The Nashville tours worth booking are the Ryman’s own tour, the Opry’s Daytime backstage tour ($46.65), NashTrash for a laugh, and the Old Town Trolley if you’ll use its stops. Food tours are solid value for food-first travelers at $109. Skip the celebrity-homes bus unless driving past gates is your idea of fun.
This guide covers only tours you pay an operator to run: venue backstage tours, sightseeing trolleys and buses, comedy tours, food tours, river cruises and the party vehicles. For each it gives the price, length, departure point and a straight verdict, and it ends with a skip-it list that no booking site will write. One caveat: prices are what operators posted in September 2026, and many add tax, booking fees or a tip on top.
Last updated September 27, 2026. Prices, rules and details checked September 2026.
The Short Version
| Tour | Price per adult | Length | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryman Auditorium tour | On the Ryman’s calendar; self-guided free for kids 12 and under with an adult | Self-paced, or 45 minutes guided plus 45 self-guided | Book it |
| Opry Daytime backstage tour | $46.65 with taxes and fees | 50 minutes | Book it if you’re not seeing a show |
| Opry Post-Show tour | $45 with taxes and fees | 60 minutes | Book it if you are |
| NashTrash comedy bus | $45 to $50 | About 2 hours | Book it if you like camp |
| RCA Studio B | $23, leaving from the Hall of Fame | Varies by departure | Book it with the museum |
| Walk Eat Nashville food tour | $109 plus tax and fees | About 3 hours | Worth it if food is the point |
| Old Town Trolley | From $41.65 | 1 hour 50 minutes a loop | Good on a first day without a car |
| General Jackson Showboat | Check the operator | About 3 hours in the evening | A special-occasion dinner |
| Party vehicles and pedal taverns | $35 to $50 a seat | 90 minutes to 1 hour 45 | Groups only; know the rules |
| Homes of the Stars bus | Check the operator | About 2 hours | Skip it |
Before You Book: What the Booking Sites Won’t Tell You
The best music tours are sold by the venues themselves
Nashville’s most rewarding tours aren’t sightseeing products at all. They’re the Ryman’s own tours, the Opry’s backstage tours and the Country Music Hall of Fame’s RCA Studio B trip, all sold directly by the venues. Start there, then add a sightseeing or comedy tour only if you still want one.
There’s no all-in city pass
Nashville has no single pass that covers the Hall of Fame, the Ryman and the Opry the way passes work in some big cities. The savings that exist are operator bundles: the Opry’s Country Duos pairs an Opry backstage tour with a Ryman visit at a discount, and Old Town Trolley sells a 2-day ticket from $78 and a Day and Night package from $79.81. Price the bundle against the separate tickets before you assume it saves money.
Posted prices don’t all mean the same thing
The Opry quotes prices that already include taxes and fees. Walk Eat Nashville quotes $109 plus taxes and ticketing fees. Party-vehicle operators add fees and expect a tip. Compare the final checkout price, not the headline number.
Refund rules vary wildly
NashTrash refunds up to 72 hours before a tour. Nashville Pedal Tavern and Sprocket Rocket give full refunds seven or more days out, Nashville Bar Bike 14 or more days out, and Pontoon Saloon’s public cruises 14 or more days out, while its private charters take a 50 percent non-refundable deposit. If your plans might shift, that difference matters more than a $5 price gap.
Know where it leaves from
Tours start all over the city, not just downtown. NashTrash leaves from the Nashville Farmers’ Market at 900 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard, Nashville Pedal Tavern from 1504 Demonbreun Street, Honky Tonk Party Express from 1343 Lewis Street, Nashville Bar Bike from 501 Division Street and Pontoon Saloon from 2 Victory Avenue or Lock One Marina. Gray Line’s own pages list two different departure points, so read your ticket.
What Nashville Tours Cost
Most tours cost between $40 and $60 a person, a little more than a Country Music Hall of Fame ticket ($31.95 for adults). Group experiences are priced by the seat or by the vehicle: a whole Nashville Pedal Tavern bike is $520, a private Honky Tonk Party Express runs $495 Sunday to Thursday and $595 Friday and Saturday plus fees and tip, and Nashville Bar Bike’s private rides start at $350 with a six-person minimum.
