Is there enough to do in Nashville, TN for a week?

[North of Mouse]

I have been to Nashville and think I could see everything I wanted to see in the city itself about 2 days. A week there would be a long time.

OP - you would probably be interested in a tour of the Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson's home. It is worth a visit:

http://www.thehermitage.com/

I agree. Most of the things there are found in most large cities. I could never spend a week there. We used to go to Opryland (back when) and it was very nice (been closed a long time now) Also enjoyed going in the Hotel there. Haven't been back since everything flooded a few years ago.

Traveled the Natchez Trace from beginning to end and it was nice, especially in the fall.

Zoos, malls, restaurants, museums are all basically alike to me no matter which city you are in IMO.

 

[GoHerbie]

You could also do a day trip to Chattanooga, or even a split stay for a night or 2 there. They have a train ride and a big aquarium.

 

[swilshire]

Our timeshare will transfer to Nashville.

Your timeshare may trade into Nashville, but finding availability at the time you want it may be tough.

Other area timeshare options would be North Georgia or Gatlinburg. Both have more resorts. There is only one timeshare in Nashville.

Sheila

 

[richkaryn]

We live an hour from Nashville and I have the 2013 Nashville entertainment book (I got it cheap for a handful of coupons I wanted) . If you PM me your mailing address I can mail you a lot of the coupons we won't be using.

 

[richkaryn]

You could also do a day trip to Chattanooga, or even a split stay for a night or 2 there. They have a train ride and a big aquarium.

Chattanooga also has the Lookouts minor league baseball, Rock City, Ruby Falls, Coolidge Park, Chattanooga Zoo, Children's Discovery Museum, and numerous other activities.

 

[SarahKate]

We only had a day in Chattanooga and did Ruby Falls and Rock City. Ruby was great and we weren't expecting much from Rock City but it was amazing! Absolutely loved tis place. We spent hours there. And we really aren't outdoors people. So much to see there. Some of the displays are a little kitschy but we loved them too.

 

[donac]

We had a great afternoon at the Corvette museum

 

[quiltymom]

Are there any music venues that would be appropriate for teens, preferably something smoke free (due to asthma)? We'll be in Nashville over Spring Break and would like the kids to experience live music.

Thanks!

 

[esk]

We went over a long weekend and spent one day in Franklin, to tour the Lotz House and Carter House...never made it to the plantation at the edge of town where the cemetery was, we ran out of time.

This was FASCINATING to us, our DS10 and DD7. The Civil War Battle of Franklin was fought there and the Carter House still has bullet holes in it, the Lotz House was used as a hospital, with blood stains still in the floor (but not in a gory or morbid way, weird as that sounds) and the tours were fantastic. Well worth a day.

Also did the Hermitage, that was very cool as well, kids were interested.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

Are there any music venues that would be appropriate for teens, preferably something smoke free (due to asthma)? We'll be in Nashville over Spring Break and would like the kids to experience live music.

Thanks!

BUMP

Interested in knowing this, too.

I've heard mention of the Bluebird Cafe, is this good for families? Any other options?

 

[softballmom3]

I have been to Nashville and think I could see everything I wanted to see in the city itself about 2 days. A week there would be a long time.

OP - you would probably be interested in a tour of the Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson's home. It is worth a visit:

http://www.thehermitage.com/

Agree with this. To each their own but I do not think I would be "entertained" there for a whole week. If you plan on Mammoth Cave, Corvette Museum, etc it is a bit of a drive and basically in Bowling Green Ky or near that area.

 

[MScott1851]

A week is a long time in Nashville...I think I could burn a week in Chattanooga MUCH easier, and it's not that far from Huntsville, head east on 72, maybe a 2 hr drive.

Rock City, Ruby Falls, incline railway, Racoon Mountain, the aquarium, Chickamauga, Tennessee River cruises, Lookouts games, Lake Winnepesaukah, and that's just what I can think of off the top of my head!

(of course, I am from North Alabama (Florence), used to live in Huntsville and I can spend a week there no problem, too.)

 

[FINFAN]

I'd probably find a way to get to Dollywood..I know it's 3 hours away from Nashville, but FUN!

 

[quiltymom]

We were just in Nashville over Spring Break. We had a great time! Here's what we did:

We gave the kids a once in a lifetime gift of staying at the Gaylord Opryland for two nights. We told them not to get used to it. Ha! They spent a lot of time in the pool, but we also enjoyed just hanging around and exploring the hotel. The kids especially liked to eat breakfast on the balcony (leftover food from dinner, even!). I joked and with my DH that our hotel stay just got less expensive after I found 36 cents in the parking lot. heh heh

Here's what we did besides hang out at the hotel. Lunch at Puckett's Grocery downtown (amazing BBQ) and Rippy's; dinner at the Whitehorse Saloon, and our favorite by far was dinner at the Loveless Cafe. Oh boy. I'm getting hungry just thinking about their food! We spent half a day at the Country Music Hall of Fame and the rest of the day walking around downtown seeing landmarks as Tubb's Record Shop and the Hatch Print Show. We found a praline shop down a little ally that was just past the Whitehorse Saloon. They were yummy! I toured the Grand Ole Opry while DH and the kids got in one last swim. That's it for just about two days in town.

