Avis
8.4
You pay a few dollars more per day and get newer cars, shorter counter waits, and the most reliable one-way inventory of the big three.
Typically $52 to $95 per day at major airports before taxes and fees.
Nashville Travel Guide
A weekend city with a road-trip radius
- Tennessee
- August 2026
- A weekend city with a road-trip radius
Why go to Nashville
Nashville rewards a two or three night trip: downtown is compact, and the best of the region sits within a 90 minute drive.
There is no meaningful rail service here, so the real decision is fly-and-rent versus drive from wherever you are.
How to get there
Flights
BNA is 15 minutes from downtown with strong low-cost carrier coverage.
Driving
Within a day's drive of Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago, and Charlotte.
Rental Car
Recommended if you plan any day trips out of the city.
Getting around
- Downtown, The Gulch, and Germantown are walkable to each other.
- Rideshare covers the rest; a car is only useful for day trips.
- Skip the party transport downtown unless that is the point of the trip.
What to do in Nashville
2 hours
Country Music Hall of Fame
Better curated than the Broadway strip suggests.
2 hours
Radnor Lake Loop
Quiet, shaded, and 20 minutes from downtown.
2 hours
Bluebird Cafe Songwriter Round
Book the moment the calendar opens; this is the real Nashville show.
Outdoor options nearby
Easy
Natchez Trace Parkway
444 miles of no-billboard, no-truck parkway starting south of Nashville.
A workable plan
- Country Music Hall of Fame
- Honky tonks on Lower Broadway
- Late dinner in The Gulch
- Radnor Lake morning hike
- Belle Meade or Frist Art Museum
- Songwriter round at the Bluebird
- Drive to Natchez Trace overlook
- Leiper's Fork lunch
- Return via Franklin
Nashville questions
How many days do you need in Nashville?
Two full days covers the essentials and three lets you add a day trip or an outdoor morning without rushing.
What is the best way to get around Nashville?
Check the getting-around notes above first: in some cities transit and walking beat a rental car outright, and in others a car is the only practical option.
Travel services for Nashville
The tools and providers that fit the way this trip actually works.
AllTrails
8.7
The most complete trail database in the US, and the reviews are recent enough to tell you whether a trail is muddy, closed, or busy this week.
Free tier is usable; the paid plan runs about $36 per year.
Hotels
Best used as a price check and a way to filter for genuinely refundable rates rather than as your only lodging search.
Varies by market; always compare against the hotel's direct rate.