The Nashville Tours Worth Booking, Ranked
This ranking favors tours that show you something you can’t see on your own, at a fair price, with honest logistics. Party vehicles are covered separately below, because they’re a group activity rather than a tour most visitors need.
How we ranked: each tour was scored on three questions. Does it get you somewhere you can’t go alone, such as a backstage corridor, a working studio or a river? Is the posted price fair for the time and access? And are the logistics honest, with a clear meeting point, refund rule and age policy? Prices and rules come from each operator’s own pages in September 2026. Nobody paid to be included, and the verdicts include the places where we think your money is better spent elsewhere.
1. Ryman Auditorium Tour
116 Rep. John Lewis Way North (Fifth Avenue) · self-guided or guided backstage · souvenir stage photo included
The Ryman is the building that made Nashville the home of country music: a 19th-century tabernacle that hosted the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974 and still sells out concerts most nights. The tour comes in two main forms. The self-guided tour lets you wander the pews, the balcony and the exhibits at your own pace, and it’s free for children 12 and under with a paying adult. The Guided Backstage Tour adds 45 minutes with a guide behind the scenes, followed by 45 minutes on your own. Every tour includes a professional souvenir photo on the stage, which is the photo most people actually want.
Prices sit on the Ryman’s tour calendar and change with the season and the level, so check the date you want. Verdict: the one tour every first-time visitor should do. If you can only afford one extra, choose the backstage version; if you’re traveling with kids, the self-guided tour is the best-value history lesson in the city.
Good to know: the Ryman sits half a block north of Broadway, so a tour slots neatly between lunch and an afternoon in the honky-tonks. Allow about 90 minutes for the guided version, since it runs 45 minutes with the guide and then leaves you to explore. The building is a working concert hall, so tour times shift around shows; book a specific time slot rather than turning up. Every ticket comes with a stage photo taken by a staff photographer, so you don’t need to hand your phone to a stranger.
2. Grand Ole Opry Backstage Tours
The Opry House, 600 Opry Mills Drive · four tour types · prices include taxes and fees
The Opry sells four backstage products, and choosing the right one is most of the value.
| Tour | Price | Length | Group size | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daytime Tour | $46.65 | 50 minutes | About 30 | Backstage halls, dressing rooms, the stage and the WSM radio studio; photo sold separately |
| Post-Show Tour | $45.00 | 60 minutes | About 30 | The same backstage areas right after the show; requires a show ticket |
| Women of Country Tour | $59.81 | 45 minutes | About 20 | The Opry Legends exhibit, a themed dressing-room photo and a mimosa |
| VIP Tour | $88.34 | 90 minutes | About 6 | VIP-only spaces, archival footage, mimosas and pastries, a commemorative photo |
Which should you book? If you have a ticket for that night’s show, the Post-Show Tour is the obvious choice: it’s the cheapest, it’s the longest of the standard tours, and the dressing rooms are still warm. If you’re not seeing a show, the Daytime Tour covers the same ground for $1.65 more. The Women of Country Tour, built around the women who defined the genre, is a good themed alternative. The VIP Tour is for superfans who want a small group and more time; for a casual visitor, it’s double the price of the Daytime Tour for extras you can live without. The Opry House is about 10 miles from downtown, so allow 15 to 25 minutes each way.
Verdict: book the Post-Show Tour with your show ticket, or the Daytime Tour if you’re not going to a show. Either one puts you on the stage, in the circle of wood cut from the Ryman’s stage floor, which is the moment people remember.
Good to know: the Opry’s 2026 calendar puts shows at 7pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at the Opry House, so a Post-Show Tour starts late in the evening; plan your ride back to town in advance. The Country Duos bundle, which adds a Ryman visit, is worth pricing if you want both venues. If you’re staying at Gaylord Opryland, the Opry House is within walking distance, but the resort adds a $28 nightly resort fee and $37 self-parking. The Opry is at the Opry House through December 2026; check the venue for January dates, when the Opry has sometimes spent a short stint at the Ryman.