I could've easily spent more time there, but the rest of the family would've been bored. See, the kids are 12 and 14, and are at that stage where nothing makes them happy unless it's their idea. But they did enjoy the Hall of Fame. But my favorite part? No traffic to speak of. See, I live in the Washington, DC area with the worst traffic in the country. Almost anywhere else is a breeze compared to it!

There was much more that we wanted to do, but ran out of time. We could've easily spent a week in the area without being bored.

 

[madge]

I skimmed some of the responses, apologies if these have already been mentioned:

about an hour north of Nashville is Bowling Green, KY ... home of the Corvette museum. and a little farther north is Mammoth Cave National park. Also in Bowling Green is Beech Bend, a small family size water/amusement park.

 

[Leeanne]

We live in Nashville but are still new and like to play tourist! I agree with the suggestions PP mentioned but also wanted to throw in there about areas such as Franklin, Belle Meade, and Hermitage may also have things you can do so don't just search "Things to do in Nashville". Also we just visited a great little discovery science center in Murfreesboro. Cheap, fun, and the DNiece(6) and DNephew(5) loved it! They had a boardwalk in wetlands and we got to see otters, cranes, turtles, etc. Was great fun as it is still 'city' but you don't feel that way. Also, spend some time downtown. Pretty much all places are smoke-free (unless its a 21 and up only club) so feel free to wander around. I work downtown and I can vouch for the TN State Museum, the Capital Grounds (wicked cool to read the signs on Capital Hill....for instance two architects worked on the Capital building, they didn't get along, and both are buried on property.....can you hear the ghost story now! ), as well as Fort Nashboro. However, we also have TPAC. I don't recall if you said when you are coming but from middle of April to first of June 'The Lion King' will be showing. Also, the Ballet and Symphony are options. Of course we have football, baseball, and my personal favorite hockey! Gotta love the fights!!
Driving north can be an option as they have already said, however south to Chattanooga could be an option as well. I am not sure if I would want to do the Memphis to Nashville run however, as that would be at least a 4 hour drive....and that is driving like me, not my husband.
I do agree with the PP what exactly are you looking for? We are more than just Music City......or we can be just Music City!

 

[MrsDrewsky]

I would suggest checking out the farmers market. Lots of delicious restaurants, a few of which have been featured on the food network. My DH and I lived in Nashville and we miss it terribly. Our 2015 vacation will likely be in Nashville, and I know we can find a weeks worth of things to do.

I second checking out Chattanooga, it's such a lovely area, and even the drive there from Nashville is scenic.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Go to the Jack Daniel Distillary. they have a wonderful FREE tour that takes about 1 1/2 -2 hours to take the tour.
http://www.jackdaniels.com/verify-age?url=visit
Go to Arrington Vineyard which is owned by Kix Brooks. On the weekends you can sit on the lawn and listen to the band play.
http://www.arringtonvineyards.com/

Grand Ole Opry.
If you have a rainy day go to the Opry Mills Mall its huge.
Take the General Jackson river boat tour.

** regarding the time share if you are trading into a RCI the availablity is rare during the summer. They usually don't have availablity until the fall.

 

[drinkme]

We're taking our son to Space Camp next month. We're trying to figure out what to do for the week, too. We were looking at Memphis. I've always wanted to visit Graceland. We'll probably head over to nashville, too.

I'll report back after our trip and let you know what we did.

We got back about a week ago from my ds12's Space Camp trip. BTW, he LOOOOVED space camp and we'll probably sign him up for next year. He made lots of friends from all over the world.

We stopped in Nashville on the way into our trip and stayed overnight at the Gaylord Opryland hotel. Beautiful place! It's about a 2 hour drive to Huntsville. We left for Space Camp in the morning and after getting ds settled in, we drove to Chattanooga and stayed there for 4 nights. We went to the aquarium, did lookout mountain, visited the Bessie Smith Jazz center, and drove to Lynchburg to do the Jack Daniels tour. It was COLD when we were there, so there wasn't too much to do outside. We then drove to Huntsville for the night. On the way we stopped in Scottsboro to visit the Unclaimed Baggage store. Ehhhh...just looks like a regular thrift store. Nothing special. The next morning was graduation at camp. After my ds gave us a tour of camp, we left for Louisville and spent the night there. The next morning on our way home, we stopped to tour the Seelbach Hotel, and went to an antique toy store we always visit while passing through Louisville.

There really wasn't that much to do, but it was a relaxing trip. We think next year we'll just send him on a plane by himself. I hope your son has fun at camp!