The best things to do in Nashville with kids are the Nashville Zoo for anyone under 8, the Adventure Science Center and Lane Motor Museum for school-age kids, and the Country Music Hall of Fame plus a daytime honky-tonk set for teens. The free fillers are the Bicentennial Mall fountains, Centennial Park and Gaylord Opryland’s indoor gardens.

This guide is for parents who have heard Nashville described as a bachelorette town and are bracing for a weekend of steering a stroller around pedal taverns. It is a far better family city than that reputation, as long as you plan around two facts: most Broadway honky tonks turn 21+ at 6pm, and three of the best museums for kids close every Tuesday and Wednesday.

Last updated October 4, 2026. Prices, rules and details checked September 2026.

The Short Version

Your kids	Start with	Then add	Skip or save for later
Under 4	Nashville Zoo at 9am opening	Gaylord Opryland’s indoor gardens, Bicentennial Mall and the Farmers’ Market, Centennial Park’s ducks	The Hermitage mansion tour, anything that starts after 7pm
Ages 4 to 11	Adventure Science Center (never on a Tuesday or Wednesday)	Lane Motor Museum, the Frist’s ArtQuest, a Sounds game in season, the Opry for ages 7 and up	The Johnny Cash Museum, a three-hour dinner cruise
Teens	Country Music Hall of Fame and the RCA Studio B tour	A honky tonk before 6pm, a Ryman show, the Hermitage, Radnor Lake	Opry Mills as a destination, anything with “party” in the name
Mixed ages	Zoo morning, downtown museum after naps	The Grand Ole Opry at 7pm, where short sets hold every age’s attention	Crossing town twice in one day

Everything below is sorted by the age it suits best, and each age band is ranked. Plenty of places work for more than one band, and the notes say when a teen pick also lands with a six-year-old, or the reverse. For the grown-up version of the city, start with our full guide to things to do in Nashville.

How Nashville Works for Families

Nashville is spread out, and that matters more with kids than without them. The city and Davidson County share one Metro government, so “Nashville” covers everything from the downtown riverfront to horse farms 20 minutes out, and the places families want cluster in three poles rather than one walkable center.

Downtown holds the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Frist, the Ryman, the honky tonks of Lower Broadway (Broadway is a street, not a theater district), the riverfront and, a few blocks north, Bicentennial Mall with the Tennessee State Museum and the Farmers’ Market. The south side is zoo country: the Nashville Zoo sits on Nolensville Pike, with the Adventure Science Center and Lane Motor Museum a few minutes closer to downtown. Opryland, northeast along the Cumberland River, is Gaylord Opryland, the Grand Ole Opry and the Opry Mills mall, all within a few minutes of each other. The west side, with Centennial Park, Cheekwood and Radnor Lake, is a looser fourth zone.

The practical rule is one pole per day, two at most. Crossing town at 4:30pm on I-24 or I-40 with a tired four-year-old in the back is where family trips here go wrong.

From downtown to	Distance	Typical drive outside rush hour
Adventure Science Center	About 2 miles	10 minutes
Centennial Park and the Parthenon	About 2 miles	10 minutes
Lane Motor Museum	About 3 miles	10 minutes
Nashville Zoo	About 6 miles	15 to 20 minutes
Cheekwood	About 8 miles	20 minutes
Radnor Lake State Park	About 9 miles	20 to 25 minutes
Gaylord Opryland and the Opry	About 10 miles	15 to 20 minutes
The Hermitage	About 14 miles	20 to 25 minutes

Add 15 to 30 minutes on weekday mornings and from about 4pm to 6:30pm. Our guide to getting around Nashville covers buses, parking and the airport run in detail.

Where to Base a Family

There are three sensible bases, and the right one depends on your kids’ ages more than your budget.

• Downtown or SoBro puts the Hall of Fame, the Frist and the riverfront within a walk, which is gold with a stroller at 9am and less charming at 11pm on a Saturday, when Broadway’s crowds and party vehicles are out. Ask for a high floor away from Broadway. Overnight valet at downtown hotels often costs more than two kids’ zoo tickets, so do the math if you are driving in.
• Opryland and Music Valley suits families planning a day at Gaylord Opryland and an evening at the Opry. The resort adds a $28 nightly resort fee and $37 self-parking, both plus tax, and its indoor water attraction, SoundWaves, isn’t included with a room-only booking: guaranteed access comes only with a SoundWaves package. You will need a car for everything else in town.
• West End and Midtown, around Vanderbilt and Centennial Park, is the balanced choice: 10 minutes to downtown, 20 to Cheekwood, and quieter nights.

