Daily; winter tour-road gates 8am–4:30pm, visitor center 9am–4pm
Stones River National Battlefield · Murfreesboro
Stones River National Battlefield charges no entrance fee. Drive the park tour road, walk the trails and visit the national cemetery where one of the Civil War's key Union victories was fought. From November through February the tour road and parking gates are open 8am–4:30pm and the visitor center 9am–4pm; March through October the gates are open 8am–5pm and the visitor center 9am–5pm. Walkers and cyclists can use park roads and trails from sunrise to sunset. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
Robert's Western World, the original honky-tonk on Lower Broadway near the Ryman, plays traditional country music and says it never charges an entry fee. It's open 10am–3am every day; everyone, including kids, is welcome until 6pm, then it's 21 and up. House band Kelley's Heroes plays Wednesday–Saturday 6:30–10pm. Food and drinks are sold separately, and the bar asks you to tip the band and servers if you're enjoying yourself.
Nashville Public Library Main Library, Civil Rights Room
Overlooking the downtown corner where the 1960 lunch-counter sit-ins took place, the Main Library's Civil Rights Room lets you sit at a symbolic lunch counter, read the protesters' Ten Rules of Conduct, follow a timeline of local and national events and see photographs of Nashville's school desegregation and student movement. Main Library hours: Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 2–5pm.
Nashville Public Library Main Library, Children's Theatre
The Nashville Public Library's award-winning puppet troupe, Wishing Chair Productions, leads interactive story times on Tuesday mornings at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 in the Main Library's Children's Theatre. Downtown parking: nearby garages offer a $4.99 library rate for up to two hours.
Historic Cannonsburgh Village recreates about 100 years of early Tennessee life, from the 1830s to the 1930s, with a gristmill, schoolhouse, general store, blacksmith shop, caboose, chapel, museum and the World's Largest Cedar Bucket. Self-guided tours are free. November through March it's open Tuesday–Friday 9am–3pm, weather permitting. Call ahead (615-890-0355), since the village can be closed for private rentals. Closed Nov 11, Nov 26 and Dec 24–25.
Park dawn to dusk daily; visitors center Tue–Fri noon–4pm, Sat 9am–4pm
Fort Negley Visitors Center and Park · Nashville
Fort Negley Park in South Nashville is free and open dawn to dusk for self-guided walks past education panels, with a great view of the city. The visitors center, also free, has interactive exhibits and a 20-minute video on building the fort; it's open Tuesday–Friday noon–4pm and Saturday 9am–4pm. The park is under construction: the half-mile trail stays open, but the historic fort at the top of the hill is closed for now. Parking is very limited, so carpool.
Middle Tennessee State University's free monthly Star Party on Friday, November 6, 2026, 6:30–8:30pm: Dr. John Wallin speaks on "Chasing Eclipses" for 30–45 minutes, then the MTSU Observatory sets up telescopes if the sky is clear. Open to the public and kids are welcome. Park in the Judd-Sims or Library lot off Alumni Drive (no tickets after 4:30pm on Fridays).
Verified Oct 28 · mtsu.edu
No catch
AttractionsFree (worth about $20)Eligibility applies
Mon 10am–5:30pm, Thu 10am–8pm, Fri–Sat 10am–5:30pm, Sun 1–5:30pm (closed Tue–Wed)
Frist Art Museum · Nashville
Guests 18 and younger always get free admission to the Frist Art Museum, Nashville's art exhibition center in the art deco former main post office on Broadway. The museum is open Monday and Thursday through Sunday (closed Tuesday and Wednesday), and the hands-on Martin ArtQuest gallery keeps the same hours. Adults pay $20, so bring the kids and budget for the grown-ups. Visitor parking in the museum lot is $3 an hour with validation.
Franklin Parks' free Family Day takes over the Park at Harlinsdale Farm on Saturday, November 7, 2026, 10am–2pm: miniature train rides, hayrides, pony rides, a petting zoo, cane-pole fishing, a corn maze, pumpkin patch, crafts, face painting and equestrian demos from 11am. Food trucks sell food. Rain or shine.
Aviary Wed & Sat 10am–1pm; park 6am to 20 min after sunset
Radnor Lake State Park · Nashville
At Radnor Lake State Park's Barbara J. Mapp Aviary Education Center you can get up close to non-releasable birds of prey, snakes and turtles. It's open Wednesdays and Saturdays, 10am–1pm. The park itself, a 1,389-acre natural area with lakeside trails and the Walter Criley Visitor Center, opens at 6am and closes 20 minutes after sunset. Parking fills fast on nice days, and pets are allowed only on Otter Creek Road, Hall Drive and the dam.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee runs a one-day mobile pantry with One Gen at Maplewood High School on Saturday, November 7, starting at 9am. Mobile pantries are large-scale, one-time food distributions. Questions go to the hosting agency.
