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The 3 M’s of a Nashville Vacation: Music, Museums and Mansions

Music City, Honky Tonks, Grand Ole Opry, country music, southern history - when you think Nashville a plethora of opportunities, outings and events come to mind. But how do you put together the best vacation possible? What places in Nashville should you tour?

We’ve created our quick guide for the best places to go and see in Nashville by breaking them down to the “3 M’s” that embody what Music City is all about: Music (naturally), Museums and Mansions. Be on the look out for future articles considering each of the 3 M’s of Nashville vacations.

Music

Nashville is the Music City, of course. But how did it get that way?

Back in the 1700s around the settling of Nashville its inhabitants were known far and wide for their fiddling prowess and storytelling. If you find yourself humming the tune “Davy, Daaavy Crockett, king of the ol’ frontier…” it’s because the famous old congressman was a part of this grand movement.

The next key piece in Nashville’s becoming the Music City is the now historic Ryman Auditorium. Today it’s home to hit artists in indie, folk and country music, but originally, it was built as a home for the Reverend Sam Jones’ preaching at the behest of General Tom Ryman in the late 19th century. The Ryman Auditorium then became the downtown home of the Grand Ole Opry in the early 1940s and has been a historic venue ever since.

Today, Nashville is home to CMT, Music Row and artists from all genres of music. It truly is Music City, and if you were to take a tour or put together a vacation package without including the many venues and musical museums, you would be doing Nashville wrong.

Speaking of museums…

Museums

Every city has their museums - but in Nashville you have a unique flavor and mixture that creates and communicates not only the culture of the city, but also the region.

While we cheated a bit in our prior section mixing our music and museums, it’s hard not to acknowledge the many music museums of Music City. From the Country Music Hall of Fame to the new Johnny Cash Museum, as the city that “music calls home” there are a plethora of options for the musical history aficionado.

Nashville also has unique museum tours and options like the Lane Motor Museum, home of a beautiful car collection from every decade since the 1920s - American and international. And of course as the capital of Tennessee, Nashville is also home to the Tennessee State Museum.

As any city in the South, Nashville can trace its roots back to simpler days of agriculture and railways. So, make a day of it and travel back in time at the Tennessee Central Railway Museum, and then, head over to see the past and present of farming in Tennessee at the Tennessee Agricultural Museum.

Mansions

You can’t talk to anyone in the south without breaching upon its rich history. Antebellum columns, centuries old plantations and generations of families have left us with beautiful artifacts and stories that provide a visual history book of just who and what was The South. Nashville being the capital of Tennessee is no different. Past presidents, long-standing businessmen and names that we now see plastered on city street signs all started somewhere.

Your essential Nashville tour should include President Andrew Jackson’s old home, The Hermitage. The beautiful grounds, mansion and museum will take your breath away with large columns, rolling hills and all you’d ever want to know about “the people’s president.” And step back into former centuries, and learn how to make old-style candles and butter.

And we’d be remiss not to mention what we consider the Belle of Nashville - the Belle Meade Plantation. Have a glass of wine, take a stroll in the stables and follow the story of Nashville’s Belle from 1800 to now as it passed through Nashville’s famous Harding family to General Jackson, and then many others before the plantation was opened up to the public by the state of Tennessee in the 1950s.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our introduction to vacationing in Nashville. Be sure you fill your next trip to the Music City with all 3 M’s of a Nashville vacation - Music, Museums and Mansions.

Keep your eyes out for our future articles highlighting each of the 3 M’s and places you absolutely have to see when you come to Nashville!

Done researching, and ready to put together the best vacation? Come by our site and peruse the various vacation packages and Nashville tours Sweet Magnolia Tours offers.