Nobody bases near the zoo, and there’s no need to: it is a 15-to-20-minute drive from all three. For neighborhood detail and specific hotels, see where to stay in Nashville.

Best Things to Do in Nashville With Kids Under 4

Toddlers and preschoolers need three things from a city: room to run, animals or water, and somewhere to eat that won’t glare at them. These five deliver, and three of them cost nothing.

1. Nashville Zoo at Grassmere

If your kids are small, build the trip around this. The zoo sits on the old Grassmere farm at 3777 Nolensville Pike, 15 to 20 minutes south of downtown, and it’s big enough to fill a morning without turning into a forced march. Tickets are priced by date: adults and teens pay $16 to $28, children 2 to 12 pay $4 less than the adult price that day, and under-2s are free. Parking is $10 a car.

The add-on worth understanding is the $11 Adventure Pass, which covers unlimited rides and feedings all day: the Wild Animal Carousel, the Wilderness Express train, the Soaring Eagle zip line, the 4D theater and the lorikeet feedings. Paying as you go costs $1 a ticket, and each ride takes 2 to 8 tickets, so a child who wants the carousel twice and the train once has spent most of a pass already. Single strollers rent for $11 and doubles for $13, first come, first served, so bring your own if you can.

Hours are 9am to 6pm through October 12, 2026, then 9am to 4pm from October 13 into early March. Go at opening. The animals are livelier before the heat, the paths are emptier, and you’ll be back at the car before the 12:30 meltdown. Allow three to four hours. Verdict: the single best thing in Nashville for under-8s, and still fun for a 10-year-old who gets the zip line.

2. Gaylord Opryland’s Indoor Gardens

Gaylord Opryland Resort, at 2800 Opryland Drive, is a hotel, but its glass-roofed atriums make the best rainy-day walk in town: acres of tropical plants, waterfalls and winding paths under cover, held at spring temperatures whether it’s 95°F or 35°F outside. Toddlers treat the fountains and waterfalls like an exhibit. You don’t need a room to wander in, but you will pay to park at the resort, so combine it with the Opry or Opry Mills if either is on your list.

From early November into early January the resort runs A Country Christmas, its big holiday program of lights and ticketed extras, and the atriums get crowded on weekend evenings. SoundWaves, the water park inside, is for resort guests on SoundWaves packages, not day visitors, so don’t promise it to anyone. Verdict: an hour or two that costs nothing but parking, and a lifesaver in July or a thunderstorm.

3. Bicentennial Mall, the State Museum and the Farmers’ Market

Three free-or-cheap stops share one patch of ground just north of downtown, which makes this the easiest half-day in the city with small kids. Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park runs downhill from the State Capitol, and near its north end a row of ground-level fountains, one for each of Tennessee’s major rivers, is the city’s favorite place to get soaked in warm weather. Pack a towel and a change of clothes, because nobody stays dry.

The Tennessee State Museum on the edge of the mall is free, air-conditioned and far better than “state museum” sounds, with enough wagons, boats and big objects to hold a preschooler and a real history lesson for older kids. Check its hours before you go, since it doesn’t open every day of the week. Next door, the Nashville Farmers’ Market has open-air farm sheds, a garden center and an international food hall, which solves lunch for a family that can’t agree on lunch. Verdict: a whole morning that costs you lunch and not much else.

4. Centennial Park

Centennial Park, on West End Avenue by Vanderbilt, is where Nashville built a full-scale replica of the Athens Parthenon for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition, and small children care about none of that. They care about the ducks and geese on Lake Watauga, the wide lawns and the giant columns to run between. It’s free, flat and good for a stroller loop, with the Parthenon as a backdrop for the one family photo you’ll actually frame.

Inside the Parthenon are an art museum and a 42-foot gilded statue of Athena. A four-year-old gives the statue about 30 seconds of awe, which is roughly what it’s worth to them, so save the ticket until your kids are 7 or so and can take in the scale. Posted hours vary by day of the week. Verdict: free, easy and close to downtown; the park is the attraction and the building is optional.

