Nashville travel guides: music museums, historic estates and road trips

Nashville, Tennessee has long since outgrown its reputation as a one-trick country music town, though the music remains central to everything that makes the city compelling. This guide brings together visitor guides to Music City’s museums, from the Country Music Hall of Fame to the Johnny Cash Museum, alongside its presidential history at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage and grand 19th-century estates like Belmont Mansion. There’s also coverage of family-friendly stops such as Madame Tussauds and the Lane Motor Museum, plus practical guides to driving in and out of the city. Each linked guide covers ticket prices, opening hours and practical visitor tips.

Music museums

Nashville’s musical heritage spans country, rock and roll, and African American music history, with several essential stops for any music fan.

• Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, Nashville: 2026 visitor guide with prices and hours — a tribute to the session musicians behind some of the biggest recordings in American music.
• Legends of Country Music Museum, Nashville: visitor guide with ticket prices, hours and must-know tips — memorabilia tracing the history of country music’s biggest stars.
• Johnny Cash Museum, Nashville: visitor guide with ticket prices, hours and must-know tips — the definitive collection on the life and career of the Man in Black.
• Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum: guide with ticket prices, hours and top tips — the genre’s most comprehensive museum, inducting its biggest names since 1961.
• National Museum of African American Music: guide with ticket prices, hours and top tips — covering more than 50 genres rooted in African American musical traditions.

History, art and family attractions

Beyond the music museums, Nashville holds grand historic estates, an art museum and a handful of attractions suited to mixed-interest groups.

• Belmont Mansion, Nashville: opening hours, ticket prices and parking — an Italianate villa built for one of the wealthiest women in the antebellum South.
• Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, Nashville: visitor guide with ticket prices, hours and must-know tips — the plantation home of the 7th US president, including his grave and original outbuildings.
• Madame Tussauds Nashville: opening hours, ticket prices and parking — waxwork figures spanning music, sport and pop culture, suited to mixed-interest groups.
• Lane Motor Museum, Nashville: visitor guide with ticket prices, hours and must-know tips — an eclectic collection of rare and unusual vehicles, including several one-off prototypes.
• Tennessee State Museum, Nashville: visitor guide with ticket prices, hours and must-know tips — free entry to exhibits covering the state’s full history, from prehistory to the present.
• Frist Art Museum, Nashville: guide with ticket prices, hours and what to see — the city’s main art museum, housed in a former Art Deco post office.
• Cheekwood Estate and Gardens, Nashville: guide with ticket prices, hours and what to see — botanical gardens and an art museum set on a 1930s estate.

Road trips and getting there

Nashville sits within driving distance of several major cities across the eastern US, and works well as a base for road trips further into the South.

Driving to Nashville

• The Detroit to Nashville drive: distance, time and best stops — a route south through the Ohio Valley.
• The Lexington to Nashville road trip: distance, driving time and best stops — a short hop across the Kentucky-Tennessee border.
• The Louisville to Nashville road trip: best stops, distance and drive time — a straightforward drive linking two of the region’s biggest music cities.
• The Pittsburgh to Nashville road trip guide: distance, time and best stops — the longer haul in from western Pennsylvania.

Road trips from Nashville

• The Nashville to Memphis road trip: distance, drive time and best stops — crossing Tennessee from one music city to another.
• The Nashville to Atlanta drive: best road trip stops, distance and time — heading south into Georgia.
• The Nashville to Chattanooga drive: best stops, time and distance — a short drive to Tennessee’s riverside city.
• The Nashville to Cincinnati drive: distance, time and best stops — heading north back into Ohio.
• The Nashville to Destin drive: time, distance and best road trip stops — a route south to Florida’s Emerald Coast.
• The Nashville to Gulf Shores drive: time, distance and best road trip stops — another Gulf Coast beach route through Alabama.
• The Nashville to Houston road trip: best stops, drive time and distance — the longer haul into Texas.
• The Nashville to Mobile road trip: drive time, distance and best stops — heading south to Alabama’s Gulf Coast.

Planning your visit

Most of Nashville’s music museums cluster downtown and around Music Row, making them easy to combine on foot or with a short cab ride. Belmont Mansion, Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage and Cheekwood sit further from downtown, so a car is worth having if you want to fit them in alongside the museums. Nashville also works well as a road trip base, with direct routes to Memphis, Atlanta and the Gulf Coast.

Frequently asked questions

How many days do you need in Nashville?

Three to four days covers the main music museums and one or two historic estates at a comfortable pace. A longer stay allows time to add Cheekwood or a day trip out of the city.

What is Nashville best known for?

Nashville is best known as the home of country music, alongside a strong live music scene, Southern food, and presidential history at Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage.

Is Nashville worth visiting if you don’t like country music?

Nashville suits more than country fans, with the National Museum of African American Music, the Frist Art Museum, and historic estates like Belmont Mansion offering plenty beyond the genre.