Friday, January 11

8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

$58.00 per person

There is no better way to discover Music City than to travel to the world-famous Music Row. Drive by Fort Nashborough, tucked among the cedar trees high on the Cumberland River bluff. Fort Nashborough was the headquarters of the original frontier settlement. See Historic Market Street (now Second Avenue), Printers Alley, the traditional center of Nashville’s nightlife, The Men’s Quarter, Downtown Presbyterian Church, one of the largest and best-preserved examples of Egyptian Revival architecture in the United States, Fifth Avenue Historic District, The Arcade, The Public Square, Davidson County Courthouse, Historic Black Business District, St. Mary’s Church, Nashville’s oldest standing church, The Tennessee State Museum, The Tennessee State Capitol (1845-1859), The War Memorial Building, The Hermitage Hotel which served as headquarters for both suffragist and anti-suffragist groups, Ryman Auditorium, home of the Grand Ole Opry (1943 – 1974), Hatch Show Print Shop, one of America’s oldest surviving show poster printers, the Bicentennial Mall, and The Parthenon.

The first stop of the day will be the Ryman Auditorium. Ask anyone about the Ryman Auditorium and they'll tell you it's the "Carnegie Hall of the South." They'll also tell you that music is only part of the aura you feel when you're inside, because the Ryman is more than an incredible place to be entertained. It's a place where you can be a part of history. When Captain Thomas Ryman first built the structure in 1892, it was used for religious revivals. But it soon became known as a first-rate performance hall featuring Enrico Caruso, John Philip Sousa, Isadora Duncan, Charlie Chaplin, Martha Graham, Gene Autry and Katharine Hepburn, to name a few. Then, in 1943, the Grand Ole Opry took up residence in the Auditorium, making the Ryman country music's premier stage with 30 years of performances by legendary musicians including Hank Williams, Marty Robbins, Patsy Cline and Roy Acuff.

The second stop of the tour is at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Hands down, the Country Music Hall of Fame remains the most interesting museum in Nashville and is the largest popular culture research organization in the world dedicated to a single form of American music. Twice the size of the original museum's gallery spaces, the Country Music Hall of Fame presents the crown jewels of its million-item collection illustrating a story told through the turn of two centuries. A treasure trove of historic country video clips and important recorded music, a daily menu of live performances, a deeply engaging story line full of dramatic characters, state-of-the-art exhibitry, a museum store and daily live satellite radio broadcasts all add up to an only-in-Nashville adventure.