5. Shelby Bottoms Greenway

For a toddler who has spent two days strapped into car seats, the Shelby Bottoms Greenway in East Nashville is the reset button. It’s a flat, paved path through the wetlands, meadows and woods along the Cumberland River, part of Metro’s greenway system, with benches and picnic tables and nothing that costs money. Walk as far as the stroller wheels and the snack supply allow, then turn around.

Shade is patchy, so go early on summer mornings, and carry water because there’s nothing to buy on the trail. It’s at its best in October, when the trees turn. Verdict: not an attraction in the ticketed sense, which is exactly the point.

Things to Do in Nashville With Kids Aged 4 to 11

This is the easiest age for Nashville. Kids can walk all day, sit through a show and get genuinely excited about a car that floats. The catch is the calendar: the first three picks below are all closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

6. Adventure Science Center

Two miles south of downtown at 800 Fort Negley Boulevard, the Adventure Science Center is a hands-on science museum built for exactly this age, with the Sudekum Planetarium upstairs. On the schedule posted for fall 2026 it opens Monday, Thursday and Friday from 9am to 3pm and Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm, and it’s closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. That 3pm weekday close catches families who pencil it in as an afternoon stop, so make it a morning.

Planetarium shows are an add-on: laser shows are $10 and the other shows $13 a person. General admission is set on the center’s pricing page and changes with the calendar, so check it for your date. Next door, the hilltop ruins of Fort Negley, a Union fort built in 1862, are free to walk and give older kids a skyline view with the history attached. Verdict: the best indoor morning in Nashville for ages 4 to 10; allow two to three hours.

7. Lane Motor Museum

The Lane is the pick most visitors have never heard of and most families end up recommending to everyone. It fills a big, bright former bakery at 702 Murfreesboro Pike, about 10 minutes from downtown, with one of the odder vehicle collections in the country: microcars smaller than a golf cart, amphibious cars, prototypes and European models most adults have never seen either. Kids 17 and under get in free, which makes it one of the best-value mornings in town.

It opens Monday and Thursday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm and is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Plan on 90 minutes to two hours, longer if you have a child who reads every sign. Verdict: a car museum that works for kids who don’t care about cars, which is rarer than it sounds.

8. The Frist Art Museum’s Martin ArtQuest

The Frist occupies Nashville’s 1930s Art Deco former main post office at 919 Broadway. Its exhibitions rotate, but the reason families come is the Martin ArtQuest Gallery, a hands-on room of art-making stations where kids make things rather than look at them. Visitors 18 and younger are always free, so the adults pay and the kids don’t.

Hours are Monday, Friday and Saturday 10am to 5:30pm, Thursday 10am to 8pm and Sunday 1pm to 5:30pm, closed Tuesday and Wednesday. An hour in ArtQuest plus a quick loop of the current exhibitions is right for ages 5 to 12, and the Thursday late hours are handy after a day elsewhere. Verdict: the best rainy hour downtown, and a free one for the kids.

9. A Nashville Sounds Game at First Horizon Park

Minor-league baseball is the best-value night out for a family in most American cities, and Nashville’s version is a good one. The Nashville Sounds, the city’s Triple-A team, play at First Horizon Park, right beside the north end of Bicentennial Mall, under a guitar-shaped scoreboard that kids spot from the concourse. The season runs roughly April through September, so this is a spring and summer pick; by the time the leaves turn, the ballpark is dark.

A ballgame is a slow, cheap and forgiving setting for kids who can’t sit still, and nobody minds if you spend the fifth inning at the concession stand. Check the promotions calendar for fireworks nights and kids’ days, and bring sunscreen for day games. Verdict: the easiest evening out with kids from 4 to 11, and a good one for teens with a decent hot dog budget.

10. Cheekwood Estate and Gardens

Cheekwood is a 1930s limestone mansion built with a Maxwell House coffee fortune, set in gardens and woodland about 20 minutes southwest of downtown at 1200 Forrest Park Drive. For kids, the house is a quick walk-through. The grounds are the draw: lawns to run on, a woodland sculpture trail, and seasonal festivals that change the whole place, from spring bloom and the fall harvest displays to Holiday LIGHTS in winter.

Tickets are dated and priced by demand, and for a family of four they land among the pricier gates in town, so go when the grounds are doing the most work: a spring weekday, a fall afternoon or a winter lights night. Verdict: best for ages 4 to 10 during a festival; a quiet off-season garden visit interests the parents more than the kids.

