The Sunsphere is Knoxville's most recognisable landmark — a 266-foot steel truss tower capped with a sphere of gold-tinted glass, built for the 1982 World's Fair and still standing at the northern edge of World's Fair Park. From the observation deck on the fifth level you get a panoramic view of downtown, the Tennessee River curving south, and the distant Blue Ridge on clear days.
The tower is free to visit during opening hours. The upper floors house a wine bar with the same view at a gentler pace. Whatever you think of the architecture, it works as an orientation exercise: spend twenty minutes up there and Knoxville's geography clicks into place.