Travel Guide
Plan your visit around Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Ryman Auditorium, and more of Nashville, Tennessee.
Discover the best things to do in Nashville, Tennessee, from signature sights to memorable local experiences.
You’ll find a city built around deep music traditions alongside growing arts, food, and outdoor scenes.
Downtown and the Broadway corridor concentrate historic venues, nightly live shows, and visitor-facing museums, while institutions such as the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman Auditorium, and the Grand Ole Opry anchor heritage interpretation and live performance.
Beyond music, Centennial Park’s Parthenon, Cheekwood’s gardens, and a compact, walkable core give visitors varied cultural, historic, and outdoor experiences.
Why Visit Nashville
Visitors come to Nashville primarily for its music experiences—historic stages, museum collections, nightly live shows, and recording-studio culture are core draws. The city also offers layered cultural programming: rotating art exhibitions, preserved 19th-century estates, botanical gardens, and a lively restaurant and craft‑beverage scene.
Centennial Park’s Parthenon and Nashville’s civic architecture provide non-music attractions that appeal to families and history-minded travelers, making the city suitable for short cultural breaks or longer creative itineraries.
Top Things to Do in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville’s most visited sites combine live performance, museum interpretation, and distinctive public places. Below are the city’s principal music venues, museums, and cultural estates that define a typical visitor itinerary.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum presents country music as a living, evolving culture through wide, well-curated galleries of instruments, stage wear, recordings, and listening stations. The Hall of Fame Rotunda honors inductees and anchors the museum’s narrative about artists who shaped the genre.
The museum houses one of the world’s most comprehensive country music collections and pairs objects with audio and film to show creative process.
The Country Music Foundation operates complementary sites, including working Hatch Show Print letterpress and Historic RCA Studio B, both available as guided experiences for a deeper look at craft and recording. Verify ticketing, tour availability, and temporary exhibitions on the museum’s official site before you go.
Ryman Auditorium
Ryman Auditorium, originally the Union Gospel Tabernacle, gained fame as the “Mother Church of Country Music.” Its original woodwork, steep sightlines, and reflective interior contribute to celebrated natural acoustics that helped define radio and live performance traditions.
The Ryman was the Grand Ole Opry’s home from 1943 through 1974 and later underwent careful restoration to return it to regular use as a performance hall and museum.
Now a National Historic Landmark, the Ryman hosts concerts across many genres and offers self‑guided and guided backstage tours that show dressing rooms, the stage, and curated displays. Because it is an active venue, check the official site for tour options and event schedules.
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry presents country music as an ongoing live tradition rooted in radio and performance. Most visitors experience it as a curated, multi‑artist show that blends established stars, rising artists, and surprise guests on an iconic stage.
The Opry’s house is a purpose‑built performance complex in the Opryland area, where the stage and interpretive displays explain the program’s national broadcasting legacy.
Guided backstage tours typically include standing on the Opry stage and visiting themed dressing rooms and exhibit spaces. Because the Opry operates as a working, ticketed show, attending a live performance gives the fullest sense of its cultural role—verify show schedules and tour availability on official channels.
The Parthenon (Centennial Park)
The Parthenon in Centennial Park is Nashville’s full‑scale replica of the ancient Greek temple, built for Tennessee’s 1897 Centennial Exposition and now serving as an architectural landmark and art museum. Inside, the central chamber houses a monumental statue of Athena and plaster casts of sculptural fragments that reference the original Parthenon marbles.
Galleries around the main hall hold a permanent American painting collection and rotating exhibitions. The Parthenon sits within Centennial Park’s lawns, lakes, and paths, making it an easy half‑day stop that pairs museum viewing with outdoor time.
Check the Parthenon’s official resources for tour and group-reservation details.
Broadway entertainment district (Downtown Nashville)
Broadway is Nashville’s high-energy entertainment corridor where live music fills the street. The Lower Broadway corridor features closely spaced honky-tonks and bars with open-door stages, amplified country, rock, and Americana music spilling onto the sidewalks.
Many small venues host rotating performers, songwriter showcases, and impromptu sets that highlight Nashville’s working‑musician culture.
