Nashville, Tennessee 72-Hour Vacation

Nashville can sometimes simultaneously feel like a small town and a metropolis. You can't flick a guitar pick without hitting a musician here, it's true, but there's much more to the city than music, be it massive parks, lovingly preserved historic homes, fantastic Southern cooking or rambunctious nightlife. It's an everyman's destination, with something to offer families, hipsters, history buffs and newlyweds.

Union Station Hotel

You’ll want to rent a car when visiting Nashville because attractions are spread among several locations from downtown to the West End area, and to Opryland and other points east. If you want to leave the driving to someone else, a direct bus operates between downtown and Opryland. During the summer the General Jackson paddle wheeler runs on the Cumberland River between Riverfront Park downtown and Opryland. Check its schedules before your visit.

Your best choices of areas for accommodations are downtown and the Midtown-West End area around Vanderbilt University. We suggest the Union Station Hotel, a former train station built of hewn stone blocks in the early 20th century. With its grand clock tower, soaring ceilings and rooms freshly updated in late 2007, it's a real treat to stay in, and it's situated smack in the middle of the city, to boot. If you're looking for something even more memorable, try The Hermitage Hotel downtown. From The Capitol Grille & Oak Bar to the concierge service, every detail is polished and delivered on a silver platter. You'll pay dearly for such luxury, but if sleeping in style is important to you, it's money well spent. On a more modest budget, consider Hotel Indigo, just a half mile from the Vanderbilt campus. Also handy to Vanderbilt is the Loews Vanderbilt Plaza Hotel, a more luxurious lodging with extensive amenities programs.

DAY 1

Bicentennial Mall State Park

Fuel up for a day of downtown sightseeing at Monell's in the historic Germantown neighborhood. Located directly behind the Capitol and just steps from Nashville's Farmers Market, Monell's serves Southern- and family-style food at its finest. The two-story red brick converted home sits on a quiet street among many renovated and lovingly cared-for shotgun houses; around the bend modern condos and progressive restaurants are making this once-sleepy spot into a nexus of cool. Inside, diners are seated next to each other at big, farmhouse tables, but friends are made quickly as large bowls of scrambled eggs, corn pudding, sausage, bacon and potatoes are passed to the left. Fried chicken is served with every meal here, and biscuits, butter and, of course, sweet tea are native accompaniments to this country breakfast (served Saturday and Sunday mornings only).

Get a perspective on the entire state with a stroll through nearby Bicentennial Mall State Park. Of particular note are the Rivers of Tennessee Fountains, composed of 31 vertical sprays representing the state's waterways; the Walkway of Counties, with vegetation from different regions; the World War II Memorial, a globe with countries as they were in that period; and the Pathway of History, a 1,400-foot wall illustrating significant events of the last two centuries. If for some strange reason you work up an appetite after that enormous breakfast, grab whatever's in season from the Farmers Market for a snack, or head inside the pavilion to any of the cheap but excellent ethnic kitchens.

You might consider staying at the cavernous Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, part of the Gaylord complex. But even if you stay elsewhere, make your next stop 501 Broadway , where the Visitor Information Center at the Gaylord Entertainment Center sells discounted tickets and multi-ticket packages to attractions. Besides maps and other helpful literature, it has complimentary booklets of coupons that translate to savings for sightseeing, shopping and dining throughout the city. While at Gaylord Entertainment Center , sports enthusiasts may want to visit the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, which pays tribute to the state's rich heritage in this field. Tennesseans are avid-no, rabid is more like it-supporters of their teams, be they high school, college or pro.

Country Music Hall of Fame

A short walk takes you to the striking Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, a dynamic shrine that tells the story of this American form of music and the people who popularized it. Step into a recording booth and listen to a session, and then learn about the stars named to the hall of fame. You can also see live performances, including shows by "pickers," in the Songwriter's Theater. Allow about two hours or more here, as there's plenty to please fans of all kinds of music, not just country.

A couple of blocks up the street you'll find the Ryman Auditorium, the original home of the world-famous Grand Ole Opry. During the day you can tour the landmark, built in the 1890s as a site for revival meetings. Named for riverboat Captain Thomas Green Ryman, the building served as a stage for classical performances long before it became a temple of modern bluegrass. Check on performances of all types scheduled in the evenings, as it's perhaps the best-sounding (and by far the most storied) music venue in the city.

To the west several blocks, the landmark Art Deco Post Office building now houses the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. The center hosts traveling exhibits of all stripes, from Old Masters showcases to cutting-edge installations, plus a special interactive room for children. You never quite know what you'll find. Here you'll find a lovely café offering soups, salads and sandwiches for lunch, with outside seating available. For lunch, head just up the way to Rotier's, a glorious dive that's been in business since the 1940s. Nashvillians are fiercely loyal to the juicy burgers, the grilled cheeseburger in particular. It's not on the menu, but make sure to order the milkshake. It's some of the creamiest pleasure your tongue will ever encounter.

Frist Center for the Visual Arts

Cap off the day's sightseeing with a tour of The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson, in Donelson. The white-columned Greek Revival home dates to the 1830s. Jackson, who served as seventh president of the United States from 1829-1837, and his wife Rachel settled here in log cabins in 1804 and expanded the farm into a cotton plantation. A film serves as a good introduction to this president and his life. Besides taking a guided tour of the home, you can wander around grounds that include a garden and other buildings and see ongoing archaeological excavations (be sure to ask about the home's summer music programs).

This evening, cross the Cumberland River and dine in East Nashville , one of the most vibrant and diverse communities in the city. Surrounded by local farmers happy to drive in fresh produce daily, many chef-owned restaurants offer entrées made from that day's harvest. Among the best is Margot Café and Bar in Five Points. Chef Margot McCormack scours local farmers' markets for the freshest ingredients and plans her menu accordingly. The menu, which changes not just seasonally but nightly, always includes a select scope of small plates for sharing, meat and fish selections, at least one vegetarian option, and beautiful desserts. A little deeper in East Nashville sits Eastland Café. The sister restaurant to Park Café, a gorgeous and intimate space in the West Nashville neighborhood of Sylvan Park, Eastland Café turns out cool bistro fare with flair, including a knockout flat-iron steak and their signature green chile mac and cheese.

Continue to Day 2