11. The Grand Ole Opry (Ages 7 and Up)

The Opry is a live radio show that has been on the air since 1925, and its format is oddly perfect for children: a string of artists doing two or three songs each, with a host in between, so nobody’s attention span gets tested for long. Shows start at 7pm on the nights the calendar lists, typically Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, at the Opry House, 600 Opry Mills Drive, next to Gaylord Opryland. A show runs about two hours, which is where the age floor comes from: for most kids under 6, the second half happens after bedtime.

The Opry has spent some winters at the Ryman downtown, but in 2026 that stint lasted a single week in January, so check the venue on your ticket rather than assuming. The daytime backstage tour, 50 minutes for $46.65 including taxes and fees, goes through the dressing rooms and onto the stage, and suits a teen who won’t sit through a show. Verdict: the one Nashville night out that works for grandparents, parents and a nine-year-old at the same time.

Things to Do in Nashville With Teens

Teenagers are the hardest sell in Nashville and the easiest to win over, because the city’s real product, live music, is aimed squarely at them. Skip the kid stuff above (they’ll tell you to) and lean into the music.

12. Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Plus RCA Studio B

Even a teen who claims to hate country music finds something here: Elvis Presley’s gold Cadillac, rhinestone stage suits, guitars and handwritten lyrics from people they’ve heard of whether they admit it or not. It’s at 222 Rep. John Lewis Way South and open daily from 9am to 5pm. Adults and teens 13 and up pay $31.95, youth 6 to 12 pay $21.95, and younger children are free. If you live in Davidson or a bordering county, museum admission is free for kids 18 and under.

The add-on teens actually remember is the RCA Studio B tour, sold through the museum, which shuttles you to the small Music Row studio where Elvis and Dolly Parton recorded. Book it with your museum tickets, since tour times are limited, and allow about three hours for both. Verdict: the best paid attraction in town for anyone 10 and older; under-8s will manage an hour and then want out.

13. A Broadway Honky Tonk Before 6pm

Yes, you can take kids to Broadway. The honky tonks are multi-floor bars with a live band on every level and usually no cover, the music starts late in the morning, and several welcome all ages in the daytime. Robert’s Western World at 416B Broadway is all ages until 6pm, then 21+. Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge at 422 Broadway is family friendly until 6pm and 21+ after, with photo ID checked at the door. At 6pm the under-21s leave, and that rule isn’t negotiable.

For a teen, an hour at Robert’s watching a traditional country band in the middle of the afternoon is the most Nashville thing you can do. For a six-year-old, bring ear protection, because these rooms are loud even at 2pm. If you want a view with it, L27, the Westin’s 27th-floor rooftop at 807 Clark Place, is all ages, with 21+ to drink. House rules, ID policies and which floors go 21+ vary bar by bar, and our guide to Nashville’s honky tonks goes through them one at a time. Verdict: essential with teens before dinner, a short and fun stop with younger kids, and off-limits after 6pm.

14. A Ryman Auditorium Tour or Show

The Ryman, a red-brick former tabernacle from 1892 at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, is the most famous room in country music and still one of the best-sounding concert halls in the country. Teens with any interest in music should see a show here, and the calendar runs well beyond country, into rock, comedy, gospel and pop. Age policies depend on the show, so read the ticket page before you buy. For how the Ryman fits the rest of the scene, see our guide to live music in Nashville.

By day, the self-guided tour works for any age, and every tour includes a professional souvenir photo on the stage, which teens will pretend not to care about and then post. A guided backstage option goes behind the scenes. Prices sit on the booking calendar and move with demand. Verdict: an evening show for teens, and the daytime tour for everyone in about an hour.

15. Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage

The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s plantation at 4580 Rachel’s Lane, 20 to 25 minutes east of downtown, is the best history outing in Nashville for kids old enough for a complicated story, including the enslaved people who lived and worked there. Admission covers a film, the museum, a guided mansion tour of 25 to 30 minutes and the grounds. Adults pay $29.95, youth 5 to 12 pay $19.95, children 4 and under are free, and a family pass is $93.80.

It opens 8:30am to 6pm, with last tickets at 5pm, and closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Allow two and a half to three hours. It’s also about 15 minutes from Opryland, which makes it an easy morning before an Opry night. Verdict: right for ages 10 and up, especially anyone studying US history; for preschoolers, the mansion tour is 30 minutes of “don’t touch that.”

