Experience the true essence of southern American hospitality when vacationing in Central Tennessee. Delve into Civil War and country music history. Visit centuries-old whiskey distilleries and sample tantalizing Southern cuisine. Explore riverside trails, pretty countryside and sprawling parks. Central Tennessee stretches between Tennessee’s state borders with Kentucky and Alabama.
Start your adventure in energetic Nashville, the Music City. Appreciate the city’s musical importance at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Johnny Cash Museum, Music City Walk of Fame Park and Ryman Auditorium. Enjoy outdoor spaces such as Centennial Park, the riverfront Cumberland Park and Radnor Lake State Park. Walk in the footsteps of former U.S. presidents at the Tennessee State Capitol and Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage.
Find Civil War monuments, artisanal coffeehouses and vineyards in Franklin. Take a poignant walk through the Stones River National Battlefield in Murfreesboro. Admire the architecture of Columbia’s historic square in Maury County, the Antebellum Homes Capital of Tennessee. Taste whiskey at Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg and the George Dickel Distillery in Tullahoma.
Travel northward and promenade along Clarksville’s Cumberland RiverWalk. Go boating, fishing, Jet Skiing and wakeboarding in Hendersonville. Enjoy family-friendly fun at Lebanon’s award-winning Wilson County Fair.
Stretching north and east from Nashville is the Upper Cumberland, a picturesque region with 13 state parks and natural areas. It’s a perfect setting for nature walks, hikes to waterfalls, horseback rides, picnics and fishing trips. Don’t miss the delights of Burgess Falls State Park, Frozen Head State Park and Standing Stone State Park. Marvel at dramatic valleys and sandstone cliffs in Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.
Satisfy your palate with regional staples, including country ham, pulled pork, cornbread and flaky biscuits. Swing to bluegrass and country beats at Nashville’s AmericanaFest and McMinnville’s Bluegrass Underground.
Reach Central Tennessee by flying to Nashville International Airport. Rent a car to venture along the Natchez Trace Parkway, a 444-mile-long (715-kilometer) scenic byway and bike route that winds through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