3. NashTrash Tours
Nashville Farmers’ Market, 900 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard · about 2 hours · $45 to $50
The Jugg Sisters’ big pink bus is one of Nashville’s longest-running jokes, and it’s a good one: a loud, affectionate, deeply unserious comedy tour of the city from two characters in towering wigs. The Brenda Kay Jugg tour costs $50 and the others $45, and there are no tours on Mondays. The rules are strict: nobody under 15, no food or alcohol on board, and refunds only up to 72 hours before. Tickets go on sale at 2pm Central on the first of each month, two months ahead, and popular dates go quickly. Private buses cost $1,620 to $1,800 with a 20-person minimum and 36 seats.
Verdict: book it if you like camp and don’t mind a few jokes at the expense of everyone, including you. Skip it with teenagers under 15 (the rule is firm) or if you want serious history; you won’t get any.
Good to know: the Farmers’ Market departure point makes a natural morning: breakfast in the market hall, then the bus. Because tickets release at 2pm Central on the first of the month for dates two months out, set a reminder if you’re traveling in peak season. The no-alcohol rule is enforced, so don’t plan it as a warm-up for a bar crawl.
4. Country Music Hall of Fame and RCA Studio B
Hall of Fame, 222 Rep. John Lewis Way South · Studio B tour $23 · departures 10am to 3pm
RCA Studio B, on Music Row, is where a remarkable share of 1960s country and pop was recorded, Elvis Presley’s Nashville sessions among them. You can’t just walk in: tours leave from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum daily between 10am and 3pm, with transportation included, and the tour is listed at $23. The museum itself is $31.95 for adults and $21.95 for ages 6 to 12, open daily from 9am to 5pm.
Verdict: book the museum and Studio B together, and put them on the same morning so the shuttle timing works. For anyone who cares about how records were made, the studio is the highlight of the day.
Good to know: Studio B is also where the Nashville Number System, the shorthand session players use to chart a song’s chords, took hold, and a good guide will explain it. Book the 9am museum opening and a late-morning Studio B departure, and you’ll finish both before lunch. The museum closes at 5pm, and Studio B departures stop at 3pm.
5. Walk Eat Nashville Food Tours
Downtown and East Nashville routes · about 3 hours · $109 plus taxes and fees
Walk Eat Nashville runs two neighborhood walking tours, each with five tasting stops over about three hours, under a mile and a half of walking and a cap of 12 people. The East Nashville route runs on Fridays and Saturdays at 11:30am. Other operators, including Sidewalk Food Tours and Local Tastes of Nashville, run downtown routes too.
Verdict: worth it if food is the reason you came, especially on your first day, because a good guide will tell you which of the city’s hot chicken and meat-and-three places to return to. If you only want to try hot chicken, you’ll eat it yourself for a fraction of the price.
Good to know: five tastings over three hours adds up to a meal, so book a food tour instead of lunch, not before it. The East Nashville route is the better choice for repeat visitors, because it shows a side of the city most first-timers never reach; the downtown route suits a first morning. Wear comfortable shoes: the route is short, but Nashville summers are hot and some blocks are uphill.
6. Old Town Trolley Tours
13 stops · 11-mile loop · 1 hour 50 minutes · from $41.65
The orange-and-green trolleys run a fully narrated, 11-mile hop-on, hop-off loop with 13 stops through the Gulch, Lower Broadway, downtown, Midtown and Music Row, from 9am to 4pm daily. A one-day ticket starts at $41.65 online, and a two-day ticket at $78. The trolleys run 362 days a year, closing for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon, Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and alcohol isn’t allowed on board. The same company runs the Soul of Music City tour (from $38.21) and the Nashville for Morons comedy tour (from $44.95).
Verdict: good value on a first day without a car, especially if you want Music Row and Midtown without paying for rides. If you’re staying downtown and walking, you’ll see most of the first-half stops for free. The two-day ticket rarely pays off.
Good to know: ride the full loop once before you start hopping off; the narration makes more sense in order, and you’ll know which stops deserve a second visit. Frequency depends on the season, traffic and weather, so on a busy day don’t plan a tight connection around the next trolley. The day ends at 4pm, so start early.
7. General Jackson Showboat
Opryland · lunch and dinner cruises with a show · about 3 hours in the evening
The General Jackson is one of the largest paddlewheel riverboats in the country, and it cruises the Cumberland River from Opryland with a meal and a musical show in its Victorian-style dining theater. The evening cruise runs about three hours. Gray Line Tennessee also sells General Jackson packages with transportation.
