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  • From old-world charm to the new frontiers of Southern style,

  • from high culture to hot chicken and honky tonks,

  • Nashville is a greatest-hits package few other cities can top.

  • Nashville sits in the heart of Tennessee,

  • just a four-hour flight from Los Angeles

  • and a two-hour flight from New York City.

  • Nashville also sits at the heart of some of

  • the greatest music ever to hit the airwaves of America.

  • From lonesome cowboy blues to boot scootinboogies,

  • since the earliest days of vinyl

  • Nashville has produced a never-ending stream of country classics.

  • Today, music makers and music lovers of every genre

  • make the pilgrimage to Music City USA,

  • hoping to experience a magic called The Nashville Sound.

  • But visitors soon discover the city’s magic extends far beyond music.

  • Nashville’s soundtrack began with the sound of axes and falling timber,

  • at Fort Nashborough.

  • Battling displaced Cherokee and fierce winters,

  • there was little time for fiddle playing.

  • But over the decades

  • Nashville grew into a prosperous city that embraced the arts,

  • becoming the state capital of Tennessee in 1843.

  • Nashville’s early prosperity was fuelled by the plantation and slave trade.

  • Call into Historic Travellers Rest, the estate of Tennessee founding father,

  • John Overton.

  • Wander the grounds,

  • where the doleful work songs of slaves still hang heavy in the humid air.

  • Then explore the home,

  • where the merry strains of Camptown Races once filled the parlour

  • where Overton entertained friend and neighbour,

  • Andrew Jackson, the seventh US president.

  • In the 1800s, a long, bumpy buggy ride separated the two friends.

  • Today it’s just a short drive from Travellers Rest to The Hermitage,

  • the opulent plantation home and final resting place of

  • President Jackson and First Lady Rachel.

  • But the real Queen of Tennessee’s plantations is Belle Meade.

  • Explore the remaining 30 acres of an estate which once stretched for miles,

  • where the slave quarters and rocking chairs

  • look as though they were vacated only yesterday,

  • and where the mansion’s columns still bear the scars of battle.

  • The uneasy social fabric of the plantation era was torn apart by the Civil War.

  • Climb to the ruins of Fort Negley,

  • built by runaway slaves and free black men,

  • this Union fort played a decisive role in the Battle of Nashville

  • and helped pave the way to emancipation.

  • Visit the Tennessee State Museum

  • and learn more about the city’s role in the Civil War,

  • and how it rose from the ashes to become the Athens of The South.

  • By the beginning of the 1900s,

  • Nashville had flowered into a sophisticated metropolis

  • filled with fine civic architecture,

  • colleges, and befitting its classical aspirations,

  • a full-scale replica of the Parthenon.

  • In 1911 Nashville rolled out the first automobile entirely

  • designed and manufactured in the South.

  • Named after the ancient Greek footrace,

  • the Marathon Motor Works created beautiful roadsters

  • and tourers which were in demand all over the globe.

  • The former motor works is also home to boutique stores,

  • such as Antique Archaeology.

  • The dusty offspring of the American Pickers television series,

  • this is the place to find a one-of-a-kind souvenir

  • salvaged from the barns and garages of Tennessee.

  • To see the South’s most iconic motorcar,

  • head to Cooter’s Place, a museum dedicated to the Dukes of Hazzard.

  • Parked outside is one of the few surviving General Lees,

  • one of the 300 Dodge Chargers that were jumped,

  • rolled and wrecked during the hit television show’s six -year run.

  • But of course, it wasn’t Nashville’s motor cars

  • that caught the world’s attention,

  • but the driving rhythms of its banjos and steel guitars.

  • Step into The Mother Church of Country Music,

  • the Ryman Auditorium.

  • For country diehards,

  • a tour or concert at this former downtown tabernacle

  • is as close to heaven as it gets.

  • In 1943, a one-hour country music show,

  • The Grand Ole Opry, was broadcast live from the Ryman,

  • reaching living rooms as far away as Canada.

  • In 1974, the show’s popularity forced it to relocate to a larger, modern venue.

  • Today, The Grand Ole Opry House is the home

  • to the longest-running radio broadcast in US history.

