Nashville is a very historic town and as such, many of its attractions are restorations or museums.

 • Belle Meade Plantation, 5025 Harding Road, 615 356 0501, 800-270-3991 (Group Sales) - Tours by costumed guides available M-Sa 9:30am-4pm, Su 11:30am-4pm. Admission: Adult $11, Seniors $10, Children 6-12 $5, Children under 6, Free. Featuring the mansion built in 1853 and restored as well as the carriage house from 1890 and one of the oldest log cabins in Tennessee, built in 1790. There is a great deal of history associated with the plantation starting from before the American Civil War.

 • BellSouth Tower. An instantly recognizable downtown Nashville landmark, the Bellsouth Tower is the tallest building in Nashville and can be seen from quite some distance when the hills aren't in your way. It's two tall spires on the building have resulted in it being nicknamed "The Batman Building."

 • Bicentennial Mall A fascinating state park stretched out in front of the state capitol building. Features a giant map of the state, monuments recounting the history of the state since prehistoric times, a carillon, and more. In the summer, the fountains are often filled with splashing kids. The park is located right next to the farmers market, which includes a food court, fish market, nursery, as well as the expected vendors hawking fruits and vegetables.

 • Belmont Mansion 1900 Belmont Blvd, 615 460-5459 - M-Sa 10am-4pm, Su 1pm-4pm. Closed Memorial Day. Admission: Adults $8, Seniors $7, Children (6-12) $3. An approximate one hour guided tour of 16 rooms in the mansion. Also walk the grounds to examine the marble statues and cast iron ornaments in the gardens.

 • Centennial Park, West End Avenue at 25th Avenue. Features a nice duck pond, where you can get up close with the ducks and feed them, as well as a real steam engine train, dating back in the 1800's and a fighter jet on a large, metal stand, to give the appearance of flight.

 • The Parthenon, located in Centennial Park - Admission: Adults $4, Seniors $2.50, Children 4-17 $2.50, Children under 4 free. Tu-Sa 9am-4:30pm. Also Su 12:30pm-4:30pm from June to August. Originally created for Tennessee's Centennial Exposition, this monument was such a well-received attraction that a permanent form was constructed. It maintains the dimensions of the original Athens Parthenon to within a quarter of an inch (at 2/3 the scale), though constructed mainly of concrete as opposed to marble. Inside stands a statue of the goddess Athena as is thought to have existed in the original Parthenon.

 • Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art, 1200 Forrest Park Dr, 615 356-800 - Admission: Adults $10, Seniors $8, College Students $5, Children 3-13 $5, Children under 3 free. The most any family will pay is $30, thanks to an admission cap. Tu-Sa 9:30am-4:30pm, Su 11am-4:30pm. Closed on every Monday except for Memorial Day and Labor Day. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's day, as well as the second Saturday in June. A 55 acre estate built by the founders of Maxwell House coffee on the fringes of the city featuring an art museum and a beautiful botanical garden. The art museum features American and Europeans exhibits.

 • Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, 222 Fifth Ave S, 800-852-6437 - Open daily 9am-5pm except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Days. Admission: adult $16.95, youth $8.95, children under 5 free. Regularly changing exhibits and live performances make this Nashville landmark someplace to visit often. The original Country Music Hall of Fame was built in 1967 and lasted until 2000 when they moved into their new $37 million dollar location. Ticket packages for guided or audio tours also available, as well as combining a tour with the RCA Studio B and the Ryman Auditorium.

 • Fort Negley. A civil-war era fort partially reconstructed by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. Taken by Union forces early in the war, Nashville quickly became second most fortified city in the US during the Civil War because it was seen as crucial to supplying troops engaged on the war's western front. The 1864 Battle of Nashville -- a failed attempt by the Confederate army to retake the city -- raged throughout what are now the residential and commercial districts on the fringes of the city. Fort Negley is one of the few remaining reminders of this time period. Much of the work on the fort was done by slaves and freed blacks who were rounded up and forced to work on the structure. The fort was closed for years (allegedly because it reminded many Nashvillians of the Union occupation), but reopened in 2004 with new boardwalks and interpretive signs.

