(Above) Nashville’s skyline, seen from the Cumberland River east of downtown. Photo provided by Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

By Pamela Dittmer McKuen

3-Feb-25 – Nashville radio station WSM-AM first hit the airwaves on October 5, 1925, and a few weeks later hosted a live music show with a local fiddle player. The program was called “WSM Barn Dance” and quickly gained traction among country music fans and performers alike. The renamed “Grand Ole Opry,” now celebrating its 100th anniversary, is the world’s longest-running radio show.

Over the decades, industry superstars like Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton – and rising talents – have taken the spotlight. Taylor Swift made her debut as a teenager in 2006, and Jelly Roll has made several appearances, the first time in 2021.

This year the Opry promises more shows and bolder moments, which is an excellent reason to book your tickets. Photo by Chris Hollo

Add a backstage tour. You’ll hear behind-the-scenes stories, see the private dressing rooms and lounge areas, view rare photographs and memorabilia, and stand on the very stage where a century of music history has been made.

Here are more recommendations to fill your Nashville itinerary:

Where to stay

With 2,400 new hotel rooms being built, Nashville’s lodging portfolio continues to expand with modern construction and revitalizations of vintage treasures. Soon to come are the tech-savvy Canopy by Hilton Downtown and an ultra-luxe St. Regis tower.

If you’re attending one or several shows at the Grand Ole Opry, a 4,400-seat theater, it’s convenient to stay at the Gaylord Opryland Resort (right) next door.

The two icons anchor Music Valley, a neighborhood of country music and family-friendly attractions a few miles northeast of downtown.

The mega-resort of nearly 3,000 rooms winds around nine acres of verdant indoor gardens and cascading waterfalls. The lineup of activities and experiences includes an indoor/outdoor waterpark, spa and fitness center, 18-hole golf course, about 20 food and drink emporia, and a five-minute walk to the Opry theater.

Slated to open this spring, the Hilton Garden Inn Nashville Opryland will be another option for Grand Ole Opry fans.

One of the newest hotels is Tempo by Hilton Nashville Downtown, just footsteps from 9th Avenue & Broadway. (Left) Broadway at night. Photo by Pamela Dittmer McKuen.

The fifth floor of the 306-room hotel is a chic, expansive space with voluminous windows that merge the reception and cocktail lounge areas. An outdoor pool and sundeck are adjacent. On the ground level are a fitness center, Topgolf Swing suites, and a casual bistro.

Tempo’s relaxed contemporary styling is infused with Easter egg details that make subtle references to sound waves, piano keys, and a gramophone. Look for accolades to singer-songwriter Mary Louise – she’s the hotel’s fictional muse, and her made-up record label, Sudekum Records, is a nod to a long-gone Art Deco theater that hosted countless movie premiers and the 15th annual GRAMMY Awards.

Where to eat

Long revered for mainstays hot chicken and pulled-pork barbecue – shout out to Hattie B’s and Martin’s B-B-Q Joint – Nashville’s culinary scene is more delicious than ever. A legion of legendary and emerging chefs and restaurants in recent years has shaped Music City as a foodie destination.

Audrey is the flagship restaurant of Chef Sean Brock, James Beard Award winner for Best Chef, Southeast.

Named for his grandmother and cooking inspiration, Audrey (right) delivers elevated Appalachian cuisine with a farm-to-table focus. Photo by Pamela Dittmer McKuen

Order the family-style Feast for brunch – it includes the most popular breakfast-y selections. Add a side order of unforgettable sticky buns made with Virginia peanuts and sorghum.

The Mockingbird is a modern diner and bar serving creative global fare and delicious fun. The menu is a playful read – “Wing Wing Situation” is a plate of dolled-up chicken wings, for instance. “Old Fashioned-Ish” is the Mockingbird take, with orange and chocolate bitters, on the classic cocktail.

At Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery (left), Charlie and Andy revived the premium Tennessee whiskey tradition launched by their triple-great grandfather in 1870.

