Cheekwood Botanical Gardens & Museum of Art

With a variety of themed gardens, an art museum, and a sculpture trail, this 55-acres (22.3 hectare) estate offers enough attractions to keep you engaged all day. Join a guided tour to see the Japanese garden, flowering dogwoods, and seasonal flower displays; tour the mansion; take the kids to the trains exhibit; and enjoy the estate’s many art works. Many Nashville sightseeing passes include entry to Cheekwood along with hop-on hop-off bus tours.

• The museum and outdoor spaces host both permanent works and a variety of temporary exhibitions.

• Pre-book admission, and enjoy access to the full estate and garden.

• Garden tours can accommodate all visitors, but mansion tours are limited and fill up on a first-come first-serve basis.

• The estate has a shuttle bus to help you navigate the grounds.

• There is an on-site café, a garden shop, and a gift shop.

• Cheekwood is wheelchair accessible and offers wheelchairs for guests to borrow.

Cheekwood is about 8 miles from downtown Nashville, and the easiest way to reach the estate is to drive. If you're staying in downtown Nashville, take Belle Meade Boulevard to Page Road and then Forrest Park Drive. If coming from outside the city, take I-40 from points east and west, or I-65 from points north and south.

Cheekwood Botanical Gardens & Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Sunday and is closed on major holidays. Though there's really no bad time to visit, you should check the calendar for seasonal events—like cocktail parties and concerts—and consider what's in bloom before you visit. Spring offers thousands of blooming tulips, while the Christmas holiday season offers kid-friendly events.

In addition to the art displayed in the Cheekwood's exhibition spaces, there are numerous contemporary sculptures displayed on the Cheekwood grounds. The best way to see this work is by exploring the Carell Woodland Sculpture Trail, where you can enjoy about a mile (1.6 kilometers) of art. You can also visit a Cheekwood installation at Nashville's Riverfront Park, where you will find large-scale sculptures and plant displays.