For music fans, visiting Nashville is nothing short of a pilgrimage. And while the city owes its fame to the best in country music, Nashville has unshackled itself from yesteryear, while embracing the sounds of a seemingly endless stream of promising new talent.
Visitor numbers to this charming Southern City reached a record of 13.9 million tourists in 2016. Annual visitation to the Music City has seen a dramatic increase of 45 percent over the past 10 years alone.
To back this popularity, Nashville continues to be listed among the world’s top destinations to visit in 2017.
- One of the “50 Best Places to Travel in 2017” by Travel + Leisure.
- “Where to Go in 2017” by AFAR.
- “Best Places to Go in 2017,” according to Frommer’s Travel Guide.
- One of “8 Essential Trips That Should Be On Your Bucket List” in 2017 by the New York Post.
- “Hottest Vacation Destinations” of 2017 by The Daily Beast.
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Nashville’s native stars
For these great artists, Nashville is more than just a stage, it’s home.
- Perhaps no one conveys the Nashville country lifestyle better than Dolly Parton. Straight out of high school, Dolly moved to Nashville from East Tennessee where she wrote and sang in downtown honky-tonk bars
- Nashville native and founding member of country group sensation Lady Antebellum, Hillary Scott and her drummer husband still call Nashville home
- Taylor Swift got her start pitching demos on Nashville’s Music Row. Moving to Music City at 14, the young artist combined her love of poetry and music and hit it big
- Living on a farm outside of Nashville, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill call the countryside home
- Keith Urban, with wife Nicole Kidman, live the quite life when not on stage on their family Leipers Fork farmhouse
- Famous father and daughter singing sensation, Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus, still call Nashville home
- There is one family name that just screams Nashville…..the Judds. Naomi and her equally famous daughter Wynonna are Nashville staples.
Speaking of Nashville’s greats, no trip to Music City is complete without visiting the dame os stage venues, the Grand Ole Opry. This legendary venue has catapulted many musicians to super stardom.
Between November and January, the Opry moves back to the equally legendary 125-year-old Ryman Auditorium, where the Opry’s nationwide radio show was broadcast from 1943 to 1974.
Also don’t miss…
- Country Music Hall of Fame
- Grand Ole Opry
- Opry Mills Shopping Mall
- Ryman Theatre
- Franklin Historic Downtown precinct
- Tennessee Capitol State Building
Nashville tours
Several US tours take in Nashville. To experience the excitement of the US South, try one of these enticing tours.
America’s Music City Tour
Enjoy a finger-snapping, toe-tapping time on this tour of America’s most famed musical cities. Visit New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville as you revel in the sounds of the blues, jazz, country and good old rock ‘n’ roll.
Who: Collette
Priced from: $3,179
Taste & Sounds of the South Summer
This trip gives you time to enjoy the South’s music and food-from Elvis’s Graceland to Creole cooking in New Orleans and grand antebellum hospitality in Natchez.
Who: Trafalgar
Priced from: $4,020
Southern Comfort USA
Enjoy classic architecture, history, music and food on this tour through the southern states of the USA. Kick things off in Atlanta before heading down to Savannah, Charleston and Asheville where charming homes, wide front porches and cobbled streets evoke an old world feel.
Get among nature in the Blue Ridge Mountains, before heading over to Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans for a serious injection of blues and music.
Graceland, Bourbon Street, Blues Alley, Sun Studio and the Country Music Hall of Fame are just a handful of the possible attractions available to see.
Who: Intrepid
Priced from: $4,105
Elvis & The Southern Sounds
This is the perfect eight-day tour for rock ‘n’ roll, blues, and country music lovers alike. Enjoy city sightseeing in Memphis and Nashville with a stop in Tupelo, Elvis’ birthplace.
Visit the Rock-N-Soul Museum, Sun Studio, and Graceland with a chance to climb aboard “The King’s” private jet. Head east to “Music City USA,” Nashville, for reserved seats at the world-famous Grand Ole Opry. Visit the Johnny Cash Museum where you will see historical documents, awards, costumes and instruments.
Record your own song at Studio B, and go behind the scenes of the music industry at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Fans from all over will appreciate the heart and soul of this musical journey.
Who: Cosmos
Priced from: $2,064
America’s Musical Heritage
On this Southern US tour, visit the cities and landmarks that have influenced America’s musical heritage—country, rock-n-roll, soul, blues, and jazz with Elvis Presley also thrown into the mix.
Who: Globus
Priced from: $3,579
Rhythms of the South
From New Orleans and the bayous of Louisiana, to the strumming sounds of rock’n’roll Memphis and Nashville’s country music legacy, this journey takes you into a land shaped by its history and music.
Who: APT
Priced from: $6,995
