Belmont Mansion

Discover Belmont Mansion: Nashville's Historic Treasure

If you love history or art, make time for a tour of Belmont Mansion – the largest house museum in Nashville. This Italian-style villa was constructed in the 1850s for Adelicia Acklen, one of the wealthiest women in the country at the time and, according to some, Nashville's own Scarlett O'Hara. Although it was originally built to be a summer home, the mansion was quite stately and featured an art gallery, a bowling alley, a zoo, and gardens. A tour of the approximately 20,000-square-foot mansion leads visitors through rooms ornately decorated with 19th-century antiques and lavish art.

Historical Significance

The interiors of Belmont Mansion are nicely preserved and the docents stationed throughout the mansion are knowledgeable. However, some visitors felt their guides did not spend enough time acknowledging the backbreaking work of the property's enslaved workers, who, along with European immigrant servants, built and maintained this opulent mansion. Unfortunately, many physical remnants of the enslaved people at Belmont Mansion were destroyed over the course of history, but you can still learn some information about some of the property's enslaved families on the Belmont Mansion website.

Visiting Belmont Mansion

Hours of Operation

Sitting on Belmont University's campus, about 5 miles southwest of downtown Nashville, Belmont Mansion is open daily from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (except for Sunday, when it opens at 11 a.m.).

Ticket Prices

Admission starts at $18 for adults and $8 for children ages 13 through 18. Rates are reduced to $6 for kids ages 6 to 12. Guided tours of the mansion and gardens, which typically last about an hour, are also available for an added fee, which many visitors highly recommend splurging for. Drivers warn that parking around the mansion is limited. To avoid dealing with a parking headache, consider using the hop-on, hop-off trolley, which stops at the mansion.

For more information, consult Belmont's website.