After a month long family road trip around the American South, we finished with one day in Nashville with kids. We were amazed at the energy of this vibrant music city and had a great time finding things to do in Nashville with our kids.
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6 Things to do in Nashville with Kids
With only one day in Nashville with kids, the pressure was on to find some fun family activities. The Music City is a vibrant, fun city, so it was not hard to find some amazing things to do with kids in Nashville.
1. Country Music Hall of Fame with Kids
Our first stop was the Country Music Hall of Fame. We aren’t really country music fans, so we weren’t sure if we’d enjoy our visit to the Hall of Fame, but hey… when in Rome, right?
We immediately noticed the Country Music Hall of Fame was bright, colorful and fun to walk around and explore.
Fashion is a big part of country music and there were lots of iconic country music outfits on display; our 5-year old daughter really enjoyed stopping to look at all the pretty and sparkly dresses.
Our 3-year old son enjoyed some of the cool country music cars including Elvis’ Cadillac, Smoky & the Bandit and a super-cool white one with Texas longhorns and guns attached everywhere on the car.
The Country Music Hall of Fame also had many interactive things to do with kids, which helped keep them entertained and engaged.
We were impressed at how kid-friendly the Country Music Hall of Fame was and would definitely include it on the list of kid friendly things to do in Nashville!
Despite not being fans of country music, we really enjoyed our visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame with kids.
Tickets to the Country Music Hall of Fame
3. Southern BBQ Food
Based on a recommendation from the Country Music Hall of Fame information desk, we walked a few minutes to Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint for one last southern BBQ feast. It was great!
It’s one of those kid-friendly BBQ joints where you order at the front counter and they bring you your food. I had one last ribs feast, while Celine had a pulled pork sandwich.
We each had a slice of pecan pie for dessert. Mmmmmm…. it was a fine way to say goodbye to the amazing southern food we’d been enjoying all month!
3. Soak in the Nashville Energy
After stuffing ourselves silly at Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, we walked around downtown Nashville for a bit.
Perhaps it was because Taylor Swift was in town for a stadium concert that night, but party vibe in Nashville was already going absolutely crazy at 1PM. There were tons of party buses driving around with everyone getting loaded in the early afternoon.
It was fun to watch and there was a real fun energy in the air, but I’m glad the kids didn’t ask any questions about why all the adults were acting so silly!
4. John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge
We made our way to the Cumberland River and then walked halfway across the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge. We love pedestrian only streets with kids as they can safely run around and burn off steam.
Atop the John Seigenthaler bridge you’ll enjoy some good views of Nashville’s downtown and Nissan Stadium (home of the Tennessee Titans NFL team) across the river.
5. Tennessee State Capitol
From there, we continued our walk through Nashville with kids to the Tennessee State Capitol building.
We originally planned to go to the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park and then on to the farmers market, but by the time we got to the Capitol building, we saw how far it actually was and we decided not to go.
It was around 94F in Nashville that day and the kids were done. They were getting cranky and their faces were all red, so we decided it as best for all of us not to push it.
6. Parthenon – Nashville
We cranked the A/C in our rental car and cooled down on our drive to Centennial Park to see the Parthenon. Yup, you heard me right – the Parthenon…
Nashville built a full-size replica of the Parthenon in the late 1800’s for their centennial celebration. This surprising piece of culture is a really fun thing to do in Nashville with kids.
Inside is a 42 foot tall full-size replica of Athena, just as it is in the real Parthenon in Athens.
The kids had fun exploring the inside of the Nashville replica of the Parthenon and we all loved the air conditioned break from the heat.
In Nashville for longer? Here’s a three day itinerary for Nashville.
Centennial Park is not within walking distance of downtown. An easy way to get there is by the Music City Hop on Hop Off Tour.
Where to Stay in Nashville with Kids
As it happens, Taylor Swift was in Nashville for a show at Nissan Stadium the same day we visited Nashville with kids. As a result, Nashville hotel prices were extremely high that day, so we found a fun vacation rental just outside Nashville.
When deciding where to stay in Nashville with our kids, we chose to stay at a Nashville vacation rental, instead of a kid-friendly Nashville hotel. We enjoy the family-friendly amenities of vacation rentals like separate bedrooms, a kitchen and laundry facilities.
There are plenty of Nashville Airbnb and VRBO rentals for your family vacation. Find a great place for your family with these 7 tips to find a kid-friendly Airbnb.
If you would prefer a kid-friendly Nashville hotel for your family vacation, we personally use and recommend using Booking.com. Their Top Picks for Families search filter makes it easy to find a great place to stay in Nashville with kids.
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