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Arrival, information and getting around
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Nashville International Airport
is eight miles southeast of downtown. Metropolitan Transit Authority
buses
into town (weekdays 8.13am-5.33pm; weekends 6.49am-4.19pm; tel 615/862-5950) leave every half-hour and cost $1.45. The Gray Line shuttle (every 15min 6am-11pm; $11 one-way $17 round-trip; tel 1-800/669-9463) drops off at most downtown hotels. Taxis are probably the quickest option but will set you back around $25. Greyhound buses arrive in a seedy part of downtown at 200 Eighth Ave S; there's no Amtrak service.
Nashville is so spread out that a
car
is a good option. However, the one-way system can be maddening, and the roads change name without warning. MTA runs
buses
until midnight to most parts of the county, from the transit mall on Deaderick Street and Fifth Avenue ($1.45 flat fare), and
trolleys
, leaving Broadway and 9th Street (Tues-Sat noon & 2pm, Sun 1-3pm), that cover the entire downtown area plus Music Row for a fare of $1 (an unlimited 1-day pass is $5; a similar 3-day pass is $8). To get out to the Opryland area MTA offer a city bus express #34 that leaves from 5th Street and Broadway about every hour Mon-Fri 10am-8.30pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm. Another system of trolleys runs between the Opry mills mall, the
Opryland Hotel
and the various attractions in Music Valley. Grand Ole Opry Tours (tel 615/889-9490), Gray Line (tel 615/883-5555) and Johnny Walker Tours (tel 615/834-8585), among others, offer a variety of both cultural and specialist country music
bus tours
. Expect to pay $25 for a three-hour trip, not including admission to attractions. Alternatively you can hop on the "Big Pink Bus" with the singing guides of NashTrash Tours (Sat & Sun 11am & 2pm; other days by arrangement; $20; tel 615/226-7300), who dig up the dirt on the country stars. Nashville Black Heritage Tours offers
walking tours
concentrating on the city's considerable African-American history (tel 615/890-8173; call to arrange at least 3 days in advance). The city also produces a handy CityWalk map of downtown, following two miles of painted blue lines around the major historic sights. These maps, as well as discount tickets to attractions, are available from the
visitor center
, next to the massive Nashville Arena at 501 Broadway (daily daylight hours; tel 615/259-4747 or 1-800/657-6910,
). Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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United States,
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