Gatlinburg Shopping

Cades Cove visitor center is a great place to stop by and buy some souvenirs. Every dollar you spend here goes towards maintaining the grounds and feeding the wildlife. There is a decent variety of souvenirs here and you will feel great knowing that your money goes towards a good cause!

What to buy: T-shirts, books, book markers, fridge magnets, etc

Sold knock off purses, it was not special it is a rip off. These shops are run by foreigners, and they pushed by two daughters to buy purses. One daughter left in tears not even wanting the purse, the other daughters purse was torn up by the time we got back to our room. We took it back and of course they have a small sign that says all purchases are final. They did agree to exchange, but we were afraid for fear when we returned home it would tear up also. We did it but clearly not happy. Just want people to be aware of this.

This is a cute little shop filled to the brim with all sorts of toys. There are two floors and you can pick up some great sale stuff on the second level!

What to buy: The back right wall is STUFFED with all things Hello Kitty. Anything Hello Kitty you can imagine, they probably have it. In the past, I have picked up cell phones charms, mechanical pencils, stickers, and school planners. They also have plenty of cute erasers, gum, notebooks, purses, pencil cases, stuffed animals, and more.

What to pay: You know, the normal price for toys. Less than a buck for a few sticks of Hello Kitty gum, but you could shell out upward of $50 for some of the bags and luggage.

Located at the beginning of the Arts & Crafts Community loop, this is a new retail development consisting of 25 businesses including art, crafts, clothing, gourmet coffee roaster, and an English Pub bar & grill.

Okay: those who know me, know that I am hot-sauce & pepper obsessed. I put pepper on everything. Tabasco sauce is just about the greatest invention, IMHO. I have partied with the Tabasco sales people; I have a Tabasco "play with your food" medallion hanging from my rearview mirror in my car. So, in Gatty, on our last day in town, when we went to the mall before we split town? We noted a very nice, very red, peppery little joint called The Pepper Palace.

It's run / owned by Tanya & Craig; they specialize in "all things hot". Conveniently enough, they are right across from a naughty lingerie store. Anyway; Tabasco's stuff is here, Frank's hot sauce is here, any type of small to big to mild to wild sauce; peppery paraphenalia (I bought Tabasco shoe laces for my ROLLERSKATES); pepper plates; ties; underwear; T-shirts; for those of us in the world who have worn down their stomach lining & burned off the foremost layer of skin in their esophagus, this place is for you.

They also have "18 and over" areas covered in drapes. Hot sauces of all shapes and sizes (and I DO MEAN ALL SHAPES... get it?) and all sizes (bigger IS better when it comes to hot sauce, baby!), interesting bottles for even more interesting-er sauce. mmm. So while the kids look at the G-rated bottles & read the names of sauces, you get to lift the curtains and see phallic-shaped bottles containing sauce that will "F- you on your first drop".

What to buy: Whether you buy the stuff to accompany your existing hot sauce hoard, or you buy new hot sauce to add to / mix with your existing hot sauce, just buy something. These people are Gods. Bland food sucks; they know this. Spicy stuff rules the mouth. Go ahead, play with your food; spice up your life a little bit. Everyone out there on this planet has at least ONE friend who is hot-sauce obsessed; that one person who you can stare at in utter awe and fear as you watch them eat a habanero without so much as a blink; the gal who loads so much pepper on her food it turns the plate black; the guy who will drink Scorned Woman hot sauce like it's a martini. Buy them something from this place & inform them there is a Palace of Peppers nestled in a very normal, Southern, sweet place called Gatlinburg.

Some items of interest:
Salsa
Cheese & bean dips
BBQ sauce
dry spices for rubbing
Mustards (mmm)
peppered jellies
really freaking hot pickles
Tabasco candy (Ever tried hot sauce mixed with chocolate?... to die for...)
pepper mills, to grind up that lovely little morsel

What to pay: $1.00 for small things; $100.00 if you are really obsessed.

The Village is on the Parkway in Gatlinburg and has a variety of shops. It is my favorite place to shop because of its architecture and quaintness. You can shop for gifts, candy, hiking gear or even donuts. The Donut Friar is a highly recommend place for early morning coffee and donuts!!!!! The picture posted is the courtyard decorated for christmas.

The Mountain Mall across the street from the Village had a few nice shops. The best shops in the mall are The Gatlinburlier and the Pepper Palace but outside of that it is just more of the same old Gatlinburg.

The village has several unique shops the best being The Cheese Cupboard, Doughnut Friar, Jelly Jar, Christmas stores, and a Candy store that makes its own candy
along with several other unique stores.