Frist Art Museum

The Frist Art Museum is the downtown stop that balances a music-heavy itinerary, and its building alone is worth the visit. It occupies Nashville's former main post office, a 1930s Art Deco landmark of white marble, aluminum grilles and geometric detailing, sitting on Broadway just west of the honky-tonk blocks and next door to the restored Union Station. The Frist does not have a permanent collection in the usual sense; instead it is an exhibition hall that brings in major traveling shows and builds its own, so the lineup changes several times a year and can range from European old masters and ancient artifacts to fashion, photography and contemporary art. That makes it worth checking what is on before you go — some shows are blockbusters, others are more specialist — but there is nearly always something strong in the main upper-level galleries. The museum's other great asset is Martin ArtQuest, a large hands-on studio where children and adults can draw, print, animate and build; it is one of the best family art spaces in the South and justifies the trip for parents on its own. Everyone 18 and under gets in free, which makes the Frist exceptional value for families. The museum is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and stays open later on Thursday evenings, when college students with ID are free. Fit: first-time visitors who want a break from the music trail, couples, families with creative kids, and anyone in town during a big exhibition. The ground-floor cafe and the shop make it easy to linger, and the central location means it slots neatly into a downtown walking day.

The building's story is part of the experience. The post office was built in the Depression era with federal funding, and its Art Deco interiors — the cast-aluminum doors, the patterned floors and the soaring central hall — survive almost intact. The museum opened in 2001 after a careful conversion, which kept the public spaces and turned the old mail-sorting areas into galleries. Even if an exhibition does not grab you, a walk through the lobby and the grand staircase is a pleasure, and there is a cafe on the ground floor for a break.

How to do it well: check the current exhibitions online and decide whether there is a must-see show — the biggest exhibitions can be busy on weekends, so a weekday morning or a Thursday evening is calmer. Allow ninety minutes to two hours for the main galleries, more with children in Martin ArtQuest. Adult tickets are bought on arrival or online; seniors, military and college students receive a discount in person. The museum has its own small parking lot off Demonbreun Street with validated rates for visitors, but it fills, and the walk from downtown hotels is easy.

Practicals and fit: the Frist sits at the western end of downtown Broadway, a short walk from the Gulch and the Country Music Hall of Fame, which makes it a natural morning stop before lunch and the afternoon music sites. Pair it with a drink or a look at the lobby of the Union Station hotel next door, or with the Johnny Cash Museum for a contrasting afternoon. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. If you are deciding between the Frist and a second music museum, the Frist usually wins on a rainy day, on a day with children (for whom it is free), or when one of its major exhibitions overlaps with your trip. Members get free entry year-round, which can pay for itself for local families or repeat visitors who come back for each new show.