Nashville, Tennessee — Attractions
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
If you are a visitor to Nashville, chances are you are there because you are a country music fan. That being the case the best place to begin your visit is the not-to-be-missed Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in the Downtown entertainment district. The main permanent exhibit, Sing Me Back Home, is a journey through the history of country Music, drawing on the museum's rich collection of historical costumes, memorabilia, instruments, photographs, manuscripts and other objects. Live performances, interactive exhibits, and lots of great music supplement these artifacts. Among the exhibits are Elvis Presley's gold-leaf covered Cadillac, Emmy Lou Harris' jewelled cowboy boots and Bob Dylan's autographed lyric sheets. Live music is played in the atrium and digital film presentations are offered in the theater. Visitors can also watch museum archivists and restoration experts at work, and study a vast wall displaying chart-topping gold and platinum country records.
- Region/City Name
- Nashville
- Address
- 222 Fifth Avenue South
- Phone Number
- (615) 416 2001
- Email Address
- info@countrymusichalloffame.com
- Website
- www.countrymusichalloffame.com
- Hours
- Daily 9am to 5pm. Closed Tuesdays in January and February, and closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day
- Admission
- $19.99 (adults); $11.99 (youth). Children under 5 are free
Ryman Auditorium
This National Historic Landmark in downtown Nashville is regarded as the founding home of country music, having been the performance venue for the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. The theater was originally built in 1892 as a gospel tabernacle and served as an evangelical meeting hall. A stage was built for the Grand Ole Opry broadcasts and such great names as Sarah Bernhardt, Patsy Cline and Elvis Presley trod the boards here in their time. Today the Grand Ole Opry has moved on to a new theater, but the Ryman Auditorium has been restored and is still a popular performance venue where concerts are held regularly. By day the theater acts as a museum, which visually portrays the stories of its rich history with a series of displays and exhibits.
- Region/City Name
- Nashville
- Address
- 116 Fifth Avenue North
- Phone Number
- Box office: (615) 889 3060
- Email Address
- rymanticketinfo@ryman.com
- Website
- www.ryman.com
- Hours
- Daily 9am to 4pm for museum visiting, and in the evening for various shows
Grand Ole Opry
The home of the world-famous country music show, the Grand Ole Opry, is now in Opryland Drive in a vast 4,400 seat auditorium which is part of the Opryland resort complex north of Nashville's city center. From here the world's longest running radio show is still broadcast on the Nashville station WSM (650 on the AM dial), featuring new stars, superstars and legends of country and bluegrass music performing live on stage. No visit to Nashville is complete without attending a show at the Grand Ole Opry, which has been going strong on the airwaves since 1925.
- Region/City Name
- Nashville
- Address
- 2802 Opryland Drive, Opry Plaza
- Phone Number
- (615) 871 6779
- Website
- www.opry.com
- Hours
- Shows generally take place on Friday at 7.30pm, Saturday 6.30pm and 9.30pm, and Tuesday at 7pm. (Times can vary according to season)
- Admission
- Ticket prices range from $32.50 to $47.50 (adults)
Belle Meade Plantation
One popular Nashville attraction that is not music related is the Belle Meade Plantation, known as 'the queen of Tennessee plantations', boasting an 1853 Greek Revival mansion that has been carefully restored to show its original elegance. The authentic Civil War bullet holes that riddle its columns are still visible. Among the outbuildings that survive on the 12-hectare (30-acre) site is one of the oldest houses in Tennessee, a log cabin built in 1790. There is also a carriage house, visitor center, tearoom and gift shop. The Belle Meade estate was one of America's first and finest thoroughbred breeding farms. Tours of the antebellum furnished mansion and grounds are given by guides dressed in period costume.
