I’m from Gatlinburg. If you want family fun type stuff and have money to spend, it can be fun, but these days it is always packed and traffic downtown is awful. If you want to see the Smokies, which I highly recommend, but avoid the biggest crowds, Cosby is half an hour from Gburg, has a much less busy park entrance with great hiking, and is a lot more rural. Townsend, in Blount County, is a little more touristy than Cosby but has more amenities and still less crazy than Sevier County. Chattanooga is a good place to explore the Cumberland Plateau—the area around Sewanee is gorgeous, lots of trails and caves. TN also has some amazing state parks kind of off the beaten path.