has a bit of everything you need and a lot of everything you want. Great food, great fun and stunning scenery are just a part of the eclectic makeup of this great town and the eclectic makeup of ChooChooTown.com

So, welcome aboard, sit back and enjoy the ride. Next stop, ChooChooTown!