16. Radnor Lake State Park

Radnor Lake is a protected natural area tucked among the suburbs of south Nashville, 20 to 25 minutes from downtown, and it’s the best place in the city to show a phone-bound teenager a deer at 20 feet. The lakeside trails are easy, the wildlife is used to people, and entry is free, like all Tennessee state parks. Rules are stricter than at a city park because it’s managed as a nature preserve, so stay on the trails and read the park’s rules before bringing a dog or anything with wheels.

Parking fills early on fine weekends; go on a weekday or before 9am. Verdict: the best free hour with teens in Nashville, and good for younger kids who can walk a couple of miles.

The Tuesday and Wednesday Problem

Here is the scheduling trap nobody warns families about: three of the best places in Nashville for school-age kids, the Adventure Science Center, Lane Motor Museum and the Frist, are all closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Book a three-day trip that runs Monday to Wednesday and you lose two of your three days’ worth of museums. Put those days on places that open daily.

Place	Closed	Open days and hours, fall 2026
Adventure Science Center	Tuesday, Wednesday	Mon, Thu, Fri 9am-3pm; Sat-Sun 9am-5pm
Lane Motor Museum	Tuesday, Wednesday	Mon and Thu-Sun 10am-5pm
Frist Art Museum	Tuesday, Wednesday	Mon, Fri, Sat 10am-5:30pm; Thu 10am-8pm; Sun 1pm-5:30pm
Nashville Zoo	Check holidays	9am-6pm to October 12, 2026; 9am-4pm from October 13 to early March
Country Music Hall of Fame	Open daily	9am-5pm
The Hermitage	Thanksgiving, December 24-25	8:30am-6pm, last tickets 5pm
Grand Ole Opry	Show nights vary	Usually 7pm shows Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday

So a good Tuesday is the zoo in the morning and Gaylord Opryland and the Opry in the evening, and a good Wednesday is the Hall of Fame, a honky-tonk set and the Opry at 7pm. Hours shift with the seasons, especially in summer, so check each one the week you travel.

What a Nashville Family Day Actually Costs

Nashville’s paid attractions aren’t cheap, but its free ones are unusually good, and a sensible trip mixes the two. For two adults and two kids aged 6 to 12, a zoo morning costs $66 on the cheapest dates and $114 on the priciest, including parking and before a single ride. The Country Music Hall of Fame is $107.80 for the same family. The Hermitage is $99.80 on individual tickets or $93.80 with the family pass. The kids get into the Lane and the Frist free, so a morning at either costs only the adults’ admission.

Two budget notes. Davidson County’s sales tax is 9.75%, so anything priced before tax costs more at the register. Second, the free list is long: Centennial Park, Shelby Bottoms, Radnor Lake, the Bicentennial Mall fountains, the Tennessee State Museum, the Gaylord atriums (parking aside) and the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge over the Cumberland downtown. A family that pairs one paid gate with one free stop each day spends far less than one doing two gates a day, and usually has a better time.

Three Days in Nashville With Kids That Actually Work

This plan assumes a Thursday-to-Saturday trip, which dodges the Tuesday and Wednesday closures, and a car. Swap the days freely, but keep each day in one part of town.

Day 1: Downtown and Bicentennial Mall

Start at the Country Music Hall of Fame when it opens at 9am, or the Frist’s ArtQuest at 10am if your kids are under 8. Lunch at the Farmers’ Market food hall, then the Bicentennial Mall fountains in hot weather or the Tennessee State Museum when it’s cool. Go back to the hotel for a rest, then catch a honky-tonk set before 6pm and an early dinner. With teens, finish with a show at the Ryman.

Day 2: The South Side

Be at the Nashville Zoo for its 9am opening, with an Adventure Pass for anyone who rides. Lunch, then a nap or a pool break. After that, go to Lane Motor Museum, open until 5pm. On a rainy day, flip it: the Adventure Science Center in the morning (it closes at 3pm on weekdays) and Lane in the afternoon.

Day 3: Opryland

Gaylord Opryland’s atriums in the morning, lunch at Opry Mills, then a rest. With kids 10 and older, swap the atriums for the Hermitage, 15 minutes east. Finish with the Opry at 7pm, since Saturdays usually have a show. With kids under 6, trade the Opry for an early dinner and the resort’s lights.

Our Nashville itinerary has more day-by-day plans for adults and mixed groups.

