Sights in Nashville
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum
'Honor Thy Music' is the catchphrase of the monumental Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, reflecting the near-biblical importance of country music to Nashville's soul. See case upon case of artifacts including Patsy Cline's cocktail gown, Johnny Cash's guitar, Elvis' gold Cadillac and Conway Twitty's yearbook picture (back when he was Harold Jenkins). There are written exhibits tracing country's roots, computer touch screens to allow access to recordings and photos from the Country Music Foundation's enormous archives and walk-in listening booths. The fact- and music-filled audio tour ($5 extra) is narrated by contemporary country musicians.
reviewed
-
Hermitage
The former home of seventh president Andrew Jackson, the Hermitage lies 15 miles east of downtown. The 1000-acre plantation is a peek into what life was like for a Mid-South gentleman farmer in the 19th century. Tour the Federal-style brick mansion, now a furnished house museum with costumed interpreters, and see Jackson's original 1804 log cabin and the old slave quarters (Jackson was a lifelong supporter of slavery, at times owning up to 150 slaves; a special exhibit tells their stories). The arcadian gardens and grounds are lovely to wander, though somewhat marred by the highway passing nearby.
reviewed
-
B
Parthenon
Originally built in 1897 for Tennessee's Centennial Exposition and rebuilt in 1930 due to popular demand, the full-scale plaster copy of the 438-BC original now houses an art museum with a collection of American paintings and a 42ft statue of the Greek goddess Athena.
reviewed
-
C
State Capitol
At the northeast edge of downtown, the 1845 Greek Revival state capitol, between 6th and 7th Sts, was built from local limestone and marble by slaves and prison inmates working alongside European artisans.
reviewed
-
Willie Nelson Museum
The Willie Nelson Museum, which might as well be called the Everything-But-Willie-Nelson's-Used-Toothbrush Museum.
reviewed
-
Belle Meade Plantation
Six miles west of Nashville is Belle Meade Plantation, where the Harding-Jackson family began raising thoroughbreds in the early 1800s. Every horse entered in the Kentucky Derby in the past five years is a descendant of Belle Meade's studly sire, Bonnie Scotland, who died in 1880. The 1853 mansion is open to visitors, as are various interesting outbuildings, including a model slave cabin.
reviewed
-
D
The District
The historic 2nd Ave N business area was the center of the cotton trade in the 1870s and 1880s, when most of the Victorian warehouses were built; note the cast iron and masonry façades. Today it's the heart of The District, with shops, restaurants, underground saloons and nightclubs.
reviewed
-
E
Tennessee State Museum
The Tennessee State Museumis a large and genuinely engaging look at the state's history, with Native American handicrafts, a life-size log cabin, 18th-century printing press, and a walk-through 'hellfire and brimstone' revival diorama, complete with sound effects.
reviewed
-
F
Grand Ole Opry Museum
The Grand Ole Opry Museum across the plaza tells the story of the Opry with wax characters, colorful costumes and dioramas. Check out the model of Marty Robbins' 1970s Nashville office, all orange shag carpet and cowboy prints.
reviewed
-
G
Frist Center for the Visual Arts
The Frist Center for the Visual Arts hosts traveling exhibitions of everything from American folk art to Picasso in the grand, refurbished post office building.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
H
Gibson Bluegrass Showcase
The Gibson Bluegrass Showcase, where you can see banjos, mandolins and resonator guitars being made through the glass.
reviewed