Verdict: a good choice for a birthday, an anniversary or an older relative who wants a night out without Broadway’s crowds. It’s a dinner show first and a river view second; don’t book it expecting a sightseeing cruise past downtown.
Good to know: the boat sails from Opryland, about 10 miles from downtown, so pair it with an Opry night or a Gaylord stay rather than a Broadway day. If you don’t have a car, Gray Line’s General Jackson packages include transportation.
8. Pontoon Saloon
2 Victory Avenue (Riverfront Dock East) or Lock One Marina · 2 hours · from $39.95
Pontoon Saloon runs two-hour party cruises on the Cumberland for about 40 guests. Public cruises cost $39.95 on weekdays and $49 Friday to Sunday, and a Friday or Saturday morning mimosa cruise starts at $49 with two mimosas. The BACH Party Cruise costs $50 on Friday and $55 on Saturday, including beer, seltzers and a 10 percent tip. There are no outside drinks, and bar drinks run $5 to $10. Groups of eight or more should book 45 days ahead, and bachelorette groups of 10 or more 90 days ahead.
Verdict: a fun, cheap afternoon on the water with a view of the skyline, and a better choice for a group than a second party-bus ride. It’s a party boat, not a sightseeing cruise.
Or rent your own pontoon. For a group that would rather drive the boat, the lakes outside the city rent self-drive pontoons by the day. Elm Hill Marina on Percy Priest Lake charges $425 for a 25-foot boat to $675 for a deluxe 30-footer, from 9am to 5pm for 8 to 20 guests, with fuel extra and a $300 card hold; book one to two weeks ahead in peak season. Sweetwater Pontoon Rentals on Old Hickory Lake rents a 22-foot pontoon for $350 on weekdays, $500 on Sundays and $600 on Saturdays, and a 26-foot double-decker for $550 to $675. Someone has to stay sober enough to drive it.
9. Gray Line Tennessee City Tours and Day Trips
City Tour, Night Tour, Memphis, Dollywood and Franklin day trips · check prices when booking
Gray Line Tennessee is the old-school coach operator, and its list in September 2026 ran from a one-hour Nashville City Tour to a Nashville Night Tour, a Civil War tour, Discover Nashville, a Memphis day tour, a new Dollywood day trip and a hop-on, hop-off service called The Franklin Hop. Its pages list two departure points, Riverfront Station at 108 First Avenue South and Bob’s Steak & Chop House at 250 Rep. John Lewis Way South, so confirm yours on the ticket.
Verdict: the day trips are the real value here, for travelers who want Memphis, Dollywood or Franklin without renting a car. The one-hour City Tour is a reasonable orientation on a first morning. The Homes of the Stars tour is on the skip-it list below.
Good to know: Memphis is about three hours each way, so a Memphis day tour is a long day on a coach; it makes sense only if you can’t add a night there. The Franklin Hop is the easiest way to see Franklin without a car. Gray Line’s promo code GAMEDAY26 took $5 off one adult ticket through December 31, 2026.
Party Vehicles and Pedal Taverns: For Groups Only
Nashville’s party buses, tractors and pedal taverns are a big business: the Nashville Scene counted 27 permitted party-vehicle operators in 2024, in an industry worth about $50 million a year. They’re a group activity, and they’re regulated more tightly than their marketing suggests.
The rules that apply to you
- Motorized party vehicles must be enclosed; professionally installed roll-down vinyl windows count. Some operators still market “open-air” rides, so ask how the vehicle is permitted before you pay.
- They may run from 9am and must be off the road by 11pm, and they’re banned from the downtown core, including Lower Broadway, from 4pm to 6pm on weekdays.
- Everyone aboard must be 21 or older if alcohol is present, and operators check ID by app or scanner.
- Bring-your-own is beer only, at 8 percent alcohol or less, under the Metro Beer Board’s permit; no wine or liquor.
- Pedal carriages are licensed separately, may not run 7am to 9am on weekdays, use approved routes only from 4pm to 6pm, and don’t have to be enclosed.