Dine on comfort food infused with Southern flair, then join a tour through museum-quality historical exhibits and the production floor. The tour ends with four generous tastings.

Pinewood Social is a trendy hangout featuring New American cuisine in an industrial chic space with bowling lanes and a patio with dipping pools and lawn games.

The Southern Steak & Oyster, whose tagline is “South of Somewhere,” is lauded for wood-fired meats, Southern staples, and 160-plus whiskeys.

Supper Club on Belcourt is a contemporary urban steakhouse and cocktail kitchen sporting an eclectic decor and flower wall for Instagram possibilities.

Customize your own Goo Goo Cluster candy bar, invented in Nashville in 1912, at Goo Goo Chocolate Co. Goo Goo Cluster

What to do

Nashville boasts more than 180 venues – from honkytonks to listening rooms – that play live music. Even many of the utility boxes at street crossings are wired for sound. Seek out sidewalk signs that look like a big black guitar pick.

They are posted in front of establishments that host live music at least four times a week without a cover charge. The heart of downtown is at 5th Avenue & Broadway, but you’ll find great music throughout the neighborhoods as well. (Left) A sign of live music in Nashville. Photo by Pamela Dittmer McKuen.

Board a green-and-orange Old Town Trolley for a tour and live narration of the city’s most talked-about sites. The hop-on, hop-off trolleys are open-air for picture-taking max.

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum documents and preserves the history and culture of country music throughout the ages.

Within the museum’s extensive collections are precious musical instruments, apparel, hand-written lyrics, photographs, vintage recordings, and films. Photo by Pamela Dittmer McKuen

They include Elvis Presley’s 1960 gold-plated Cadillac and Taylor Swift’s lace dress and banjo from her Speak Now tour. The museum’s signature exhibition, Sing Me Back Home: Folk Roots to the Present, spans two floors of engaging multimedia storytelling. An elegant and solemn rotunda commemorates members of the Hall of Fame, country music’s highest honor, with a bronze plaque for each one.

Standing tall in Centennial Park is a full-scale replica of the ancient Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Nashville’s Parthenon was built in 1897 in celebration of Tennessee’s Centennial Exposition. The centerpiece of the grand interior space is a 42-foot gilded statue of Athena (left), goddess of wisdom, sculpted by acclaimed Nashville artist Alan LeQuire. On the lower level is a cluster of fine art galleries and special exhibitions. The original Greek temple, built during the 5th century B.C., today lies mostly in ruins. Photo by Pamela Dittmer McKuen

Cheekwood Mansion and Botanical Gardens was once the private country estate of the Cheek family of Maxwell House coffee fame. Today, 13 cultivated gardens, including Japanese and dogwood gardens, and a sculpture trail are scattered among 55 acres of rolling landscape with picturesque vistas.

The grand 1930s estate home has been meticulously preserved and invigorated with period rooms and art galleries. Photo by Kyle Dreier

Frist Art Museum is housed within the former main post office, a historic building classically designed on the exterior and lavished with Art Deco appointments on the interior. The non-collecting museum features rotating exhibitions ranging from Old Masters to pioneering creativity. Through spring, Farm to Table: Art, Food and Identity in the Age of Impressionism displays works by Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet, and others to explore both the scarcity and abundance of food in France during the late 19th century. A companion exhibition depicts agricultural life in Tennessee during roughly the same period.

RCA Studio B is one of the world’s most famous recording facilities, where more than 1,000 hits were produced during its 20-year heyday. Built in 1957, the studio was the recording home of many celebrated performers in all music genres. Chatty tour guides lead visitors through the historic space where Elvis Presley recorded more than 240 songs, including Are You Lonesome Tonight and It’s Now or Never. Also among the classics recorded here are Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors and The Everly Brothers’ All I Have to Do is Dream. A wall-mounted timeline illustrated by enlarged photographs and album covers depicts studio highlights over the decades.

Clearly, Nashville is the Country Music Capital of the World, but it’s also so much more.

Images provided by Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. unless stated otherwise.