Nashville Trolley Tour

Come with us on the Trolley Tour of Nashville.  Booked at the last minute, literally the evening before, we booked this via Viator at just shy of £90 for two.  As it was booked last minute we paid  in full and tickets were released immediately rather than using their buy now pay later option.

We visited Nashville in August, in close to 38 degree heat, staying at the Best Western Plus Hotel on Music Row.  This is a good area to stay in being close to Music Row itself but is a 20 minute walk in the heat to Broadway (although the hotel does include a free breakfast and is cheaper per night than staying in the center of town).  To get to the pick up point of the Marathon Centre (Stop No 1 on the Tour) we had to travel by Uber at a cost of around $8.  On arrival we simply showed our ticket and we boarded the trolley.

The trolley tour runs from 9am until 4pm daily and has 13 stops.  It takes approximately 90 minutes to complete the full tour if you were to do it in one go, without getting off, however it is a hop on hop off tour so you can get off and re-join throughout the day.  You get free commentary throughout and the last entry is around 3pm. 

We travelled along Music Row with lively commentary from our bus driver who pointed out the different studios.  We passed by Nashville’s own Parthenon and on to the Country Music Hall of Fame which was where we left the tour for our first stop.  We purchased our tickets for the Country Music Hall of Fame via Viator, using the buy now pay later option.  Monies are taken from your account two days before and the tickets are then released to you via the Viator app.  We spent around 90 minutes here (this will be covered in a separate blog) and after a quick coffee we headed outside to wait for the next trolley.  A 10 minute wait and a quick check of our ticket and we boarded again.  Opposite the CMHoF is their version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame - stars set in the sidewalk honoring country music legends like Johnny Cash.

We continued with the tour getting off again at around 3pm to visit the local market, getting some lunch and buying some  souvenirs and peach jam (we did hope to recreate a peach cobbler at home but sadly the jam leaked in our suitcase!). There were lots of stalls selling local produce and numerous options for food - despite being in the US we opted for a gyros plate!!

We then re-boarded the next trolley and got off again at the Gulch.  This is a really interesting neighbourhood, a little less rowdy than Broadway and filled with nice restaurants. After a photo stop at the Angel Wings mural, we headed to the Five Daughters Bakery to experience the 100 layer doughnuts before heading back on foot to our hotel.

My top tips for this tour Is to definitely take water, wear a hat in the blistering heat and sit back and enjoy the narration.  The bus drivers are both knowledgeable and funny and they are more than happy to tell you stories of local events / history / famous artists who have passed through and are always happy to answer any questions you may have. You can hop on and off all day and visit numerous different areas of the city. It is definitely value for money and is a great way to get around. To get the most out of this I’d say join the tour on the first bus at 9am!

I hope this has been helpful and informative and has given you some idea of what there is to see in the fabulous city of Nashville, TN.

See you soon

Tracey & Georgia xx

Check out our Nashville vlog (and our other adventures) at georgialouisetravels on You Tube