 • Frist Center for the Visual Arts, 919 Broadway - M-W 10am-5:30pm, Th 10am-8pm, Fr 10am-9pm, Sa 10am-5:30pm, Su 1pm-5pm. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, shortened hours the day after Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Adults $8.50, College Students $6.50, Seniors $7.50, Visitors 18 and under free. Featuring 24,000 sq. feet of gallery space with exhibits from local through to regional and all the way to international artists. The Frist strives to be a family friendly museum and as such has created ArtQuest, a colorful space with 30 interactive stations.

 • Hatch Show Print, 316 Broadway, 615 256-2805. Visit this traditional printing shop that uses letterpresses to create posters for entertainment events to see them prepare some posters. As the Hatch brothers allegedly put it, "Advertising without posters is like fishing without worms."

 • Military Museum. Tu-Sa 10am-5pm. Closed New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Admission to the permanent exhibit is free, and only a few temporary have an admission charge.

 • Musica - Revealed in 2003, Musica is a 38 foot tall sculpture featuring 9 nude dancing figures created by Alan Lequire and is located in a roundabout in the heart of Music Row.

 • Music Valley Wax Museum, 2515 McGavock St, 615 883-3612. Admission: Adults $3.50, Children (6-12) $1.50, Children under 5 free. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day hours are 9am-9pm, otherwise they are 9am-5pm. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. See over 50 country music stars dressed in their stage outfits as well as hundreds of autographs on the "Sidewalk of the Stars."

 • Radnor Lake, Otter Creek Road, 615 373-3467 - Open 6am to sunset. Visitor Center Su-Th 9am-5pm, Fr-Sa 8am-4:30pm. $3 daily or $30 annual parking fee. Often called "Nashville's Walden," Radnor Lake was formed when the railroad companies dammed up a small stream to provide a reliable water source for their railroad yards. Although it is located in the heart of a residential suburb south of town, hikers on the miles of trails around the pond feel like they are in the heart of the wilderness.

 • Ryman Auditorium, 116 5th Ave N, 615 889-3060 - Open daily 9am-4pm for tours. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. Admission: Adults $8.50 for the standard tour or $11.75 to add the backstage tour, Children (4-11) $4.25 or $7.50 respectively. Completed in 1892 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle as commissioned by riverboat Captain Thomas Green Ryman, a newly converted southern evangelist. The Ryman has earned its mark in history by hosting the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974 and is now a fantastically intimate setting for concerts of all genres. It has been named Pollstar's "America's Theatre of the Year" for two years in a row, as well as one of CitySearch's top ten "Best Places to Hear Live Music."

 • Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge. Built between 1907 and 1909, the bridge was used for automobile traffic between East Nashville and Downtown. The bridge has recently been converted to a pedestrian bridge, and offers a spectacular view of the riverfront and downtown skyline. It is a very popular and convenient route to the Titan's football stadium.

 • The Hermitage, 4580 Rachel's Lane, 615 889-2941 - Open daily 9am-5pm, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and the 3rd week of January. Admission: Adults $12, Seniors $11, Students (13-18) $11, Children (6-12) $5, Children 5 and under free. Family pass for 2 adults and 2 children, $34. The former home of US President Andrew Jackson is full of his family's personal possessions, and is adorned with much of the furniture that they personally purchased. It was one of the first historic preservation projects in the state of Tennessee. This was accomplished by the Ladies' Hermitage Association which was modeled after the Mount Vernon Ladies Association that had restored George Washington's home. Plan for a two hour tour with a moderate amount of walking. Cameras, video cameras, food nor drink are allowed within the Hermitage or the exhibit gallery. Security precautions are taken and the Hermitage asks that all backpacks or large bags be left in your vehicle.

 • Tennessee Performing Arts Center, 505 Deadrick St, 615 782-4000 - The TPAC, as it is known, is home to the Nashville Ballet, Nashville Opera Association, Tennessee Repertory Theatre, and the acclaimed Nashville Symphony.

 • Tennessee State Capitol. Guided tours available M-F 9am-4pm. Closed all holidays. Free admission.

 • Tennessee State Museum, 505 Deadrick St, 615 741-2692, 800-407-4324 - Tu-Sa 10am-5pm, Su 1pm-5pm. Closed New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Admission to the permanent exhibit is free, and only a few temporary have an admission charge. With over 70,000 square feet of exhibit space, this is one of the nation's largest state museums. It's permanent exhibits are split into several categories, including: Prehistoric, Frontier, Age of Jackson, Antebellum, Civil War, and Reconstruction.