Vanderbilt's hometown of Nashville is a vibrant, engaging city known proudly as "Music City, U.S.A." Located a little more than a mile from downtown, the university’s students, faculty, staff and visitors frequently cite Nashville as one of the perks of Vanderbilt. From serving as home to the nation’s largest Kurdish population to being named America’s friendliest city for three years in a row, Nashville is a metropolitan place that proudly exudes all of the charm and hospitality one expects from a Southern capital.

 

Nashville ranks 5th out of 366 metropolitan areas for economic strength, according to the 2009 Economic Strength Rankings published by Policom Corporation. Inclusion on this list means that Nashville has had rapid, consistent growth in both size and quality for an extended period of time.

 

The city was settled in 1779 and permanently became state capital in 1843. The city proper is 533 square miles with a population of nearly 570,000. The Metropolitan Statistical Area encompasses eight counties — Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson — and has a population of 1.23 million.

 

For more information about Nashville, please check out the Nashville Visitors’ Guide.

 

Historic 2nd Avenue & Downtown Entertainment District (2 blocks)

Historic 2nd Avenue overlooking the Cumberland River is the center of Downtown's entertainment and dining district. You'll find restaurants such as Hard Rock Café, Big River Grille, Prime Cut, The Melting Pot, The Palm, Morton's of Chicago; many Clubs featuring live entertainment from rock to jazz, and of course country, such as the WildHorse Saloon, B.B. King's, Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, Legends Corner, and the Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar. 2nd Avenue and lower Broadway are lined with numerous unique shops and trendy boutiques for your shopping delight. Best of all, the Downtown entertainment, dining and shopping district is a easy walk.

 

Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum (adjacent)

http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com

Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy

 

Frist Center for the Visual Arts (4 blocks)

http://www.fristcenter.org/

Twilight Visions: Surrealism, Photography, and Paris

Georgia O’Keeffe and Her Times

 

Ryman Auditorium (2 blocks)

http://www.ryman.com

Tour the Ryman - Grand Ole Opry 1940's to 1970's

 

Schermerhorn Symphony Center (adjacent)

http://www.nashvillesymphony.org

Nashville Symphony: A Musical Space Odyssey

 

Tennessee State Museum (6 blocks)

http://www.tnmuseum.org

 • First Tennesseans

 • Frontier

 • The Age of Jackson

 • Antebellum

 • The Civil War and Reconstruction

 • The New South