7 Essential Nashville Attractions for a First Visit

Nashville’s music comes into focus when you combine the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum with a place to hear it performed. A historic auditorium, a honky-tonk bar and the Grand Ole Opry offer very different experiences. These seven choices start with music, then make room for Greek-inspired art and Tennessee history.

Choose your essential sights

Attraction and experience	Adult admission	Access
Country Music Hall of Fame, main galleries	$31.95	Walk: about 3 minutes
Ryman, self-guided tour	$25 incl. fees, plus tax, through 31 October 2026	Walk: about 2 minutes
Lower Broadway	Tootsie’s: no general-entry cover	Walk to Robert’s: about 2 minutes
Grand Ole Opry, performance	—	Bus, daytime sample: about an hour
National Museum of African American Music	$33.33, all fees included	Walk: about 2 minutes
Parthenon, interior	$15, plus 2.3% for card payment	Bus, daytime sample: about 26 minutes
Tennessee State Museum	Free	Walk: about 30 minutes

Choose the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum first for the broadest country-music introduction. Pair it with the Ryman’s historic setting or Lower Broadway’s bar music. The National Museum of African American Music broadens the story nearby. Make separate excursions for an Opry show or the Parthenon’s art, or walk north for state history. Choose local pairings, not a seven-stop outing.

1. Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum connects the development of country music with the performers who shaped it. Instruments and stage wear give you tangible details to look at, while recordings and film let you hear how the music changed.

Allow about two hours for the main galleries, and visit earlier in the day so you can linger over the displays that interest you. The galleries open daily apart from the closures below, and the indoor collection is a useful choice during rain or peak heat. Advance reservations are encouraged rather than required, and you can buy tickets at the museum subject to availability.

Historic RCA Studio B and Hatch Show Print are separate tours, each an optional $23 add-on rather than part of main-gallery admission. Choose an extension for a closer look at recording or printmaking, not as a substitute for time in the collection.

2. Ryman Auditorium

The Ryman Auditorium’s former-church setting makes its music history visible in the performance space itself. The self-guided daytime tour lets you explore the building and its story without attending a concert. Choose this for the historic setting, not for a present-day Opry performance, which takes place at the separate Opry House.

Allow about an hour for the tour, which has a daily daytime operating window subject to the event restrictions below. Tickets can be bought online or at the door, so advance purchase is an option rather than a requirement. The public self-guided route is wheelchair accessible, and a lobby lift reaches the balcony. That lift is distinct from the backstage lift used on the Backstage Tour.

3. Lower Broadway

Lower Broadway’s honky-tonks, live-music bars along Broadway near the Cumberland river, offer a less formal way to hear Nashville music. Robert’s Western World hosts live performances, and Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge has music on every open floor from opening to closing. Unlike a Ryman tour or an Opry show, the bar itself is part of the experience.

Choose daytime or early evening for music before the busiest nightlife period. Expect amplified sound, crowds and some standing rather than a reserved auditorium seat. Voluntary tips support the musicians, and they are separate from any entry charge. Drinks and food are separate spending too.

4. Grand Ole Opry

The Grand Ole Opry brings several performers together in a staged country-music show, rather than promising one particular star. Choose a performance for the music, and a backstage tour only if you want a different experience. The present-day Opry House is in Music Valley, so give it a separate excursion from downtown.

Shows generally take place on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday at 7pm, with dates and additional performances varying. A standard performance lasts about two hours. Tickets go on sale 90 days ahead at noon Central Time. Buying early gives you more choice of seats, and performances can sell out.

WeGo Route 34 serves Opry Mills near the venue and offers an evening arrival option. The stop is not at the House, so leave time for the walk. For the return, a taxi or ride-hailing car is an alternative to the bus.

5. National Museum of African American Music

The National Museum of African American Music explores African American influence across gospel, jazz, R&B and hip-hop. Listening and interactive exhibits make this more than a sequence of objects to look at. Choose it to broaden your understanding of American music beyond country. Admission includes an interactive wristband for participating in the exhibits.

Allow about 1½–2 hours, or longer if you want to spend more time taking part. A Tuesday-to-Sunday visit fits easily alongside the nearby Ryman and Broadway. The indoor galleries also make a useful refuge from rain or peak heat without taking you away from the downtown sights.

6. The Parthenon

The Parthenon’s interior is the reason to make this separate journey west of downtown. Inside the full-scale Greek temple replica, the Athena statue, casts and art galleries offer a change from Nashville’s music collections. Choose the interior visit rather than stopping only for an exterior photograph.

Individual visitors buy tickets on site at the ticket counter or Museum Store, and no advance reservation is required. Ramps and a lift provide stair-free access to both museum levels. Cash avoids the card-payment surcharge shown in the comparison.

Centennial Park’s paths and lake offer an optional outdoor break after the galleries. Choose cooler parts of the day for the park, while the open interior gives you somewhere to spend time in rain. The park and museum reward different kinds of visit, so leave room for whichever suits the weather.

7. Tennessee State Museum

The Tennessee State Museum gives the city a historical setting beyond its music industry. Indigenous heritage and later historical collections help you place Tennessee’s story in a wider context, while the Children’s Gallery offers a family-friendly focus. Choose this when you want state history alongside the music sights.

Plan on about 2–3 hours, allowing longer if you like reading displays closely. Individual visitors do not need advance reservations. The indoor galleries suit rain or peak heat, especially after the longer approach north from Broadway. In milder, dry weather, neighbouring Bicentennial Capitol Mall is an optional outdoor continuation.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: opening hours, services, fares and charges, and closures.

• Opry — opening hours
• Grand Ole Opry — service
• WeGo system changes go into effect January 4
• WeGo 34 Opry Mills
• National Museum of African American Music — fares and charges
• National Museum of African American Music — closures
• Ryman Auditorium — fares and charges
• Ryman Auditorium — opening hours
• Ryman Auditorium — closures
• Ryman Auditorium Tours | Ryman Auditorium
• Can You Go in to Ryman Auditorium?
• Accessibility | Ryman Auditorium
• Downtown Nashville — service
• Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge — service
• Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County — fares and charges
• Metro Nashville Parks and Recreation — service
• The Parthenon — service
• Tennessee State Museum — fares and charges
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum — fares and charges
• Country Music Foundation — opening hours
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum — service