16 Best Sights in Downtown, Nashville

This tribute to country music's finest is a full city block long, filled with plaques and exhibits highlighting performers from the old-time favorites to the latest generation of stars, a two-story wall with gold and platinum country records, a theater, and Elvis Presley's solid-gold 1960 Cadillac limo. Tours of the historic RCA Studio B recording studio are also run by the museum. Their extensive collection of memorabilia and rotating exhibits make this an essential stop for any music fan or history buff.

Nashville has a unique and active arts community, and the city's main art museum reflects that. Instead of focusing on a beefy permanent collection like Atlanta's High Museum, the Frist, which opened in 2001, aims to expose the city's inhabitants and visitors to as many different and disparate artists, mediums, and movements as possible, with multiple rotating exhibitions. Depending on when you're in town, you can catch anything from an extensive focus on a single artist, like Soundsuit sculptor Nick Cave, to an exploration of Impressionism. Visitors can dine in their alfresco café after perusing thought-provoking exhibitions in the 1930s art deco building that once served as a post office.

Built to celebrate Tennessee's bicentennial, this beautifully landscaped 19-acre park includes a 2,000-seat amphitheater, a scaled map of the state in granite, a World War II memorial, a wall etched with a time line of state events, and fountains representing each of Tennessee's rivers (you'll see both kids and adults splashing in them April–October). The park has a number of picnic tables and there are several dining options at the nearby Farmers Market.

This park on the east bank of the Cumberland River at the foot of the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge was designed with kids and families in mind. Sandboxes, a "sprayground" of fountains, an obstacle course, a climbing wall, and trails (one designed to attract butterflies) are among the offerings for kids; there's also a picnic area and 1,200-seat amphitheater. You can also enjoy great views of the river with the Nashville skyline just beyond the bank.

Though considerably smaller than the Mississippi, the Cumberland River has been as important to Nashville as the Mississippi has been to Memphis. This welcoming green enclave on its banks has an expansive view of the river and Nissan Stadium, where the Tennessee Titans play. The park serves as a popular venue for free summer concerts, block parties, and the annual New Year's Eve and Fourth of July celebrations (Nashville boasts the largest fireworks display in the South).

A country music shrine, the Ryman Auditorium and Museum was home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The auditorium seats 2,000 for live performances of classical, jazz, pop, gospel, and, of course, country. Self-guided tours include photo-ops on the legendary stage, and a stroll through the museum, with its photographs and memorabilia of past Ryman Auditorium performances. Visitors may also take the backstage tour of dressing rooms and even record their own version of a legendary song at the in-house recording studio.

The state capitol was designed by noted Philadelphia architect William Strickland (1788–1854), who was so impressed with his Greek Revival creation that he requested—and received—entombment behind one of the building's walls. On the grounds you'll also find the graves of the 11th U.S. president, James K. Polk, and his wife.

The legendary Man in Black has a dedicated space in Nashville. Performance costumes, handwritten lyrics, a wall of gold and platinum records—even a limestone wall from the home Cash shared with his beloved June—are among the items in this museum located between Broadway and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Interactive exhibits include presentations of Cash's music in formats ranging from 78rpm records to digital downloads. Clips of Cash's many appearances in films and on television are played in a small theater.