Nashville

Crowning the highest hill downtown, the Greek Revival capitol was completed in 1859 and remains one of the oldest working state capitols in the country. Its architect, William Strickland, liked it so much that he asked to be buried in its walls, and he was. President James K. Polk and his wife lie in a tomb on the grounds. Below the hill to the north, Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park lays out Tennessee's history in granite walls, fountains and a 200-foot map of the state, and the Tennessee State Museum and Nashville Farmers' Market sit along its edges.

TipThe Farmers' Market food hall beside the mall is a cheap, local lunch stop before walking down to Broadway.

Built in 1892 by a riverboat captain, Thomas Ryman, as a gospel tabernacle, the red-brick Ryman became the home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974 and is still called the Mother Church of Country Music. Its curved wooden pews and near-perfect acoustics make it one of the most loved concert halls in America, and the line-up ranges well beyond country to rock, comedy and bluegrass. By day, a self-guided tour covers the building's history, with a short film, exhibits on its stranger guests and the chance to stand on stage for a photo; a guided backstage option adds the dressing rooms.

TipSeeing a show here beats any tour. The Opry itself returns to the Ryman for some winter runs, so check both calendars.

Opened in 2021 at the corner of Fifth and Broadway, this museum is the only one in the country devoted to the full sweep of music created or shaped by African Americans, from spirituals and the blues through jazz, gospel, R&B and hip-hop. Its galleries are strongly interactive: an RFID wristband lets you save songs to a playlist, and you can try producing a beat or singing with a virtual gospel choir. It is a vital counterweight to the country-music story told elsewhere downtown, and it explains how deeply the two traditions overlap.

TipAllow two to three hours. General admission is free on the first Wednesday of each month, except for the Jubilation gallery; last entry is at 4pm.

The five blocks of Broadway between Fifth Avenue and the river are wall-to-wall honky-tonks, many of them multi-storey bars backed by country stars, with bands playing on every floor and rooftop. Most have no cover charge; the musicians earn their living from the tip jar, so drop a few dollars in if you stay for a set. Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, with its purple façade and walls plastered with photos, is the most famous of the old guard, and Robert's Western World keeps a traditional repertoire of fiddle, steel guitar and fried bologna sandwiches.

TipGo in the afternoon for the best musicianship and fewest crowds. Weekend nights are dominated by bachelorette parties and party wagons, which is fun for some and overwhelming for others.

Just off Broadway on Third Avenue South, this compact museum holds what it describes as the largest collection of Johnny Cash artefacts anywhere: stage costumes, handwritten lyrics, gold records and a wall rebuilt from his lakeside home near Nashville. Listening stations trace his long career, from Sun Records rockabilly to the late recordings with Rick Rubin, and the story of his relationship with June Carter is told with care. It is easy to see in an hour.

This 1909 steel truss bridge, closed to cars in the 1990s and restored for walkers and cyclists, crosses the Cumberland River from the foot of Broadway to the stadium on the east bank. Halfway across you get the classic view of the downtown skyline, with the pointed twin spires of the AT&T Building, which locals call the Batman Building, rising behind the honky-tonks. It is especially good at dusk, when the neon comes on.

The city's most important museum occupies a striking building whose tall windows were designed to look like piano keys. The permanent exhibition runs from the folk and string-band roots of the music to the present, displaying Elvis Presley's gold Cadillac, Webb Pierce's silver-dollar convertible, Hank Williams' clothes and an endless parade of rhinestone suits. The rotunda holds the plaques of every Hall of Fame member, and temporary shows focus on individual artists. Hatch Show Print, the letterpress shop that has made concert posters since 1879, works inside the building.

TipThe museum is open daily from 9am to 5pm. Book the RCA Studio B add-on at the same time, as tours fill up and leave from here.

Housed in the former main post office, a gleaming Art Deco building of 1934 next to Union Station, the Frist has no permanent collection and instead hosts a changing programme of major touring exhibitions. Even if the current show does not appeal, the polished marble halls and aluminium grilles are worth a look, and the hands-on art studio is popular with children.

Squeezed between downtown and Music Row in an old railway hollow, the Gulch has been rebuilt over the last two decades with glassy apartment blocks, boutique hotels, rooftop bars and smart restaurants. It feels new and polished, and its many colourful wall murals draw long queues of selfie-takers. The neighbourhood's old soul survives at the Station Inn, a modest bluegrass club where some of the finest pickers in the genre play most nights.

TipThe Station Inn's Sunday-night bluegrass jam is free and open to anyone with an instrument.

