Tours in Goodlettsville

Cheekwood's assemblage of botanical gardens stretches across more than 55 acres of verdant land, inviting members to explore its natural nexus of wooded streams, gentle pools, and stone grottoes. Visitors can appreciate Mother Nature's leafy hairline by weaving through Japanese, wildflower, and perennial gardens and cruising down avenues of crepe myrtles in lilac-powered lowriders. Green-thumbed guests can also admire each display's unique gardening style and exchange salutations with bursting seasonal flora. Guests can venture inside the 30,000-square-foot Georgian mansion to find Cheekwood's collection of decorative arts and Visions of the American West, a Wild West exhibition on display until May 4. The video-installation galleries explore Buffalo Bill's life and his legacy as Wild West icon and fearsome ventriloquist.

Gray Line's Homes of the Stars trip includes a cruise past downtown, historic Second Avenue, the State Capitol, Fort Nashborough, and Ryman Auditorium. The tour lasts about three hours, and you will be able to see the homes of such stars as Alan Jackson, Ronnie Milsap, Dolly Parton, the late Hank Williams, Lorianne Crook, Little Jimmy Dickens, and several others—with the exception of Roger Moore, who lives in a station wagon floating in the river. Gray Line is an established Nashville business that organizes several tours, shuttle services, and group trips, providing guests a hassle-free way to explore the city's rich celebrity history.

Founded with the goal of transforming downtown Nashville into a compelling, culturally rich urban center, Nashville Downtown Partnership fosters a sense of community via fun-filled initiatives that showcase the city’s finest offerings, such as the tenth annual Downtown Home Tour. Participants on the tour get a chance to see a variety of chic private spaces, ogling unique floor plans with an emphasis on ultramodern design that whisk guests into the future without the disheveled hairdos inherent with leaps through the time-space continuum. The Partnership creates such interactive experiences to help introduce locals to the benefits of living in the center of Music City, such as having easy access to its hundreds of restaurants as well as sports and entertainment venues.

Greenville Glides' experienced guides shuttle bands of merry sightseers through Downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods. The fun-loving leaders' history lessons wash over group and private tours propelled by such trusty steeds as segways, vans, and mechanical bulls. Restaurant tours delight palates with local gourmand delights, and city tours explore the history, architecture, and quirky aspects of each locale.

The staff members at Segway of Nashville share their enthusiasm for the eco-friendly pedestrian device by leading tours and selling the Segway PT to interested gliders. Though the compact vehicle's gentle speed and acceptance on sidewalks is part of its draw, Segway team members also like to discuss the eco-friendly benefits they've discovered through various case studies. Since the two-wheelers are fueled by lithium-ion batteries, they don't pollute the environment or cause their drivers to waste money on candy and chips during each gas-station stop. The Segway of Nashville crew also sizes up customers, fitting them with the proper transporter for patrol work, factory jobs, or leisure outings.

When Franklin On Foot founder and guide Margie Thessin discusses the Civil War’s impact on Franklin, she shuns dry textbook summaries. Instead, she gathers groups before historic homes and battle sites, and she explains, “The war happened here. The people who lived here– this war was their 9/11. This was their Pearl Harbor.” Suddenly, she sees sets of eyes light up, as minds make the leap from musty tomes and texts to the people who lived¬—and fought and died—where they now stand 150 years ago.

To make history relevant, Ms. Thessin humanizes it, honing in on the famous and lesser-known people who shaped Franklin and the struggles they faced to do so. In that spirit, she seeks out guides who are not only passionate about history but possess a natural knack for storytelling.

In keeping with her commitment to orchestrate vivid tours, Ms. Thessin conducts them by bike or on foot. “You get so much from a place by walking it instead of looking out a window of a bus—you may as well fly at 32,000 feet,” she says. Small groups of sightseers stroll or if preferred, Charleston across the downtown area or expand their tour’s scope by cruising on one of Franklin On Foot’s 24-speed Fuji bikes.