Nashville Hotels and City Guide : Guide Home Page

When to Visit - Arts and Events

Close to the I-65, I-44, I-24 and I-40, the 117-acre Tennessee State Fairground hosts various events throughout the year, including the Tennessee State Fair and the International Country Music Fan Fair. The State Fair is held on the first Friday after Labour Day (early September), for a week, from 10:00 am until midnight each day. Each June, the International Country Music Fan Fair attracts more than 20,000 visitors who celebrate a week-long festival of the 'Best of Country Music' with more than 200 artists participating and over 30 hours of live entertainment.

Nashville Dining

Nashville has a wide selection of restaurants serving different types of American cuisine; from Cajun, Caribbean and Catfish to Southwestern and seafood. Local specialties include country ham (cured with salt instead of sugar), fried chicken, okra and other Southern favorites, but the most popular is ‘meat and three'. Usually served at lunch, it consists of a meat entrée and three vegetables, accompanied by corn muffins. Like most US cities, Nashville also has a large number of restaurants serving every type of international cuisine imagineable, from French and Italian to Japanese, Middle Eastern and Polynesian.

Nashville Tipping Advice

In Nashville, as in the rest of the United States, service personnel rely on tips to supplement their wages. For waiters, bartenders, taxi drivers or similar, 15 percent is standard. Nashville baggage handlers at hotels and airports should be given one US dollar per bag and a hotel doorman, 50 cents to one US dollar for loading or unloading luggage or other similar service.