If you are planning a trip to Nashville, there are several family friendly activities that the entire family will enjoy! Whether you are a country music fan or not, this city has a lot of fun to offer. We will show you the top things to do in Nashville with kids, and give you a list of all the FREE music city attractions!
This post contains sponsored content from Visit Music City. Please know that all opinions are mine alone and are honestly conveyed.
Nashville Honky Tonks
Nashville is definitely music city. It is hard to walk into a restaurant and not hear LIVE music—we actually grabbed a quick breakfast at McDonald’s one morning and there was a LIVE performer in there! The honky tonks and bars downtown allow children in during the day (after 6pm is adults only for many of them). Now, normally, I wouldn’t take my children into a bar, but we had to at least check out Tootsies Orchid Lounge! While it is pretty much a regular bar, it had three different levels with bands preforming LIVE on each level—and it was packed, even during the middle of the day!
Nashville Military Discounts
Besides the plethora of honky tonks, we also noticed that Nashville is very military-friendly. Many stores and restaurants proudly display signs offering special discounts to active duty military and veterans. So, don’t forget to take your military ID to get extra savings! It’s a nice way to say “Thank you for your service!”
Top spots in Nashville that you won’t want to miss—and your kids will have fun too!
Sometimes it is hard to find fun things that the entire family enjoys. You know, if it is fun for mom and dad, the kids are bored…. Well, there are so many things to do in Nashville that are family friendly.
Country Music Hall of Fame
Country music fans, you will love walking through this interactive museum. Besides taking a trip down the memory lane of country music history, you will also see plenty of current country music displays.
You can even create your own videos and sing along, when you are in charge of the sound studio!
And even walk through a giant guitar…
Ryman Auditorium
So much history in the Ryman Auditorium! Before your tour, you will watch a video of the history of the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman’s part in the country music story. Just walking through this auditorium, you will feel the history—wooden pews and creaky floors all add to the charm of the building and the old-time feeling…
And before you leave, make sure to get your singing debut in on the stage of the Grand Old Opry— or at least pretend that you did! Either way, it’s a fun souvenir pic!
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry may have spent many years at the Ryman, but it has since moved into the Grand Ole Opry House—another place you will want to visit!
Gaylord Opryland Hotel
If you’ve never visited a Gaylord Resort, you are missing out! This is one of our favorite spots to stay and visit when we go to Nashville! When we take a big family vacation, we can get connecting rooms and then we get moments like this, where the kids are all gathered around a table laughing, talking, playing games, and making memories!
But even if you don’t stay at the hotel, you should visit because there are several restaurants, indoor botanical gardens to stroll through, beautiful water fountains, and the Soundwaves water park.
Read about our stay at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and watch our room tour video:
Old Town Trolley Tours of Nashville
When we were in Nashville, it happened to be rainy, so instead of walking everywhere, we decided to take an Old Town Trolly Tour. The nice things is, you can get on and off the bus at different stops throughout the day, so you aren’t just driving by and getting to see everything, but you can get off and experience the city.
Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum
I think we had too much fun at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum! The kids literally posed with every wax figure we saw! And the wax statues were very lifelike… both past and present country music stars!
Gray Line of Tennessee Walking Food Tour
The Gray Line of Tennessee is so much more than a bussing service! We were so excited to find that they offered a walking food tour of downtown. We fell in love with food tours when we took one for the first time on our trip to Chicago, so we try to make these a part of our vacations when we can find one. A walking food tour is a great way to learn the history of the city that we are visiting, and we get to taste some of the local favorite foods!
Our walking food tour in Nashville did not disappoint! Read all about our walking food tour and the best places to eat in Nashville in my article here. We visited the Hard Rock Café, Jack’s Bar-B-Que, Savannah’s Candy Kitchen, Merchant’s Restaurant and Grill, Goo Goo Shop, and Acme Feed and Seed.
Opry Mills
If you want a relaxed afternoon of shopping, take a trip to Opry Mills. You will also find Madam Tussaud’s Wax Museum here, and you can also have a fun lunch at Rainforest Cafe!
The Parthenon
The Parthenon in Nashville is located in Centennial Park. This building is a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. While here, you will definitely want to go inside to see the 41-foot, 10-inch tall statue of Athena.
Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame
If you are a sports fan, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame is a fun and interesting stop. I think the boys’ favorite exhibit there was, of course, Peyton Manning, who played for the Tennessee Volunteers.
Angel Wings in the Gulch
The angel wings in the Gulch have become an Instagram favorite photo spot… you will want to check them out and take a quick pic! Also, while you are in the Gulch, you will want to visit Biscuit Love… you can read about our breakfast at Biscuit Love in my review of the best places to eat in Nashville.
Dukes of Hazzard Museum
Yee Haw! I remember watching the Dukes of Hazzard growing up, so this museum was a fun trip down memory lane! The exhibits are free to stroll through and you can even buy some fun memorabilia at the gift shop.
What are your favorite spots to visit in Nashville?
Leave a Reply