The Station Inn, the Gulch's bluegrass listening room, hosts a free Bluegrass Jam on Sunday evenings at 7pm: a classic picking circle where anyone with a bluegrass instrument can join and anyone can sit outside the circle and listen. No skill requirements, and you may end up picking with living legends. Bluegrass instruments only. The bar is open (food and drinks are sold separately). Minors are welcome with an adult chaperone.
The City of Franklin honors veterans with its Veterans Day Parade on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, starting promptly at 11am at West Main and Fifth Avenue and running down Main Street past the Square to Bicentennial Park, with JROTC units and high school marching bands. Before the parade, local veterans and their families are invited to a reception at the Williamson County Archives, 9–11am.
The Heritage Foundation's Timeless Tales series for ages 1–3 and their grown-ups meets on the second Friday of each month at the Franklin Theatre. On Friday, November 13, 2026 at 9am it's a themed read-aloud followed by sensory play and crafts; registered kids go home with a craft or even a free book. Registration is free; sign up ahead.
Verified Oct 28 · williamsonheritage.org
Catch: Free registration required · For ages 1–3 with an adult
Nashville Public Library Main Library, Children's Theatre
The Nashville Public Library's puppet troupe stages its full-scale production of A Child's Calendar in the Main Library's Children's Theatre on Friday, November 13 and Saturday, November 14, 2026, with shows at 10:30 and 11:30am both days.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee runs a one-day mobile pantry with New Vision Ministries at New Vision Ministries, Westmoreland on Saturday, November 14, starting at 9am. Mobile pantries are large-scale, one-time food distributions. Questions go to the hosting agency.
Metro Parks' Centennial Art Center opens its Student and Staff Holiday Show and Sale with a reception on Friday, November 20, 2026, 5–7:30pm: live music, refreshments and new work by the art center's students and staff. The show stays up through December 10.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee runs a one-day mobile pantry with One Gen at Church of the City, Franklin on Saturday, November 21, starting at 9am. Mobile pantries are large-scale, one-time food distributions. Questions go to the hosting agency.
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (pass from Nashville Public Library)
Nashville Public Library cardholders can check out a Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum passport that admits two adults free. Place a hold with your card; passports go out for 7 days with no renewals, and you show it at the museum's information desk.
Verified Oct 28 · library.nashville.gov
Catch: Nashville Public Library card required · Place a hold; limited passes, 7-day checkout
Nashville Public Library's Library of Things lends musical instruments (guitars, keyboards, ukuleles), tool kits and radon detectors, cake pans and ice cream makers, weights and blood pressure kits, bocce and pickleball sets, binoculars and sewing machines, free for up to 3 weeks. Borrow two at a time; return them inside at a desk, not the book drop.
Verified Oct 28 · library.nashville.gov
Catch: Adults 18+ with an NPL card in good standing · Sign a usage agreement; lost items are billed
Nashville Public Library staff give free one-on-one appointments for computer and phone questions, job searching and resumes, homework help and small-business research. Free test proctoring is available at select branches too. Services are free and open to anyone; no library card needed. Book online with as much detail as you can.
Check out a BCycle fob from Nashville Public Library and get unlimited two-hour rides on BCycle's electric pedal-assist bikes for a week, from any Nashville BCycle station. Place a hold to have it sent to any branch. Riders must be 18+ and sign a waiver; a lost fob costs $5.
Verified Oct 28 · library.nashville.gov
Catch: NPL card in good standing; riders 18+ · Sign a waiver; $5 fee if you lose the fob
Metro Nashville convenience centers (East, Ezell Pike, Omohundro)
Davidson County residents can drop off household hazardous waste (up to 15 gallons or 100 pounds) for free at Metro's East and Ezell Pike convenience centers, and old electronics (up to 100 pounds) for free at the East, Ezell Pike and Omohundro centers. Recycling, compost drop-off and tires without rims (4 a month) are free too. Bring a Tennessee driver's license showing a Davidson County address. One visit per day; no commercial vehicles or commercial waste.
Verified Oct 28 · nashville.gov
Catch: Davidson County residents only: show a TN driver's license with your county address · Limits: 15 gal/100 lb hazardous waste, 100 lb electronics per visit
Nashville Public Library's Pathway for New Americans offers free information on learning English, immigration, naturalization and citizenship at New Americans Corner booths in every library and at Coleman Park, East Park, Madison Park, Southeast and Smith Springs community centers. The library and Metro Parks also host English and citizenship classes with local nonprofits, and free English Conversation Clubs meet at branches such as Hermitage and Thompson Lane.
