5 Best Sights in Nashville, Tennessee

The tall limestone pillars of Belle Meade Plantation are markers of a bygone era. Today, this historic mansion is a museum at the center of 30 acres of smooth green pastures west of Nashville. In addition to the Greek Revival–style mansion, the property includes a winery and more than 10 outbuildings. General tours are available, or you can take a themed tour like the Journey to Jubilee, which tells the stories of the people who were enslaved at Belle Meade Plantation. A complimentary wine tasting is offered at the end of your tour, or you can book a private tasting separately.

On the morning of November 30, 1864, General Jacob D. Cox seized the Carter family’s home and made it the Federal Army’s headquarters for the Battle of Franklin. Today you can tour this one-and-a-half-story brick house and hear how the Civil War changed the lives of one family in particular and the country at large.

Capping one of Nashville’s highest points, the Dyer Observatory rises above Radnor Lake State Park with its imposing steel dome. Inside the dome is the Seyfert telescope, used for viewing the rings of Saturn and other astral wonders. On the second Friday of each month (March through November), the observatory hosts telescope nights for guests to stargaze and mingle with astronomers. Or, for a daytime visit, you can attend an open house between 9 am and noon on the first Tuesday of each month (March through November) to view the sun through a solar telescope and receive a tour from an astronomer. These are both ticketed events, but the cost is minimal (sometimes even free). Simply preregister online.

Built in 1858, this grand house in downtown Franklin was home to a family of German immigrants during the years surrounding the Civil War. Even those who don’t care for Civil War history will enjoy touring this house. It contains one of the best antique collections in Tennessee, as well as the art of Matilda Lotz, who became a world-renowned painter of animals after the war.

Vanderbilt’s entire 330-acre campus is a designated arboretum, with more than 6,000 identified species of trees and shrubs. Guided tours are available via smartphone, and many famous trees (such as Sir Isaac Newton’s Apple Tree, a descendent of the tree whose falling fruit allegedly inspired the physicist’s theories on gravity) have plaques that tell visitors the story of their ecological and historical significance. Other trees have QR codes that visitors can scan with their phones to learn more about a specific species.