Nashville Sites

Did you know that according to urban legend, there were once alligators living in the lobby pools at Union Station in Nashville?

Or that Tennessee provided the deciding vote for the ratification of the 19th Amendment providing women the right to vote in the summer of 1920? And, Nashville’s Hermitage Hotel housed the offices of the suffragists yet ironically women were not allowed to enter the hotel from the main entrance and had to access the building from a side door!

Or when viewed from the air, the Country Music Hall of Fame® building forms a massive bass clef and the windows are designed to look like piano keys. 

Or that the iconic GooGoo Clusters candy started right here in Nashville and word on the street is that “Goo” stands for Grand Ole Opry?

One of my favorite projects this year has been working with a new Nashville based tour company called Nashville Sites started by my friend Dr. Mary Ellen Pethel. Nashville Sites is a website and application on your phone or mobile device that offers self-guided, credibly curated, FREE thematically-based tours of Nashville. Yep, the tours are all FREE!

Nashville is overflowing with history — from famous landmarks to hidden gems — the stories of these places are intriguing, educational, entertaining and will make you love Music City even more

There are currently 20 tours available with more coming! My personal favorites include “Women’s Suffrage, “Civil Rights Sit-Ins,” “Downtown Public Art & Murals” & “Food for Thought.” I had the pleasure of curating and narrating the Family Fun Tour which covers the Southside of Broadway in downtown Nashville including awesome kid-friendly spots like the iconic GooGoo Cluster Shop, Cumberland Park, Hatch Show Print, The Frist Museum & the Union Station Hotel. 

Whether you are a Nashville native — I promise you’ll learn something new — you are visiting Nashville or you have family and friends visiting Nashville, Nashville Sites is an incredible way to explore the city and learn a ton about Music City.

Here are A few tips for using the Nashville Sites app with family & friends:

1. Look for the Nashville Sites QR Codes

Each location on the Nashville Sites Tours has a QR code (with the Nashville Sites logo) wherein you can simply scan the code with your phone and you will be brought to the tour stop immediately. We like to make a game of finding the codes with our kids!

2. Read aloud to the group or bring several phones

There are tons of great information and fun facts on every tour. Each tour has a written transcript and an audio recording. You can use either or both! Also, if you have a large group, make sure there are several phones.

3. Wear your walking shoes!

The tours are meant to allow you to explore Nashville by foot! The average tour length is about 2 miles with plenty of spots to rest or sit and listen to the tour. You can also glance at the tour maps and listen to them at home to get a feel for the distance and mileage.

4. Consider splitting up the Tour

I mention in the Family Fun Tour that while the tour is great for a long morning or afternoon, it could also be split up over a weekend (or longer) where you stop into more of the spots like The Frist Museum or The Country Music Hall of Fame.

We’ve also done bits of tours simply when we are exploring downtown and we see a Nashville Sites QR code or we only have time for part.

5. Most Tours Are Great for all Ages

The Family Fun Tour is perfect for kids but there is so much information for adults as well. Also, the Family Fun Tour has a game/word scramble built-in to keep the kids engaged. Most of the tours are very multi-generational. My young girls loved the Downtown Art and Murals Tour (which is also dog-friendly!) and my oldest adored the Civil Rights Sit-ins Tour which expanded her knowledge of Nashville’s role in the Civil Rights movement. (There is a beer and breweries tour in the works wherein you might want to leave the kids at home!)

Tell me which tour you are excited to take in the comments! If you take a Nashville Sites Tour, be sure to tag @NashvilleSites and @TheWanderingRumpus and let us know how it went!