Sunsphere
The Sunsphere is a 266-foot (81 m) tall hexagonal steel truss structure located in World's Fair Park in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, United States.
A lookout inside Knoxville
You can stay in Knoxville
Sunsphere is inside Knoxville, which has 24,473 hotel and restaurant jobs, so you won’t need a base farther out. Where to stay ↓
Best months: Apr, May, Sep and Oct
April, May, September and October are the mild months, with highs of 71–82°. When to go ↓
An airport 11 miles away
McGhee Tyson (TYS) has airline service, about 11 miles from Sunsphere.
Established in 1982
Sunsphere dates from 1982. About ↓
Written from NOAA 1991–2020 normals, Census job and town figures, Wikidata and Wikipedia.
Weather, month by month
Typical highs and lows in Knoxville. Green months are the mild ones.
Sunsphere
The Sunsphere is a 266-foot (81 m) tall hexagonal steel truss structure located in World's Fair Park in downtown Knoxville, Tennessee, United States. It is topped with the 75-foot (23 m) gold-colored glass sphere that served as the symbol of the 1982 World's Fair. Directly across a man-made pond from the Tennessee Amphitheater, they are the only remaining structures from the fair.
- Type
- Lookout
- Established
- 1982
- Wikipedia readers
- 33K a year
Stay in Knoxville, or close by
Towns within 30 miles, closest first. Hotel and restaurant jobs show how many places there are to stay and eat.
| Town | From Sunsphere | Hotel & restaurant jobs | People | Typical home | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knoxville | in town | 24,473 | 195,185 | $240K | D |
| John Sevier | 8 mi northeast | 0 | 1,177 | $144K | — |
| Powell | 8 mi northwest | 294 | 13,739 | $299K | — |
| Halls | 8 mi north | 623 | 10,272 | $321K | — |
| Rockford | 9 mi south | 20 | 824 | $284K | — |
| Alcoa | 10 mi south | 2,134 | 12,222 | $277K | C |
| Karns | 11 mi west | 98 | 4,115 | $329K | — |
| Seymour | 11 mi southeast | 463 | 16,216 | $308K | — |
| Wildwood | 12 mi south | 0 | 968 | $212K | — |
| Mascot | 12 mi northeast | 0 | 3,277 | $206K | — |
| Louisville | 12 mi southwest | 16 | 4,383 | $380K | — |
| Eagleton Village | 12 mi south | 44 | 5,598 | $198K | — |
Day trip from
Straight-line miles.
Getting there
Nearest airports with airline service
Also near Sunsphere
Other well-known places within 37 miles. Numbered ones are on the map above.
Big draw125 mi🎢 Theme parkDollywood3.1M visitors a year
Big draw37 mi🏞 National ParkGreat Smoky Mountains National Park11.5M visitors a year🌲213 mi🌲 Park & preserveJohn Sevier Park🌲314 mi🌲 Park & preserveAmerine Park
36 mi⛰ MountainKuwohi
423 mi🏛 MuseumAlcatraz East
35 mi⛰ MountainMount Le Conte
524 mi🛶 LakeNorris LakePhoto credits
Dollywood: Brian Stansberry (photographer), CC BY 2.5 · Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Scott Basford, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Kuwohi: C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr., Public domain · Alcatraz East: EricaLewHouse, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mount Le Conte: No machine-readable author provided. Blinutne assumed (based on copyright claims, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Norris Lake: Brian Stansberry, CC BY 3.0
Visiting Sunsphere
Is Sunsphere in Knoxville?
Yes. It’s inside Knoxville, TN.
When is the best time to visit Sunsphere?
April, May, September and October, with highs of 71–82°.
How far is Sunsphere from Lexington and Atlanta?
About 147 miles north of Lexington and about 155 miles south of Atlanta, as the crow flies.
What is the closest airport to Sunsphere?
McGhee Tyson (TYS), about 11 miles away.
Where should I stay near Sunsphere?
Knoxville (in town, 24,473 hotel and restaurant jobs), Powell (8 mi, 294 hotel and restaurant jobs) and Halls (8 mi, 623 hotel and restaurant jobs).
Tips from people in Knoxville
No tips yet. Ask, or answer, in Knoxville’s Town Square.
Sources: National Park Service · ski areas © OpenSkiMap / OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata · Wikipedia readership · photos via Wikimedia Commons · NOAA climate normals · U.S. Census.