Car Seats, Rideshares and Strollers in Nashville

This is the rule that catches families at the airport curb. Tennessee law requires:

• Under age 1, or 20 pounds or less: a rear-facing car seat, in the back seat if the vehicle has one.
• Ages 1 to 3 and over 20 pounds: a forward-facing car seat in the back seat.
• Ages 4 to 8 and under 4 feet 9 inches: a booster seat in the back seat.
• Age 9 and older: a seat belt, with the back seat recommended through age 12.

Tennessee makes the driver responsible for every passenger under 16, and a violation carries a fine. That’s why rideshare drivers can and do turn down a trip when a family appears with a toddler and no seat. Don’t expect Uber or Lyft to supply one. Bring your own (a lightweight travel seat or a folding booster) or rent one with your rental car. Safety guidance generally goes further than the legal minimums, keeping kids rear-facing and in boosters longer, and your seat’s own height and weight limits are the ones to follow.

At the airport, which is a construction site through December 2027, rideshare pickup is on Level 1 of Terminal Garage 2, so budget a longer walk with bags and a car seat. On WeGo buses, the youth fare for anyone 19 and under is $1 for two hours or $2 for a day, and children 4 and under ride free with a discount ID. E-scooters aren’t allowed on sidewalks in the downtown core, and the rental companies limit riders to adults anyway. Downtown is easy with a stroller, with around 70 miles of sidewalks, but the honky tonks are crowded, multi-floor rooms, so leave the double stroller in the car for that part.

Eating Out With Kids

Nashville’s two signature meals split cleanly by age. Hot chicken, fried chicken coated in a cayenne paste, is a teenage dare: order the no-heat level for small kids (at Hattie B’s it’s called Southern) and let the 14-year-old try the hot one and regret it. A meat-and-three is the opposite, a cafeteria-style lunch where you pick one meat and three sides from a steam table, and it may be the most child-friendly meal in the South, not least because macaroni and cheese counts as a vegetable. Arnold’s Country Kitchen, back after a short break in 2023, and Swett’s are two long-running examples.

For breakfast, Biscuit Love takes no reservations, so arrive early or expect a line. The Farmers’ Market food hall settles arguments. For dinner near Broadway, eat early or go to Germantown or 12 South, where the evening crowd is calmer. Our guide to where to eat in Nashville goes much deeper.

When to Go With Kids

Spring and fall are the sweet spots: April, May and October bring mild days, full gardens and the zoo and Cheekwood’s seasonal events. Summer works but it’s hot. July averages a high of 91°F with 18 days at 90°F or above, so a summer day with kids means outdoor plans before 11am, indoor ones after, and water everywhere. Winter is quieter and cheaper, with Gaylord’s A Country Christmas and Cheekwood’s Holiday LIGHTS as the draws. Busy weekends matter as much as seasons: Titans home games, big concerts and bachelorette season crowd downtown hotels and push up rates, while school-year weekdays are the calmest. For month-by-month detail, see the best time to visit Nashville.

What to Skip With Kids

• Broadway after 6pm. Most honky tonks turn 21+, the sidewalks fill with bachelorette parties, and the party tractors roll past. It isn’t dangerous so much as pointless with kids: there’s nowhere they can go in.
• Party vehicles of any kind. Tractors, buses and pedal taverns are adult affairs. Where alcohol is on board, riders must be 21, and nothing about them is built for children.
• The Johnny Cash Museum under age 10. It’s a good, compact museum for a fan, dense with text and memorabilia. For a first-grader, it’s mostly glass cases.
• Opry Mills as a destination. It’s a large outlet mall. It’s handy for lunch before the Opry or a rainy hour, and not worth a special trip.
• A three-hour dinner cruise with small kids. The General Jackson Showboat’s evening cruise runs about three hours. With under-8s, pick the lunch cruise or skip it.
• Two sides of town in one day. Zoo in the morning and Opryland in the afternoon looks fine on a map, and it means an hour in the car at the worst time of day.

Day Trips Worth the Drive With Kids

If you have a fourth day, get out of town. Mammoth Cave National Park, about 90 minutes north in Kentucky, is the best family day trip from Nashville for kids 6 and up: ranger-led cave tours last a couple of hours with a lot of stairs, and reservations on Recreation.gov are strongly advised. Franklin, 30 minutes south, pairs a walkable Main Street with Civil War sites for older kids. Our guide to day trips from Nashville has drive times and tickets for both.

Things to Do in Nashville With Kids: FAQ

Is Nashville a good city to visit with kids?