The operators, compared
| Operator | Starts at | Length | Group size | Price | Refund |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville Pedal Tavern | 1504 Demonbreun Street | 90 minutes | 6 to 15 | $49.99 a seat ($52.99 Friday and Saturday after 8pm); whole bike $520 | Full refund 7+ days out |
| Sprocket Rocket | 535 Lafayette Street | 1.5 hours, one bar stop | 6 to 15 | From $39 a seat; whole bike from $395 | Full refund 7+ days out |
| Nashville Bar Bike | 501 Division Street | About 1.5 hours | 4 to 16 | From $35 a seat; private from $350 | Full refund 14+ days out |
| Honky Tonk Party Express | 1343 Lewis Street | About 1 hour 45 | 6 to 25 | From $49 a seat; private $495 to $595 plus fees and tip | Check at booking |
Nashville Pedal Tavern allows beer and standard seltzers of 8 percent or less, with no liquor, wine, champagne, glass or kegs. Sprocket Rocket rides rain or shine. Honky Tonk Party Express stopped allowing BYOB in March 2024 and runs a bar on board instead. For a group weekend, our bachelorette party planning guide covers how these fit into a full itinerary and budget.
Verdict: fun for a group of eight or more on a mild afternoon, poor value for a couple, and genuinely unpleasant at 3pm in July. Book the earliest slot you can, bring water, and remember that the honky-tonks you’re riding past charge no cover.
Three Tour Days That Work
Tours are easier to enjoy when they’re strung together sensibly. These three days use the prices and schedules above.
The music-history day
The Country Music Hall of Fame at 9am ($31.95), a late-morning RCA Studio B departure ($23), lunch downtown, the Ryman tour at 2pm, then an hour or two in the honky-tonks before they go 21 and up at 6pm. That’s about $55 a person in tickets before the Ryman, and nothing after it but tips.
The Opry day
A slow morning, lunch out at Opryland, then an early-afternoon Opry Daytime Tour ($46.65) if you’re not seeing a show, or dinner, the 7pm show and the Post-Show Tour ($45) if you are. Add the General Jackson if it’s a celebration. Book your ride back to town before the show starts.
The group day
A Friday or Saturday mimosa cruise with Pontoon Saloon (from $49), lunch, NashTrash in the afternoon for the laugh ($45 to $50, nobody under 15), then a pedal tavern or party bus in the early evening, finishing well before the 11pm cutoff. It’s a lot of sitting and drinking; build in a real dinner.
What $50, $100 and $200 a Person Buys
| Budget per person | A good way to spend it |
|---|---|
| About $50 | The Opry Post-Show Tour ($45) with your show ticket, or NashTrash ($45 to $50), or a Pontoon Saloon public cruise ($39.95 to $49) |
| About $100 | The Hall of Fame plus Studio B ($54.95) and the Opry Daytime Tour ($46.65), or one Walk Eat Nashville food tour ($109 plus tax and fees) |
| About $200 | The Opry VIP Tour ($88.34) plus a food tour, or the Hall of Fame, Studio B, the Opry Daytime Tour and a trolley day ($143.25 before the Ryman) |
Past $200 a person, the best upgrade in Nashville isn’t another tour; it’s a ticket to a show at the Ryman, which many visitors remember longer than any backstage walk.
Tipping Guides, Drivers and Crews
Tipping is customary on Nashville tours, as elsewhere in the US. For a guided walking, food or bus tour, 15 to 20 percent of the ticket price is a fair tip when the guide was good. Party-bus and pedal-tavern crews expect a tip on top of the seat price, and Pontoon Saloon’s BACH Party Cruise already includes a 10 percent tip in its price, so read the fine print before you tip twice. Venue tours at the Ryman and the Opry are run by staff, and tipping isn’t expected.
Walking and Ghost Tours
Guided walking tours and ghost tours run downtown, especially in the fall, from operators such as Go Nashville Tours, which sells walking and ghost tours on its own site. They’re a good fit for a cool evening between dinner and a show, and they cover Printers Alley, the streets around the Ryman and the older blocks near the Capitol. Check the group size, length and meeting point before you book, and remember that the self-guided version costs nothing: the pedestrian bridge, the Capitol grounds and Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park are all free to walk.
