Things to do in Tennessee
Welcome to Tennessee
Tennessee is a road-tripper's dream: Visitors can wind their way down from the Appalachian mountains to the rivers and corn fields below, stopping at cities spaced just far enough apart for a rest, refuel, and repeat. Along the way, nature enthusiasts will fall in love with hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, river rafting on Pigeon River, and opportunities for adventure amid the rivers and foothills of the eastern part of the state, punctuated by the cities of Knoxville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and Chattanooga. Views of the blue-hued mountains from the many stopping points along the roads near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are not to be missed—or for something special, see the landscape from above by helicopter.
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Top 15 attractions in Tennessee
#1
Ryman Auditorium
Known as the “Mother Church of Country Music,” Ryman Auditorium helped transform Nashville into a legendary music destination. Since 1892, the venue has hosted notable stars such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Van Morrison, and Minnie Pearl. Today, visitors can tour the 2,362-seat auditorium, visit the museum, or catch a live show.More
#2
Downtown Nashville
Music City’s lively downtown doesn’t disappoint. Nashville’s entertainment hub is home to a who’s who of restaurants, hotels, and cultural hot spots, including the Frist Art Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman Auditorium, and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. After dark, live music takes over the bars of Honky Tonk Highway.More
#3
Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum
From Elvis Presley to Dolly Parton, Nashville's stars have earned the place its title as “Music City,” and you can dive into that history and culture at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Learn about the best of this classic American music genre with historic video clips, recorded music, and a menu of live performances and public programs.More
#4
Grand Ole Opry House
From radio broadcast to world-renowned stage show, the Grand Ole Opry showcases genres from country and bluegrass to folk, comedy, and gospel both live and on the radio. Unlike a typical concert, the Grand Ole Opry presents six or more artists during each show, giving the audience a variety of great music at each event. Superstars who have performed here include Patsy Cline, Blake Shelton, Willie Nelson, and Carrie Underwood.More
#5
Nashville Riverfront Park
Nashville’s Riverfront Park was built in the early 1980s on the site where the area’s first settlers founded the city back in 1780. Today the sprawling green enclave on the banks of the Cumberland River is home to several attractions, including Fort Nashborough, Bicentennial Park, and the Ascend Amphitheater.More
#6
Graceland
The second most-visited home in the United States (behind only the White House), Graceland was home to Elvis Presley during the height of his career. Although the rock ’n’ roll singer and pop culture icon died in the white-columned mansion in 1977 at the age of 42, touring the wacky rooms of this 17,552-square-foot (1,630-square-meter) estate offers insight into the mind of The King, who is buried in the estate's Meditation Gardens.More
#7
Titanic Pigeon Forge
Have you ever wondered what it was like aboard the RMS Titanic? Wonder no longer. At the Titanic museum, a two-story museum built half-scale (in a pool, to create the illusion of the big ship at sea), you can take a 2-hour self-guided tour designed to give you the sensation of being an original passenger on the ship’s 1912 maiden voyage. As you enter, you’ll be given a boarding ticket. Your ticket has the name and travelling class of one of the ill-fated ship’s actual passengers, whose story you will learn as you pass through the museum.At the end of the tour in the Titanic Memorial Room you’ll have a chance to check if your boarding pass belonged to a shipwreck survivor, or to one of the less-fortunate passengers. Because more than half of the Titanic’s two-thousand-plus survivors perished, the likelihood of ‘your’ survival is fairly low. (Young children are issued boarding passes that belonged to survivors, as to not totally bum them out.) The museum, which is the largest permanent Titanic museum in the world, holds 400 pre-discovery artefacts (a.k.a. belongings that were recovered floating in the water) in twenty galleries. The personal natures of the items on display closely tie into the individual stories represented at the museum. In the interactive exhibits you’ll get a real feeling for what it might have been like as a passenger on that ship.More
#8
Music Row
No trip to Nashville is complete without a visit to Music Row. This is the home of the country music industry, with a slew of record labels, radio stations, and recording studios working side-by-side. There are also live venues on or near Music Row, to check out established artists as well as up-and-comers looking to break through.More
#9
Belmont Mansion
Belmont Mansion offers Nashville visitors the chance to experience an antebellum-era home, complete with antique furnishings and period details. Uncover Belmont’s history and learn about its owner, Adelicia Acklen—one of the wealthiest and most successful women in 19th-century Tennessee.More
#10
Beale Street
From 1920 to 1940, artists descended on Beale Street to collaborate, creating a new music style that blended smooth jazz with hard-charging rock 'n' roll. This mix eventually gave birth to the blues, a new and distinctly American genre of music that gradually made its way into the United States' pop culture mainstream. A visit to today's Beale Street, now a U.S. National Historic Landmark District, allows travelers to check out the blues clubs that served as the launching sites for some of the most famous American blues musicians of all time.More
#11
Peabody Hotel Ducks
Peabody Hotel has some unique permanent guests in the famous "Peabody Ducks," who live on the hotel’s rooftop and perform a march toward the Grand Lobby twice daily. The tradition dates to 1933 when the general manager returned from a hunting trip and placed several live duck decoys in the hotel’s fountain. The guests’ positive response prompted their stay.More
#12
Tennessee State Capitol
The Tennessee State Capitol stands tall on Nashville’s highest hill as a symbol of its time, virtually unchanged since its construction in 1859. The structure is the masterpiece of notable architect William Strickland, who passed away during construction and was laid to rest in the building. The National Historic Landmark was built in Greek Revival style and is one of few state capitols without a dome. It was modeled after an Ionic Greek temple. Though classic in design, at the time it was considered innovative in construction.The capitol building is beautiful to see and historic to visit, with statues of many important political figures as well as the graves of President James K. Polk and his wife. Its walls are lined with beautiful murals, frescoes, and paintings, while its halls are lit by ornate chandeliers. It is still in use by the Tennessee state government today. It is the oldest operating state capitol in the country.More
#13
Centennial Park
Like New York’s Central Park and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the lush green landscape of Nashville’s Centennial Park provides welcome refuge from congestion, crowds, and bustling city life. The most notable, and possibly most out-of-place, feature of Centennial Park is its impressive Parthenon replica.More
#14
Tennessee Aquarium
Taking you on a journey from a mountain stream to the sea, the Tennessee Aquarium is spread across two buildings—one focused on rivers and the other on oceans. In both, you can discover an array of exhibits highlighting habitats, native creatures, threats, and conservation strategies.More
#15
Johnny Cash Museum
Despite its small size, the Johnny Cash Museum manages to hold one of the world’s largest collections of Johnny Cash artifacts. Bill Miller, one of Cash’s closest friends, gathered and cataloged the country music superstar’s memorabilia for decades, resulting in this popular Nashville attraction and Cash-fan pilgrimage site.More
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Currency
US Dollar ($)
Time Zone
CDT (UTC -6)
Country Code
+1
Language(s)
English