Art, parkland and campus life in the West End

Why go

This West End route works for visitors who like to alternate indoor visits with easy outdoor wandering. Centennial Park gives you room to walk before the Parthenon’s architecture and art galleries. From there, continue toward Kirkland Hall for a short look at Vanderbilt’s historic campus setting. Belmont Mansion is the final, more focused interior visit. The distances between the park, campus and mansion call for comfortable shoes and an unhurried pace. Kirkland Hall is an exterior stop, and the campus walk can be shortened if the mansion visit matters more to you. Check mansion tour arrangements before fixing the order of your day.

The route, stop by stop

World itinerary estimate: 165–320 min

1. 01

   Main stop · 30–45 min

   Centennial Park

   Centennial Park is a West End green space anchored by Nashville’s full-scale Parthenon replica. It suits a walk that pairs a striking landmark with a lake, gardens and open parkland.

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2. Walk · 3 min · Estimated

   02

   Main stop · 60–90 min

   The Parthenon

   Enter a full-size Parthenon replica and compare its classical exterior with the Athena sculpture and art galleries inside. The replica is a separate museum visit within Centennial Park, with indoor galleries as well as an outdoor architectural view.

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3. Walk · 17 min · Estimated

   03

   Main stop · 15–20 min

   Kirkland Hall

   View Vanderbilt’s historic Kirkland Hall from campus paths and connect the university’s first main building with its later rebuilding after the 1905 fire. This is a short exterior history and architecture stop in the West End area.

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4. Walk · 28 min · Estimated

   04

   Main stop · 60–75 min

   Belmont Mansion

   Belmont Mansion opens a window onto a lavish nineteenth-century Nashville household on today’s Belmont University campus. Its rooms also invite a closer look at the free and enslaved people connected to the estate.

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