The Skip-It List
- Homes of the Stars bus tours. About two hours of driving past more than 30 celebrity homes, which in practice means gates, hedges and long driveways built not to be seen. If celebrity is the draw, the Opry’s backstage tour puts you in the dressing rooms instead.
- Paying for a guided Broadway bar crawl. The honky-tonks charge no cover, sit a few doors apart and need no guide. Our ranked guide to the Broadway honky-tonks does the same job for free.
- The Opry VIP Tour for casual fans. At $88.34 it’s nearly double the Daytime Tour, and the stage and dressing rooms are the same.
- An Opry Daytime Tour on the day you see the show. Book the $45 Post-Show Tour instead and save the second trip out to Opryland.
- A two-day trolley ticket on a downtown-based trip. The core is walkable, and one loop covers what you can’t walk.
- A party vehicle for two. You’ll pay a seat price to share a bike with strangers celebrating something that isn’t your thing.
Tours Through the Seasons
Nashville’s tours run year-round, but the season changes which ones make sense.
- Summer: July averages a high of about 91°F, which makes an afternoon on a pedal tavern or a walking food tour hard work. Book open-air activities for the morning or early evening, and move the venue tours, which are indoors and air-conditioned, into the middle of the day.
- Fall: the best season for walking tours, ghost tours and the river; October’s average high is about 73°F. It’s also busy, with football weekends and conventions, so book ahead.
- Winter: January’s average high is about 49°F. The venue tours, the Hall of Fame and Studio B are unaffected, the trolley keeps running except on Thanksgiving and Christmas, and prices for rooms drop, which makes a winter music-history trip good value.
- Spring: pleasant but wet; May is the city’s rainiest month. Keep a venue tour in reserve for the day it pours.
Booking Direct or Through a Reseller?
Most of the tours here are sold both by the operator and by big booking sites. When you can, book on the operator’s own site: you’ll see the real refund rule, the exact meeting point and any age or alcohol policy, and changes go through the people who actually run the tour. If you do use a reseller, check that its cancellation terms match the operator’s, and screenshot the meeting point, because several Nashville operators use different departure points for different products.
Which Tour for Which Traveler?
| You are | Book | Skip |
|---|---|---|
| A first-time visitor | Ryman tour, then the Opry Post-Show Tour with a show ticket | Homes of the Stars |
| A serious music fan | Ryman backstage, the Hall of Fame and Studio B, the Opry Daytime or VIP Tour | Party vehicles |
| A family with kids under 15 | Ryman self-guided (free for 12 and under with an adult), the Hall of Fame, the trolley | NashTrash (no under-15s) and anything with alcohol |
| A couple | General Jackson dinner cruise, a food tour, the Opry Women of Country Tour | Pedal taverns |
| A bachelorette group | Pontoon Saloon, a pedal tavern or party bus, NashTrash | Homes of the Stars |
| Without a car | Old Town Trolley, Gray Line’s day trips | Tours that start far from your hotel at rush hour |
| Caught in the rain | Ryman, the Opry, the Hall of Fame and Studio B | Pedal taverns (they ride rain or shine, and you’ll feel it) |
How to Fit Tours into Your Trip
The venue tours run in the daytime, so they pair naturally with the museums: a Ryman tour after lunch leads straight into an afternoon on Broadway, and a Studio B departure fits a Hall of Fame morning. Put the Opry tour on your Opry night if you have one. Keep comedy tours and food tours for a day when you want someone else to do the planning. Our hour-by-hour Nashville itineraries show where each of these slots into a one- to five-day trip, and our guide to where to stay in Nashville helps you pick a base close to the departure points.
How far ahead to book
| Tour | Book |
|---|---|
| NashTrash | At 2pm Central on the 1st of the month, two months before |
| Pontoon Saloon groups | 45 days ahead for eight or more; 90 days for bachelorette groups of 10 or more |
| Opry tours and show | As soon as your dates are set |
| Ryman tours | A few days ahead, more on holiday weekends |
| Studio B | With your Hall of Fame ticket |
| Food tours | A week or two ahead; groups are capped at 12 |
| Pedal taverns and party buses | As early as your group is confirmed; weekends fill first |
Nashville Tours FAQ
What is the best tour in Nashville?