- Region/City Name
- Nashville
- Address
- 5025 Harding Road
- Phone Number
- (615) 356 0501
- Website
- www.bellemeadeplantation.com
- Transport
- The estate can be reached by public bus number 3 from Riverfront Park
- Hours
- Daily tours are from Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 11am to 5pm. Last tour starts at 4pm
- Admission
- $15 (adults); $7 (children), Fives and under free
Parthenon
The centerpiece of Nashville's Centennial Park is the world's only full-scale replica of the Parthenon temple in Athens, Greece, complete with a re-creation of the 42ft (13m) high statue of Athena that stood outside the temple in ancient Greece. The Parthenon was originally built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, it's plaster decoration being direct casts of the Parthenon Marbles and original sculptures which adorned the pediments of the Greek Parthenon that was built in 438 BC. The building today serves as Nashville's art museum, with a permanent collection that highlights 19th and 20th century American artists. A variety of temporary shows and exhibitions are also presented.
- Region/City Name
- Nashville
- Address
- Centennial Park, West End Avenue and 25th Avenue
- Phone Number
- (615) 862 8431
- Email Address
- info@parthenon.org
- Website
- www.parthenon.org
- Hours
- Tuesday to Saturday 9am to 4.30pm. From June to August the museum is also open on Sundays from 12.30pm to 4.30pm
- Admission
- $6 (adults); $3.50 (seniors and children 4-17)
Tennessee State Museum
The interesting Tennessee State Museum is one of the largest of its kind in the nation with a huge array of permanent exhibits telling the story of Tennessee, starting out 15,000 years ago in prehistoric times and culminating in the early 20th century. Prominent historic figures are highlighted, like former US President Andrew Jackson, Daniel Boone and legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett. Exhibits include displays of furniture, silverware, weapons, uniforms, battle flags, quilts and artworks from the civil war period. The museum also features reproductions of a 19th-century gristmill, and 18th-century print shop, a frontier cabin, antebellum parlour and a Victorian painting gallery.
- Region/City Name
- Nashville
- Address
- 505 Deaderick Street
- Phone Number
- (615) 741 2692
- Website
- www.tnmuseum.org
- Hours
- Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 5pm; Sundays 1pm to 5pm. Closed New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas
- Admission
- Free
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
East of Nashville on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina lies the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, covering more than one and a half million acres; the largest national park in the eastern United States. The park is a designated International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site drawing millions of visitors every year to enjoy the panoramic views, tumbling mountain streams, uninterrupted forest and historic buildings it encompasses. The main route to the park is via Knoxville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, all worth a visit in their own right. Inside the park itself there are more than 270 miles (435km) of road through the ancient mountains, which are home to a variety of plant and animal life, many of the species unique and rare. The park offers numerous outdoor recreational pursuits and offers a glimpse into the lives of early southern Appalachian farming families, boasting 77 historic structures like log cabins, barns, churches and gristmills.
- Region/City Name
- Nashville
- Phone Number
- (865) 436 1200
- Website
- www.nps.gov/grsm
- Transport
- No public transport accesses the park
- Hours
- The park is open year round. Roads are subject to closure, call (865) 436 1200 for updated road and weather information
- Admission
- Free
Chattanooga
The fourth largest city in Tennessee, Chattanooga in the south-east near the border with Georgia lies at the junction of four interstate highways, easily accessible and well worth a visit. The city has brought about a renaissance in recent years, redeveloping its riverfront and downtown area to offer an extensive greenway system and river walk that takes strollers through the historic art district and several beautiful parks. Main attractions in the city for tourists are the Tennessee Aquarium, Civil War battlefields, the African American Museum and a Creative Discovery Museum. The main destination for visitors though is Lookout Mountain, offering its historic Incline Railway, the steepest passenger railway in the world that offers panoramic views of the city and the Great Smoky Mountains 100 miles (161km) away. Lookout Mountain is also home to The Battles for Chattanooga Museum, Ruby Falls (a waterfall that plunges 145ft (44m) inside the mountain) and Rick City Gardens from where it is possible to view seven states on a clear day.
- Region/City Name
- Nashville
- Address
- Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau: 2 Broad Street
- Phone Number
- (423) 756 8687
- Website
- www.chattanoogafun.com