  • Take a backstage tour of the change rooms, watch a live radio interview,

  • and then sit back as country stars gatherround a hallowed circle of timber,

  • cut from the Ryman’s original stage.

  • Just steps from the Grand Ole Opry House, is Nashville’s Madame Tussauds.

  • You won’t find movie or sporting stars here;

  • this wax works is a celebration of the giants who shaped American Music.

  • The celebration of music continues back downtown,

  • at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

  • From the Steinway which added the heartache to Stand By Your Man,

  • to the bass which put the lowdown into Motown,

  • this is the place to get close to some of the world’s most revered instruments.

  • Just a fifteen-minute walk away is a monument

  • dedicated solely to country’s brightest stars,

  • the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

  • Featuring a mind-boggling collection of photographs,

  • costumes, instruments, and automobiles,

  • this is the ultimate ride through country music.

  • Follow the scent of fresh ink downstairs to Hatch Show Print,

  • a letterpress print shop that’s been posting a unique blend of colour and style

  • onto Nashville’s walls for over 100 years.

  • The Museum is also the custodian of RCA Studio B, where artists like Elvis,

  • Roy Orbison and Dolly Parton laid down some of their biggest hits.

  • Nashville features smaller museums dedicated to individual artists too.

  • Walk the line down 3rd Avenue to the Johnny Cash Museum,

  • an intimate tribute to the life and times of The Man in Black.

  • Once youve been schooled in the history of country music,

  • it’s time to enjoy some!

  • From the Johnny Cash Museum,

  • it’s just a one-minute boot scoot to Lower Broadway.

  • Join the stream of happy music lovers on the Honky Tonk Highway

  • and catch the country stars of tomorrow.

  • Step through the purple doors of Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge,

  • one of the original Broadway honky tonks.

  • Late owner, Tootsie Bess,

  • embodied the family spirit of Nashville’s early music scene,

  • feeding struggling up-and-comers

  • while evicting rowdy patrons with a well-placed jab of her hatpin!

  • Right across the road, don’t miss the honky tonk which celebrates the life,

  • suits, and automobiles of Nudie Cohn,

  • the tailor who put the rhinestones into country’s flashiest suits.

  • If Nudie’s gives you the urge to go the full Glenn Campbell,

  • youll find plenty of outfitters studded along Broadway too.

  • Now there are some folks, who just can’t warm to country.

  • If that’s you, don’t despair, take the ten-minute walk to Printers Alley,

  • where youll find Nashville’s hottest blues and jazz.

  • After a 3am finish on Broadway Music or Printers Alley,

  • there’s no better way to kickstart the new day

  • than with a late breakfast at Pepperfire,

  • where youll quickly discover why Nashville

  • is the hot chicken capital of the world.

  • Once youve mopped the sweat from your brow,

  • take a wander through the city’s diverse neighbourhoods.

  • From Lower Broadway, mosey north along the Fifth Avenue of The Arts,

  • checking out the historic sites and galleries along the way.

  • On Broadway’s southern side, spread your wings

  • and explore the upmarket stores and quirky boutiques of the Gulch.

  • Then cross the tracks and enter the weird and wonderful world of

  • Jack White’s Third Man Records,

  • a music store like no other.

  • Grab a rental bike and take the half-mile ride through 12 South,

  • where a new breed of chefs and designers are redefining southern style.

  • 12 South is also home to some rockinstreet art,

  • including the city’s favourite mural.

  • When it’s time to slow the tempo,

  • Nashville’s downtown offers plenty of riverside parks and green spaces.

  • On the city’s southern outskirts,

  • be serenaded by wind and water amid the 55 artful acres

  • of the Cheekwood Estate and Gardens.

  • While nearby at the Radnor Lake State Park,

  • wrap yourself in a cloak of dappled green and birdsong

  • as you follow the six miles of forest trails.

  • When the sun gets low in Nashville, all trails lead back downtown.

  • Pull up a chair at one of the roof-top bars,

  • or just take in the views from the Pedestrian Bridge

  • and enjoy the skyline of a city so full of surprises.

  • Nashville is more than just the world capital of country music.

  • When it comes to history, hospitality, style, and plain olgood times,

  • Nashville is home to some of America’s greatest and most enduring hits.

From old-world charm to the new frontiers of Southern style,

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