For most visitors, the Ryman Auditorium tour is the best tour in Nashville: it’s the Opry’s home from 1943 to 1974, it includes a souvenir photo on the stage, and the self-guided version is free for children 12 and under with a paying adult. The Opry’s backstage tour, from $45, is the best second choice.
Is the Grand Ole Opry backstage tour worth it?
Yes, if you pick the right one. The Daytime Tour costs $46.65 for 50 minutes backstage, in the dressing rooms and on the stage. If you already have a show ticket, the $45 Post-Show Tour covers the same ground for an hour after the show. The $88.34 VIP Tour is mainly for superfans.
Is the Old Town Trolley worth it in Nashville?
It’s worth it on a first day without a car. A one-day ticket starts at $41.65 for an 11-mile, 13-stop narrated loop through the Gulch, Lower Broadway, downtown, Midtown and Music Row, from 9am to 4pm. If you’re staying downtown and walking, you’ll see much of the route for free.
Are party buses and pedal taverns legal in Nashville?
Yes, with Metro permits and rules. Motorized party vehicles must be enclosed, may run only from 9am until 11pm, are banned from the downtown core from 4pm to 6pm on weekdays, and require everyone aboard to be 21 or older when alcohol is present. Bring-your-own is beer only, at 8 percent alcohol or less.
Is there a Nashville city pass?
No, there’s no all-in pass covering the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman and the Opry together. The savings come from bundles, such as the Opry’s Country Duos package, which pairs an Opry backstage tour with a Ryman visit, and Old Town Trolley’s Day and Night package from $79.81. Compare them with separate tickets.
Are Nashville tours kid-friendly?
The venue tours are. The Ryman’s self-guided tour is free for children 12 and under with a paying adult, and the Hall of Fame charges $21.95 for ages 6 to 12. NashTrash doesn’t allow anyone under 15, and party vehicles, pedal taverns and party cruises are for adults, since everyone must be 21 or older where alcohol is served.
How far ahead should you book tours in Nashville?
Book NashTrash when tickets release at 2pm Central on the 1st of the month, two months ahead. Groups of eight or more on Pontoon Saloon should book 45 days out, and bachelorette groups 90. Book Opry tours with your show dates, and food tours a week or two ahead, since groups are capped at 12.
What is the NashTrash tour?
NashTrash is a comedy bus tour of Nashville run by the Jugg Sisters, two big-haired characters who narrate the city from a pink bus that leaves the Nashville Farmers’ Market. Tours last about two hours and cost $45 to $50. There are no tours on Mondays, nobody under 15 may ride, and food and alcohol aren’t allowed on board.
Related Nashville Guides
- Nashville Honky Tonks and Bars: A Ranked Nightlife Guide: the free, do-it-yourself version of a Broadway bar tour
- Nashville Itineraries: Ready-Made Plans for 1-5 Days: where each of these tours fits in a trip
- Nashville Bachelorette Party: The Honest Planning Guide: party vehicles, cruises and a group budget
- Where to Stay in Nashville: Best Areas & Hotels: a base close to the departure points
Sources and verification
Details in this guide were checked on September 23, 2026 against the operators and agencies listed below; the guide does not claim first-hand tours, and the ranking is an editorial judgment built from that research.
- Ryman Auditorium: tours
- Grand Ole Opry: backstage tours
- Country Music Hall of Fame: RCA Studio B tour
- Country Music Hall of Fame: plan your visit
- NashTrash Tours
- Walk Eat Nashville: downtown food tour
- Old Town Trolley Tours Nashville
- General Jackson Showboat: cruises
- Gray Line Tennessee
- Pontoon Saloon
- Nashville Pedal Tavern
- Sprocket Rocket Party Bike
- Nashville Bar Bike
- Honky Tonk Party Express
- Metro Transportation Licensing Commission rules (August 2026)
Photo credits
- Ryman Auditorium interior: photo by Artaxerxes, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
- Grand Ole Opry House: photo by Adam mcmaster at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
- RCA Studio B: photo by Cliff from I now live in Arlington, VA (Outside Washington DC), USA, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
- Nashville Pedal Tavern: photo by FaceMePLS from The Hague, The Netherlands, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
- Grand Ole Opry stage (featured image): photo by Vicki DiAdezzio, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons and have been resized for the web. The chart is our own, drawn from the figures in this guide.