Nashville

Nashville is the capital of country music and one of America's most visited cities — a place that has parlayed its musical identity into a booming tourism economy while also developing one of the South's finest restaurant scenes and a creative energy that extends well beyond the honky-tonks of Broadway. Lower Broadway — known as "Honky Tonk Highway" — is a block of live music bars (Tootsies, Roberts Western World, Legends Corner) operating from noon until 3am, seven days a week. It is chaotic, genuinely musical and unlike anywhere else. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is outstanding — the costumes, instruments and recordings of country music's greatest figures are curated with real care. The Johnny Cash Museum and Patsy Cline Museum are both excellent. Studio B at RCA Nashville is where Elvis, Dolly Parton and dozens of others recorded. The 12 South neighbourhood, East Nashville, Germantown and The Gulch are the city's most interesting neighbourhoods for independent restaurants, bars and shops. Nashville's food scene has developed into one of the South's best — hot chicken (Prince's or Hattie B's) is the local speciality, but the restaurant diversity is now extraordinary. Parthenon, a full-size replica of the Athenian original, stands in Centennial Park. Grand Ole Opry performances (in the original Ryman Auditorium downtown and the modern Grand Ole Opry House) are worth booking. The Natchez Trace Parkway and Jack Daniel's Distillery (90 minutes) are excellent day trips.