On Music Row, the leafy grid of converted houses that holds record labels, publishers and studios, this plain brick building was where the polished "Nashville Sound" was born. Opened in 1957, it saw recordings by Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton and many others, earning the nickname "Home of 1,000 Hits". It can be visited only on a guided tour run by the Country Music Hall of Fame, which carries visitors by shuttle from the museum. Standing where Elvis recorded, with the lights dimmed to his preferred mood, is a genuine thrill for music fans.

This walkable strip of 12th Avenue South, a couple of miles south-west of downtown, is the city's most photogenic shopping street, lined with boutiques, cafés, ice-cream parlours and Southern clothing labels in restored cottages and low brick buildings. Its well-known murals, including a cheerful "I Believe in Nashville" design, are among the most photographed walls in town. Sevier Park, with its antebellum house and shady lawns, anchors the southern end.

TipParking is tight at weekends; it is easier to take a rideshare and wander on foot.

Built for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition and rebuilt in permanent concrete in the 1920s and 1930s, this is a full-scale replica of the Athenian original, complete with its pediment sculptures. Inside, the basement galleries hold an art collection, but the real astonishment is upstairs: a gilded statue of Athena standing 42 feet (almost 13 m) high, unveiled in 1990 and modelled on descriptions of the lost ancient statue by Phidias. Centennial Park around it has a lake, walking paths and summer concerts.

TipAdmission is $15 for adults and is sold only at the on-site ticket counter. The museum opens Monday to Saturday from 9am and Sunday from 12.30pm, and is closed on Metro Nashville holidays.

West of the city, Belle Meade was once one of the most famous thoroughbred stud farms in the United States, and the bloodlines of many modern racehorses trace back to its stallions. The 1853 Greek Revival mansion is shown on a guided tour, and a separate Journey to Jubilee tour focuses on the enslaved people and later contract labourers whose work built the estate. Today the site also runs a winery, so tours can end with a wine or bourbon tasting.

In a strip mall in the Green Hills suburb, this small listening room has launched more careers than almost any venue in town; Garth Brooks and Taylor Swift were both discovered here. Shows are usually "in the round", with three or four songwriters sitting together in the middle of the room, trading songs and stories. Many are the people who wrote the hits you know, and hearing a famous song played by the person who wrote it is the essence of Nashville. Talking during performances is firmly discouraged.

TipReservations are made only through the café's own website and sell out fast; avoid resale sites, which the Bluebird says sell fake seats. A handful of walk-up seats are kept for most shows, and the Monday open mic is entirely first-come, first-served. There is a $15 food and drink minimum per person.

Across the river, East Nashville is where many working musicians actually live. Its centre, Five Points, has dive bars, vintage shops, cocktail bars, hot-chicken counters and some of the city's most creative restaurants, all in a grid of Victorian and Craftsman houses that were partly rebuilt after tornadoes in 1998 and 2020. It has a more relaxed, local feel than downtown and a strong Americana and rock scene.

The Opry began as a radio barn dance in 1925 and is now the longest-running radio broadcast in American history, celebrating its centenary with the Opry 100 season. Each show is a fast-moving variety programme of eight or so acts, mixing veteran members, current stars and newcomers, all broadcast live on WSM. Since 1974 it has had its own hall in the Music Valley area north-east of downtown, with a circle of the Ryman's original stage set into the new one. Daytime backstage tours visit the dressing rooms and the stage itself.

TipShows run several nights a week, with Friday and Saturday shows all year and extra nights in busy months. The Opry Mills mall and the vast Gaylord Opryland Resort, with its indoor gardens under glass, are next door.

The plantation home of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president, spreads across more than 1,100 acres about 12 miles east of downtown. The mansion is preserved with most of its original furnishings, and Jackson and his wife Rachel are buried in the garden. The site does not shy away from the darker side of his legacy: exhibits and tours cover the enslaved community who worked the land and Jackson's role in the forced removal of Native Americans. Allow half a day.

TipThe grounds open from 8.30am to 6pm, with last tickets at 5pm.

About 20 miles south of Nashville, Franklin is a handsome small town whose Victorian Main Street is lined with independent shops, restaurants and the restored 1937 Franklin Theatre. On 30 November 1864 it was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, and two historic houses tell the story vividly: the Carter House, still pocked with bullet holes, and Carnton, which became a field hospital and sits beside the largest private Confederate cemetery in the country. Both are run by the Battle of Franklin Trust, with guided tours daily.

TipDriving is the only practical way to get there. Combine the battlefield houses in the morning with lunch and a stroll on Main Street.