Nashville Tennessee Travel Restaurants and nightclubs spring up almost weekly. New buildings emerge on the skyline with regularity. Numerous major companies have either been born or moved here. Proud of its title as Music City U.S.A., Nashville offers a wealth of live entertainment. From the Grand Ole Opry and two-stepping to tiny honky-tonks with smoky dance floors, venues for live music are everywhere. (Related story: Spotlight on the Grand Ole Opry)

Music also has given Nashville some of its best tourist attractions. The Country Music Hall of Fame is a $37 million treasure trove of memorabilia and musical experiences. True fans flock to Music Row, an area of several blocks where many great country songs were born. Music Valley holds performance venues, shops and family amusement parks. The biggest names in show business perform at Ryman Auditorium, Gaylord Entertainment Center and the Opry House.

Sports - The Tennessee Titans put this city in the NFL a few years back, and The Coliseum is packed on game Sundays. When the NHL returns to work, the Nashville Predators are ready to take the ice at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. The Frist Center for the Visual Arts hosts nationally acclaimed traveling art exhibitions. And the Tennessee Performing Arts Center is home for the Nashville Symphony and Ballet as well as home away from home for Broadway touring productions.

New and diverse restaurants are popping up everywhere. Neighborhoods are grabbing attention with their distinctive style and attitude. Hillsboro Village, by the Vanderbilt campus downtown, is a neighborhood of tree-lined sidewalks where country music stars and college professors stroll to corner restaurants and quaint shops. Germantown, Nashville's oldest residential neighborhood, hosts festivals like Oktoberfest and Maifest to celebrate its heritage.

The Presidential home — After Washington's Mount Vernon, Jefferson's Monticello and the White House, the Hermitage — the home of former President Andrew Jackson — is the most visited president's home in the nation. Jackson's estate, located 12 miles east of Nashville, draws more than 250,000 visitors annually. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors and students (13-18), and $5 for kids 6-12. 4580 Rachel's Ln.; 615-889-2941

The Historic Travellers Rest Plantation and Museum is a Federalist-style home that once served as the headquarters for the Confederate Army of Tennessee. It is Nashville's oldest historic home museum, focusing on life here between the city's frontier birth and the Civil War. Its owner, John Overton, was once the richest man in Tennessee and a friend of Andrew Jackson. Nestled amid magnolias, elms and ginkgoes, the bead board house was the hub of a 2,300-acre estate that boasted fields of cotton and tobacco as well as groves of peach, apple and pear trees. Visitors can see an autograph book signed by seven Confederate generals. Lately the plantation has taken on a new role, playing host to theater productions, which will start the new year with a performance titled "An Evening With Mark Twain." Aside from special events, the plantation continues to be open for regular tours. It is located about 8 miles southeast of downtown. Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for youths 13-18, $3 for children 6-12. 636 Farrell Parkway; 615-832-8197

The Country Music Hall of Fame houses thousands of items from country stars past and present. Elvis Presley's solid gold Cadillac, Dwight Yoakum's torn jeans, Faith Hill's pink Versace dress, a Harley donated by Alan Jackson and a 100-year-old Gibson guitar are among the items on display at this museum, which was opened in 1999. A special exhibit "Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm and Blues 1945-1970" is on display through December 2005. Black artists from Sam Cooke to Etta James to Jimi Hendrix are all a part of Nashville's musical past. Their work and that of many others are featured in this 5,000-square-foot multimedia exhibition.

The Pollster Concert Industry Awards in Hollywood, the historic Ryman Auditorium, known as the "The Carnegie of the South," was named 2004 national "Theater of The Year" — and with good reason. Originally built as the Union Gospel Tabernacle in 1892, the Ryman has played host to an incredible range of international performers (as well as hosting the Grand Ole Opry from November through February). Check the Web site for a list of concerts. The Ryman is located on Fifth Street just north of Broadway. Tours of the music hall are available from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (though times might change depending on show times). Tours cost $8.50 for adults and $4.25 for children. The Ryman also has begun special backstage tours for $11.25, $7 for children 4-11. 116 Fifth Ave.

The Hatch Show Print shop is one of those quirky little places down on Broadway in the downtown entertainment district that really gives you a sense of Nashville's personality. The Hatch has been producing show posters since 1879. Old concert posters line the walls; a clean-shaven Willie Nelson and a young Johnny Cash peer down on visitors. There is no admission charge and plenty of souvenirs for sale. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 316 Broadway; 615-256-2805.

The Bicentennial Mall, just behind the state Capitol, is a great place for a lunchtime walk. Thirty-one water fountains, a 95-bell carillon and numerous war memorials offer great conversation pieces. James Robertson Parkway; The Mall can get active on Saturdays when the downtown Farmers Market next door is at its busiest. The market is open daily and area farmers sell all types of vegetables, fruits, herbs, baked good, hams and sweets. The fish market here is one of Nashville's best. 900 Eighth Ave. N.

he Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art, housed in the former Cheek mansion, once home of Maxwell House Coffee investor Leslie Cheek. The neo-Georgian residence constructed in 1929 holds a permanent collection of 19th- and 20th-century art. The gardens are a masterpiece in themselves. Built on 55 acres, 8 ½ miles southwest of downtown, they have been judged among the top five in the South by Southern Living magazine. They feature the remarkable, 40-foot-long "Glass Bridge" on Cheekwood's Carell Woodland Sculpture Trail. Tel: 615-356-8000