Museums
44,000 square feet of exhibit space featuring nearly 175 hands-on exhibits focused on biology, physics, visual perception, listening, the mind, air and space, and energy and earth science. Great for kids! General admission tickets are $15 for adults and $11 for children.
Hours: 10AM – 5PM
Location: 800 Fort Negley Boulevard
Historical plantation and museum owned by Andrew Jackson from 1804 until his death on the property in 1845. General admission tickets include access to the mansion and grounds and an interpreter-led tour or self-guided audio tour and cost $20 with discounts for students and seniors.
Hours: 8:30AM – 5PM
Location: 4580 Rachels Lane, Hermitage, TN
Former thoroughbred horse farm that functions today as an educational resource dedicated to the preservation of the mansion’s Victorian architecture as well as the history of Tennessee and equestrian. $20 for a tour of the mansion and grounds with discounts for students and seniors.
Hours: 9AM – 5PM
Location: 5025 Harding Pike
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Otherwise known as the “Smithsonian of country music” and home to a collection of more than two million items displayed across 350,000 square feet of exhibit space. General admission is $25 for adults or $22.50 for students and seniors.
Hours: 9AM – 5PM
Location: 222 5th Avenue South
Fisk University Carl Van Vechten Gallery
The Gallery’s collection was established in 1949 when Georgia O’Keeffe donated an extraordinary collection of art to Fisk. This collection, which includes works by Picasso, Cezanne, and Renoir, is currently on display. Tickets start at $5.
Hours: Closed Sunday; Monday – Wednesday & Saturday 10AM – 4PM; Thursday & Friday 10AM – 7PM
Location: Corner of Dr. D.B. Todd Jr. Boulevard and Jackson Street
Frist Center for the Visual Arts
Museum with rotating visual exhibitions and educational programs housed in an Art Deco building that was formerly Nashville’s main post office. Tickets are $12 for adults, $9 for seniors and students, and free for kids.
Hours: Sunday 1 – 5:30PM; Monday – Wednesday & Saturday 10AM – 5:30PM; Thursday & Friday 10AM – 9PM
Location: 919 Broadway
Nashville’s most famous print shop, dating from 1879 in various incarnations. Now located in the 5th Avenue lobby of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum building. Tours available by reservation.
Hours: Sunday – Wednesday 9:30AM – 6PM; Thursday – Saturday 9:30AM – 8PM
Location: 224 5th Avenue South
Historic Travellers Rest Plantation and Museum
The oldest house museum open to the public in Nashville, with occupancy dating to 1799. Admission includes a guided tour of the home and access to exhibits on the Civil War as well as the enslaved inhabitants of the plantation and cost $12 with discounts for students and seniors.
Hours: Closed Sunday; Monday – Saturday 10AM – 4:30PM
Location: 636 Farrell Parkway
One of the few museums in the U.S. to specialize in European cars, housed in the former Sunbeam Bakery. Macchine Italiane: A Tour of Italy’s Motoring Spirit currently on display. $12 for adults or $8 for seniors.
Hours: Closed Tuesday & Wednesday; Thursday – Monday 10AM – 5PM
Location: 702 Murfreesboro Pike
The Library’s Civil Rights Room, which features permanent exhibits as well as research collections documenting the civil rights movement in Nashville, is worth the short walk from the Sheraton.
Hours: Sunday 2 – 5PM; Monday – Friday 9AM – 6PM; Saturday 9AM – 5PM
Location: 615 Church Street
Designed by noted architect William Strickland, construction on the Capitol began in 1845. Admission is free and guided tours are available on the hour throughout the day.
Hours: Closed Saturday & Sunday; Monday – Friday 9AM – 4PM
Location: 600 Charlotte Avenue
Permanent exhibits include Tennessee’s prehistory, the Age of Jackson, Antebellum Tennessee, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the New South. Admission is free except for some temporary exhibits.
