What Historical Museums Are in Nashville?

2 min read

  • 2 sections
  • 1 table
  • 2 sources cited

For state and city history, the Tennessee State Museum at 1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd is the free place to start. Its site says admission to the museum is free (Tennessee State Museum). It is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m., and closed Monday. For presidential and plantation history, The Hermitage is a National Historic Landmark and museum about 10 miles east of downtown. It sits on the 1,120-acre site Andrew Jackson owned from 1804 until his death there in 1845, and it includes an Enslaved Memorial (Wikipedia). For music history, there are the Country Music Hall of Fame, RCA Studio B, and the National Museum of African American Music, which opened on January 18, 2021.

Historical Museums by Topic

Topic Museum What the source says
Tennessee history Tennessee State Museum, 1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd free admission; Tuesday to Saturday 10 to 5, Sunday 1 to 5, closed Monday
Andrew Jackson and slavery The Hermitage, about 10 miles east of downtown a National Historic Landmark; Jackson's home from 1804 to 1845; an Enslaved Memorial
19th-century mansion Belmont Mansion a general admission tour of about 45 minutes to an hour
Country music Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum the permanent "Sing Me Back Home" exhibition traces the genre from the 19th century
A historic studio RCA Studio B where more than 47,000 songs were recorded; tours through the Hall of Fame
African American music National Museum of African American Music, Fifth + Broadway opened January 18, 2021

Sources: Tennessee State Museum; Wikipedia, The Hermitage; Belmont Mansion; and the museum guides linked below.

Planning a History Day

  1. Start free at the Tennessee State Museum, then walk to downtown sites.
  2. Drive to The Hermitage for a half day; check tour times on its site.
  3. Add music history: see the best exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame right now, the history of RCA Studio B, and what the National Museum of African American Music is.

Related posts:

  1. Which Neighborhood in Nashville Has the Most Murals? Murals in Nashville come and go as walls are repainted and buildings change, so a ranking of neighborhoods by mural count goes out of date fast. What you can plan......
  2. What Is the Difference Between Lower Broadway and Upper Broadway? Lower Broadway is the stretch of Broadway from 1st Avenue to 5th Avenue, by the Cumberland River: the honky-tonk district, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the......
  3. Why Are So Many People Moving to Nashville? People move to the Nashville area for work, for Tennessee's lack of a personal income tax, and for housing that is still cheaper than in the largest coastal metros, with......
  4. Are There International Flights From Nashville? Yes. As of October 2026, Nashville International Airport (BNA) has nonstop flights to London Heathrow on British Airways, Dublin on Aer Lingus, seasonal Reykjavík on Icelandair, several Canadian cities, and......
  5. Can You Bike Around Nashville? Yes, and the greenways let you ride away from car traffic: Nashville has more than 110 miles of paved, multi-use greenway paths, according to the nonprofit Greenways for Nashville. Riding......
  6. Can You Get Hot Chicken Delivered in Nashville? Yes. Hattie B's Hot Chicken takes delivery orders directly: its FAQ says to use the "Order" button on its website or its app to order for delivery or pickup (Hattie......
  7. Can You Make Nashville Hot Chicken at Home? Yes. The step that makes it Nashville hot chicken, and not just spicy fried chicken, comes after frying: the fried chicken is coated in a cayenne paste. Wikipedia describes the......
  8. Can You Park for Free in Nashville Neighborhoods? Sometimes. Outside downtown, parking on a residential street without a meter or a restriction sign costs nothing, but neighborhood commercial strips can be metered, and some blocks near busy areas......
  9. Can You Walk Between Nashville Neighborhoods? You can walk between some Nashville neighborhoods, mainly the ones next to downtown: the Gulch and SoBro are short walks from Lower Broadway, and Germantown and the east bank across......
  10. Do You Need a Car in Nashville? You do not need a car in Nashville if you stay downtown and spend most of your trip around Lower Broadway, the Ryman, and the Country Music Hall of Fame,......
  11. Does It Snow in Nashville? Yes, but not much. Nashville averages about 4.7 inches of snow a year under the official 1991 to 2020 climate normals for Nashville International Airport, and a typical year has......
  12. Does Nashville Airport Have Good Food? If good airport food means Nashville food, yes: BNA's terminal has outposts of local brands, including Hattie B's Hot Chicken, Party Fowl, Slim & Husky's Pizza Beeria, and Tootsie's Orchid......
  13. Does Tennessee Have a State Income Tax? No. Tennessee does not tax personal income of any kind, so wages, salaries, interest, and dividends are all free of state income tax. Its last personal income tax, the Hall......
  14. How Bad Is Nashville Traffic? Nashville traffic ranks among the worst in the country: the INRIX 2025 Traffic Scorecard placed Nashville 12th in the U.S. and 30th in the world for congestion, with drivers losing......