Yes, better than its party reputation suggests. The Nashville Zoo, the Adventure Science Center, Lane Motor Museum, the Frist’s hands-on gallery and the Country Music Hall of Fame cover every age, and the best parks are free. The adult side of town is concentrated on a few blocks of Broadway after 6pm, which is easy to avoid, or to enjoy by day.

Can kids go into the honky tonks on Broadway?

In the daytime, often yes. Robert’s Western World and Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, for example, are all ages until 6pm and 21+ after, and staff check ID at the door. Policies vary by bar and sometimes by floor, so ask before you go in, bring ear protection for small children, and plan to be out by 6pm.

Do you need a car seat for Uber or Lyft in Nashville?

Plan on it. Tennessee requires rear-facing seats until age 1 or 20 pounds, forward-facing seats for ages 1 to 3, and boosters for ages 4 to 8 under 4 feet 9 inches, and it makes the driver responsible for children under 16. Rideshare drivers can refuse a trip without a proper seat, and they don’t carry spares, so bring your own.

What can families do in Nashville when it rains?

Go indoors to the Adventure Science Center, Lane Motor Museum or the Frist’s Martin ArtQuest, all closed Tuesday and Wednesday, or to the free Tennessee State Museum, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Gaylord Opryland’s glass-roofed gardens, which cost nothing to walk through apart from parking. A Ryman tour works in any weather too.

How many days do you need in Nashville with kids?

Three days covers the highlights without rushing: one downtown, one on the south side for the zoo and a museum, and one at Opryland with an evening at the Opry. A fourth day buys time for Cheekwood, Radnor Lake or a day trip to Mammoth Cave, about 90 minutes north in Kentucky.

What is free for kids in Nashville?

Kids 17 and under get into Lane Motor Museum free, and 18 and under get into the Frist free. Everyone gets into the Tennessee State Museum, Centennial Park, Shelby Bottoms, Radnor Lake, Bicentennial Mall and the Gaylord Opryland atriums free, and kids from Davidson and bordering counties get free admission to the Country Music Hall of Fame museum.

Is the Grand Ole Opry OK for young children?

For kids about 7 and up, yes. The show starts at 7pm and runs around two hours, with each artist playing a few songs, so it moves quickly and nobody minds a child in the audience. Under-6s tend to fade before the end, and the daytime backstage tour is the better way to see the building with them.

Related Nashville Guides

• Things to Do in Nashville: the full list of the city’s sights and experiences, beyond the family picks.
• Nashville Itinerary: day-by-day plans for two to five days that you can adapt around naps.
• Where to Stay in Nashville: which neighborhood fits your trip, with hotel picks and real parking costs.
• Getting Around Nashville: buses, rideshares, parking and the airport, with prices.
• Best Time to Visit Nashville: weather, crowds and events month by month.
• Day Trips From Nashville: Mammoth Cave, Franklin and the best drives within three hours.

Sources and verification

Details in this guide were checked on September 25, 2026 against the attractions, operators and agencies listed below; the guide is based on that research and doesn’t claim first-hand visits.

• Nashville Zoo: tickets, parking, Adventure Pass and rentals
• Nashville Zoo: hours and directions
• Adventure Science Center: visit and hours
• Adventure Science Center: pricing
• Lane Motor Museum: visit
• Frist Art Museum: location, hours and admission
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum: tickets
• Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage: admission
• Grand Ole Opry: calendar and tours
• Ryman Auditorium: tours
• Gaylord Opryland Resort: guest information
• Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge: FAQ and Robert’s Western World: FAQ
• Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security: safety guidance
• WeGo Public Transit: fares
• NOAA NCEI: 1991-2020 climate normals for Nashville

Photo credits

• Lorikeet feeding at Nashville Zoo: photo by Fred, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
• Gaylord Opryland Garden Conservatory: photo by Antony-22, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
• Shelby Bottoms Greenway: photo by MaxKelley620, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)
• Lane Motor Museum: photo by Lester Snapwell from Tupelo, M.S., United States, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
• Nashville Sounds ballpark (First Horizon Park): photo by Shane Raynor, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
• Cheekwood Estate and Gardens: photo by Unknown photographer, Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
• Radnor Lake State Park trail: photo by Jonathan James from Nashville, USA, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
• Flamingos at Nashville Zoo (featured image): photo by Carwil Bjork James, 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.