Hours: Sunday 1 – 5PM; Closed Monday; Tuesday – Saturday 10AM – 5PM
Location: 505 Deaderick Street
Music/Theater
Picturesque outdoor venue on the banks of the Cumberland. Bastille is playing at 7 on Friday and Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds are playing at 7:30 on Saturday and Sunday.
Location: 301 1st Avenue South
A unique Nashville treasure dedicated to presenting the best of independent, documentary, world, repertory, and classic cinema. Check the website for showtimes.
Location: 2102 Belcourt Avenue
The Opry began as a simple radio broadcast in 1925 and although it has moved from Ryman Auditorium it remains “country’s most famous stage.” Shows at 7PM Thursday – Saturday, featured artists TBA.
Location: 2804 Opryland Drive
The Children’s Theater dates from 1931, and has performed in its current building since 1960. “Goodnight Moon” is playing at 11AM on Saturday and 2PM on Sunday.
Location: 25 Middleton Street
Aka the “Mother Church of Country Music,” former home of the Grand Ole Opry. Nashville’s most iconic venue. Opry Country Classic (artists TBA) at 7PM on Thursday and Pixies with Public Access TV at 8PM on Friday. Tours are also available.
Location: 116 5th Avenue North
Recently closed out its first decade as home of the Grammy Award-winning Nashville Symphony. Classical Mystery Tour will be performing their Beatles retrospective with the Symphony from May 4 – 6.
Location: 1 Symphony Place
Tennessee Performing Arts Center
Theater complex with three separate stages hosting dance, music, and drama performances as well as traveling shows. Swedish band Opeth and French group GOJIRA perform at War Memorial Auditorium on Thursday, and Andrew Jackson Hall hosts modern dance show Seven Deadly Sins from Friday through Sunday.
Location: 505 Deaderick Street
Outdoors
Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park
A 19-acre green space just north of the Capitol that explores Tennessee’s past and present via features including a 200-foot granite map of the state, a Pathway of History, and the Rivers of Tennessee Fountains. Don’t miss the Nashville Farmers’ Market, which is adjacent to the park!
Hours: 6AM – 10PM
Location: 600 James Robertson Parkway
Cheekwood Botanical Gardens & Museum of Art
A 55-acre botanical garden and art museum located on the historic Cheek estate. Enjoy a meandering walk through 12 distinct gardens and delight in an extraordinary array of horticultural displays! Admission is $8 for adults with discounts for students and seniors.
Hours: Closed Monday; Tuesday – Sunday 9AM – 5PM
Location: 1200 Forrest Park Drive
Home to Nashville’s Parthenon, a full-scale replica of the original in Athens. From May 5 – 7, the Park will also host the 46th Annual Spring Tennessee Craft Fair.
Hours: 7AM – 11PM
Location: 2500 West End Avenue
Civil Rights Walking and Driving Tour
A self-guided tour that connects the locations and history of places that played a key role in Nashville’s Civil Rights Movement. Many sites are within walking distance of the Sheraton.
Hours/Location: Various
Nashville Sounds
Nashville’s minor league baseball team, the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland A’s. The Sounds have a beautiful new stadium in Germantown, just north of downtown.
Games: Saturday 6:35PM; Sunday 2:05PM
Stadium: First Tennessee Park
Featuring animals from around the world including ostriches, kangaroos, giraffes, and komodo dragons as well as a popular playground for kids. The price of admission is $16 for adults and $11 for children.
Hours: 9AM – 4PM
Location: 3777 Nolensville Pike
Over 2500 acres of forests and fields connected by an extensive trail system and located less than 10 miles from downtown Nashville. Worth the trip for a hike or a jog if the weather cooperates!
Hours: 7AM – 11PM
Location: 7105 Tennessee 100 (for Deep Well Trailhead)
Radnor Lake State Natural Area
This State Park is protected as a Class II Natural Area, and is inhabited by wildlife including owls, herons, mink, and otters. Most trails are strictly for hiking, photography, and wildlife observation – pets, jogging, and bicycles are only allowed on the Otter Creek Road trail.
Hours: 6AM – 6PM
Location: 1160 Otter Creek Road