A visit to Nashville provides days of fun and enjoyment for the entire family.  Here are a few of the city's most popular Attractions:

• Adventure Science Center 
• Belle Meade Plantation
• Belmont Mansion  
• Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park 
• Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum of Art 
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum 
• Edwin and Percy Warner Parks 
• Fort Nashborough 
• Frist Center for Visual Arts 
• Grand Ole Opry
• The Hermitage - Home of President Andrew Jackson 
• Historic Mansker's Station Frontier Life Center
• Music Row 

History and Statistics:
• Nashville was settled in 1779 
• Became state capitol from 1812-1815, then permanently in 1843 
• Elevation 550 ft. (168 m.) at the lowest point; 1100 ft. (336 m.) at the highest point of the rim around the Nashville basin 
• Area: 533 square miles 
• Time: Central Standard, November-March; Central Daylight, April-October 
• MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) eight counties: Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson 
• Nashville Economic Market 10 counties: Nashville MSA plus Maury and Montgomery counties 
• Nashville/Davidson County has a metropolitan government; city limits extend to county line 
• Population: Nashville, Davidson County = 569,891; MSA = 1.23 million

Climate:
Nashville typically enjoys a mild and pleasant climate with only a few days of the year having either very hot or very cold conditions. Most of the city's rain is confined to the spring months, but a shower throughout the year is not unusual. This chart will help you pack for your visit: 

Fall is a celebrated time throughout Tennessee. Visitors come from all over to see the annual changing of the leaves in mid-October. Days are warm and pleasant. Evenings require a sweater or light jacket. Since the weather is changeable, layered clothing is a good idea to accommodate sunny days and cooler nights. Winter is a great time to visit the city's many attractions decked out in their holiday finery. Nashville really shines throughout the winter. Although the climate is mild, winter temperatures do range from cool to cold. If a snowfall occurs, it is usually in January or February, and is seldom heavy.

Nicknames:
• Music City USA - For the city's musical heritage and the Nashville Sound 
• Athens of the South - For the city's dedication to Fine Arts and Higher Education

Business Climate:
Major industries include Tourism, Printing and Publishing, Technology Manufacturing, Music Production, Higher Education, Finance, Insurance, Automobile Production and Health Care Management. 

Industry breakdown: Services 33%; Trade 24.4%; Manufacturing 13.5%; Government 12.6%; Construction and Mining 5.2%; Finance, Insurance and Real Estate 6.1%; Transportation, Communication and Public Utilities 5.3% 

• Nashville was named one of the 15 best U.S. cities for work and family by Fortune Magazine. 
• Nashville ranks as the fifth most popular U.S. city for corporate relocations, by Expansion Management Magazine. 
• Forbes Magazine named Nashville as one of the 25 cities that are likely to have the country's highest job growth over the coming five years.

Hospitality Industry:
• 54,890 jobs are directly related to hospitality. 
• Nashville hosted more than 10 million visitors in 1999 resulting in over $2.7 billion in revenues for the city. 
• Nashville has 32,699 hotel rooms in the city. 
• Opryland Hotel is now the largest non-gaming hotel property in the United States, with 2,884 rooms and 288,000 square feet of exhibit space. Nashville's Convention Center features 118,675 square foot of exhibit space.Transportation 
• 17 airlines serving 86 markets: American, American Eagle, Air Canada, Atlantic Coast, Comair, Continental, Corporate Express, Delta, Delta Express, Great Plains, Northwest, Skyway, Southwest, United, United Express, US Airways, US Airways Express. 
• More than 392 daily airport arrivals and departures. 
• Convergence of three interstate highways, I-40, I-24 and I-65. I-440, an inner beltway now exists, and I-840, an outer beltway between I-40 and I-24 and I-24 and I-65, was recently completed. 
• Nashville Trolley Company services the downtown and the Music Valley Drive/Opryland Hotel area. 

Cost of Living:
• Nashville consistently ranks among the lowest for cost-of-living in comparable cities across the nation. 
• Overall cost of living is only 93.7% of the national average (100%). 
• All components (groceries, housing, utilities, etc.) of cost of living are typically below the national average.

--Information obtained in 2004 from the Tennessee Convention and Visitors Bureau.