The district mixes historic honky-tonks with newer venues and sits steps from the Ryman and downtown hotels, making it a walkable evening hub. Expect crowds and amplified sound; plan which venues you want to visit, explore side streets like 2nd Avenue and Printer’s Alley, and verify venue access or special events before you go.
Official Broadway entertainment district (Downtown Nashville) website →
Cheekwood Estate & Gardens
Cheekwood is a 55-acre historic estate that blends formal gardens, woodland trails, and an art museum. The restored mansion presents period rooms alongside gallery spaces, while the grounds offer cultivated flower gardens, an arboretum, water features, and a woodland sculpture trail that connects art to plant collections.
The property’s design combines art, architecture, and horticulture to create contrasting experiences of intimate garden rooms and broad framed vistas.
Cheekwood sits southwest of downtown and may involve uneven paths and stairs. Audio tours, family activities, and guided garden walks are commonly offered; verify parking, access, and temporary exhibitions with the institution before visiting.
Belle Meade Historic Site & Winery
Belle Meade Historic Site & Winery centers on a mid‑19th‑century Greek Revival mansion and the surviving landscape of a former thoroughbred stud farm. The mansion and formal rooms reflect the estate’s equestrian and agrarian prominence, and tours explain the Harding and Jackson families’ business and social life.
Interpretation on site foregrounds layered histories, including the experiences of the Black men, women, and children who labored on the property.
The Journey to Jubilee tour and other interpretive programs explore enslavement, emancipation, and later labor histories. The estate also operates a working winery and tasting room; check official resources for program availability and access details before planning a visit.
Frist Art Museum
The Frist Art Museum occupies Nashville’s landmark Art Deco former main post office, repurposed as a civic exhibition center that hosts rotating national and international exhibitions. The museum’s non‑collecting model borrows shows from other institutions and private lenders, so galleries change frequently and each visit often presents different themes and media.
Education and hands‑on learning are central: the Martin ArtQuest studio offers intergenerational, art‑making stations tied to current exhibitions, and school and family programs emphasize creative practice and visual literacy. Because exhibitions and studio access change, consult the museum’s official site for current shows and visitor logistics.
Best Time to Visit Nashville
Spring and early fall offer the best balance of comfortable weather and active programming. Temperate days, lower humidity, lush public gardens, and a full schedule of festivals and concerts.
Winter and summer remain viable: winter brings holiday programming and smaller crowds, while summer hosts strong touring schedules but can be hot and humid.
For milder conditions and easier local travel between venues, plan shoulder-season visits in late spring or early fall.
SPECIAL EVENTS IN Nashville
Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm)
The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm) is a long-running, internationally recognized week-long celebration of film, music and culture that draws premieres, documentary and independent features, shorts, and music-focused programs. Travelers attend for world and North American premieres, filmmaker Q&As, industry panels, and the chance to experience Nashville’s music scene alongside screenings at iconic local venues. The festival offers badge and single-ticket options, year-round programming, and a mix of local Tennessee work and global cinema that appeals to both industry visitors and curious cultural travelers.
- Dates
- September 24, 2026 - September 30, 2026
- Venue
- Belcourt Theatre
Southern Festival of Books
The Southern Festival of Books is a long-running, free literary festival in Nashville that gathers authors, publishers, booksellers, and readers for panels, signings, readings, and family programming. Travelers may value it as a concentrated way to meet acclaimed regional and national writers, find new releases and independent bookstores, and experience Nashville’s cultural institutions and food offerings in a compact downtown setting. The festival is produced by Humanities Tennessee in partnership with local partners and takes place across nearby public and institutional venues. ([sofestofbooks.org](https://www.sofestofbooks.org/?utm_source=openai))
- Dates
- October 17, 2026 - October 18, 2026
- Venue
- Bicentennial Mall / Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park
Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival
Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival is Nashville’s annual multi-venue celebration that spotlights professional and emerging songwriters performing acoustic “round” shows across intimate clubs and listening rooms. Produced by the Nashville Songwriters Association International, the week-long festival offers travelers direct access to the creators behind popular songs, chances for spontaneous collaborations, and a concentrated schedule of performances suitable for music-focused visits. It draws industry members and fans seeking authentic, up-close musical storytelling and serves as a practical anchor for planning nights out in Music City.
- Dates
- March 30, 2027 - April 3, 2027
Music City Food & Wine Festival
A major culinary festival that spotlights Nashville’s restaurant scene, beverage producers, chef competitions, curated dinners, seminars and a large grand-tasting marketplace. The event is produced locally and often includes signature pop-ups, mixology showcases and community-minded programming that supports area nonprofits and hospitality workforce development. Travelers attend for tasting-driven discovery, access to top local chefs, paired dinners and a concentrated way to sample the city’s evolving food and drink culture in one visit.
- Dates
- April 23, 2027 - April 25, 2027
- Venue
- Centennial Park
CMA Fest (CMA Music Festival)
CMA Fest is the Country Music Association’s four-day festival that draws global country-music fans to downtown Nashville for daytime showcases, an exhibitor-driven Fan Fair, and nightly stadium concerts featuring top artists and rising acts. It’s a major cultural moment for fans seeking artist interactions, discovery of new performers, and citywide music events that support the CMA Foundation’s music education work. Travelers often plan multi-night stays to experience the festival’s layered daytime stages, official showcases, and the energetic Nashville nightlife surrounding the event.
- Dates
- June 10, 2027 - June 13, 2027
- Venue
- New Nissan Stadium
Music City Hot Chicken Festival
A long-running, free community festival celebrating Nashville’s signature hot chicken. The event gathers local hot‑chicken purveyors, live local music, family activities, cooking competitions, and a beer garden to benefit Metro Parks & Recreation. It’s a high-energy, neighborhood-focused celebration where visitors can sample regional variations of the dish, meet local chefs, and enjoy parade elements and outdoor entertainment. Travelers interested in food culture, culinary photography, or neighborhood festival atmospheres will find this an authentic, affordable Nashville experience.
- Dates
- July 4, 2027
- Venue
- East Park
Getting Around Nashville
Downtown Nashville is compact and walkable for core attractions; many museums and venues cluster near transit hubs. WeGo Public Transit buses and local shuttle services link neighborhoods and major sites, while rideshare and taxis are convenient for nights out or trips to dispersed attractions like Belle Meade and Cheekwood.
Biking is increasingly practical along dedicated lanes and multiuse paths. For multiple outlying visits, car rental or coordinated tour shuttles provide the most flexibility—plan routes in advance for evening entertainment districts.
Location
Map of Nashville, Tennessee, United States
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Plan Your Visit to Nashville
Fly into Nashville International (BNA) and use the airport Ground Transportation Center for shuttles, rental cars, taxis, or WeGo transit into the city. Many major attractions advise advance tickets or timed-entry reservations for tours and special exhibitions—book directly on each venue’s official site.
Public transit maps, airport ground-transport policies, and museum visitor pages have authoritative details to confirm before arrival. Expect some sites to recommend transit or rideshares on busy days and to post bag and accessibility policies online.
Local Tips for Nashville
Plan neighborhoods by theme: Downtown/Broadway for live music and nightlife. Midtown/Centennial Park for museum visits and the Parthenon.
Belle Meade and Cheekwood for gardens, historic tours, and tastings. Use WeGo buses for core corridors and downloadable system maps or paratransit partnerships for first‑/last‑mile trips.
Carry a small umbrella and comfortable walking shoes—parks and historic sites may have uneven paths. Always check each attraction’s visitor page for accessibility, bag policies, parking, and reservation requirements before you go.
Live conditions
Current Weather
Updated 2026-09-21 11:30
- Feels like
- 87°F / 31°C
- Today’s high / low
- 92°F / 33°C · 73°F / 23°C
- Humidity
- 46%
- Wind
- ← 5 mph
- Precipitation
- 0 in
- Chance of rain
- 65%
- Local time
- 2026-09-21 11:49
Safety in Nashville
Nashville’s Metropolitan Police Department recommends common-sense precautions in busy entertainment areas: stay aware, travel in well-lit groups at night, secure vehicles and valuables, and use licensed taxis or rideshares for late-night trips. Follow posted rules at the airport and major venues for ground-transportation permits, report suspicious activity to authorities, and keep hotel rooms locked.
Consult Metro Police and airport non-emergency contacts if you need assistance.
