Country music still reigns over Nashville, but these days Tennessee’s capital also has its share of big-city staples: two pro sports teams and a couple dozen corporate headquarters, as well as sophisticated dining and a new, first-rate symphony center.

Weekend guests can’t possibly expect to cover Nashville’s 533 square miles in a couple of days. So drop your bags, and stroll over to the intersection of Broadway and Second Avenue, where the Cumberland River elbows east in the shadow of the Tennessee Titans’ stadium, LP Field. It’s a good starting point for your exploration of Music City—and not just because there’s a Hard Rock Café on the corner.

This historic, high-traffic area is a microcosm of a sprawling, incredibly clean city that exudes enough urban flash to be dubbed “Nash-Vegas.” Within a few blocks of lower Broadway, you’ll find the sights and sounds that transformed the city from a trade center to a cultural hot spot. Victorian architecture shares turf with modern office towers. The streets are lined not with the usual chain stores, but with one-of-a-kind shops, down-home restaurants, fun saloons and more music clubs than you can shake a banjo at. (For complete listings, pick up a copy of All the Rage, a free weekly newspaper.)

Nashville routinely ranks high in city surveys as one of the best places to live, work, drink, be single and ring in the new year. It also happens to be within driving distance for most Americans: More than half the population lives within 650 miles of its country-music-loving heart.

IT’S OPRY, NOT OPERA
Once you’re oriented, go pay your respects at two worthy shrines. The Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum (222 Fifth Ave. S.; 615-416-2001) is the sleek $37 million showcase of the genre’s past and present. Get a load of the Hee Haw cornfield, Minnie Pearl’s country dress and hat (complete with dangling $1.98 price tag) and crooner Webb Pierce’s hilariously customized 1962 Pontiac Bonneville, with horseshoe gas and brake pedals, and pistol door handles. Don’t miss the spectacular mural of classic country superstars by Thomas Hart Benton, who died of a heart attack in 1975 just before he could sign it. For a novel souvenir, check out nearby Hatch Show Print (316 Broadway; 615-256-2805) for $10 reproductions of vintage promotional posters for country legends like Bill Monroe and Uncle Dave Macon.

Then mosey over to the “Mother Church of Country Music,” Ryman Auditorium (116 Fifth Ave. N.; 615-889-3060; ryman.com). Until 1974, the Ryman was the home of the Grand Ole Opry; now it’s a National Historic Landmark. The stage that introduced the world to Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and Merle Haggard now hosts the likes of Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay. The acoustics are reportedly better than Carnegie Hall’s and second only to the Mormon Tabernacle.

Nashville’s fabled Music Row is located along 16th and 17th Avenues South. This is where you’ll find RCA Studio B, built in 1957 and now the city’s oldest recording studio. Elvis Presley recorded about 250 songs here, including “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” Tours depart from the Country Music Hall of Fame.

HONKY-TONKIN’
At night, check out the honky-tonks that put country legends like Chet Atkins and Charlie Pride on the map. Willie Nelson started out at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge (422 Broadway; 615-726-0463), a narrow dive whose walls are covered with graffiti, yellowed publicity photos and old album covers. Robert’s Western World (416 Broadway; 615-244-9552) sells an array of cowboy boots, introduces real-deal country acts and serves up pork-chop sandwiches and $2.50 cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon. At 66,000 square feet, the Wildhorse Saloon (120 Second Ave. N.; 615-902-8200) is more like a wild arena, attracting top country acts and a rollicking crowd spread over three levels.

CULTURE CLUBS
If all that country air makes you feel the need for a whiff of highfalutin culture, just walk across the street from the Country Music Hall of Fame to visit the new, state-of-the-art Schermerhorn Symphony Center (615-687-6500; nashvillesymphony.org), home of the Nashville Symphony. Upcoming events include a Thanksgiving concert on Nov. 11 and three performances of Handel’s Messiah from Dec. 20 to 22.

Nearby, the city’s former main post office, a streamlined Art Deco landmark, has been transformed into the Frist Center for the Visual Arts (919 Broadway; 615-244-3340; fristcenter.org). Starting Oct. 26, the museum hosts an exhibition of large-scale photos by Australian artist Rosemary Laing. Two miles southwest sits an exact replica of the Parthenon in Centennial Park. The temple was originally built for Tennessee’s Centennial Exposition in 1897. Its 42-foot-tall statue of Athena is said to be the largest indoor statue in the western world.

If you continue southwest for another six miles, you’ll run into Cheekwood (1200 Forrest Park Dr.; 615-356-8000), a 55-acre estate originally owned by the family that developed Maxwell House Coffee. Its meticulous terraced gardens are bisected by a mile-long trail lined with sculptures. There’s also an art museum in the neo-Georgian mansion. The grounds are lavishly decorated for the Festival of Holidays, Nov. 23 through Dec. 30.

’TIS THE SEASON
Holiday revelers should also visit one of the South’s most elaborate antebellum homes, Belmont Mansion (1900 Belmont Blvd.; 615-460-5459; belmontmansion.com). Built in 1849, the 36-room Italian villa is transformed into a Victorian fantasyland throughout December, with elaborate displays of dried flowers, fruits and garlands. Midday and evening holiday cruises on the Cumberland River begin Nov. 15 aboard the General Jackson Showboat (615-458-3900; generaljackson.com), a paddle wheel riverboat that serves up plentiful meals and original stage shows.

All kinds of seasonal treats are rolled out at the Gaylord Opryland Resort (2800 Opryland Dr.; 866-972-6779; gaylordhotels.com). “Ice!” is an outdoor winter wonderland of statues, walk-through castles and slides, all constructed of 1.5 million pounds of ice. “A Country Christmas” in the Grand Ole Opry House features the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, Santa and a parade of wooden soldiers. The Pam Tillis Christmas Dinner Party lets guests feast on a holiday meal while the country cutie sings a mix of hits and Christmas songs.

A SPORTING CHANCE
This time of year is also peak season for Nashville’s two pro sports teams. The NFL’s Titans host games in November and December at LP Field. All five home games were sold out by press time, but you can get on a waiting list at titansonline.com in hopes of snagging one of the 68,798 seats. LP Field is also home to the Tennessee State University Tigers games (tsutigers.com). The NHL’s Nashville Predators (predators.nhl.com) skate downtown at the Sommet Center, where tickets ($17–$150) are readily available at the box office.

HEARTY WAKE-UP
There are two no-brainers for breakfast—but only if you have a healthy appetite and a stomach for long lines. The ever-popular Loveless Café (8400 Highway 100; 615-646-9700) dishes out Southern favorites like ham, fresh biscuits and red-eye gravy. College kids and cowboys line up for a country mile to get a table at Pancake Pantry (1796 21st Ave. S.; 615-383-9333). A young Garth Brooks was once among the regulars devouring stacks of buckwheat flapjacks with warm maple syrup here. A few scrumptious bites should put enough fuel in your tank to get you back to the airport and all the way home. By then, your appetite for Nashville will have already returned. Big time.

STAY
Hotel Indigo
Nashville’s newest, coolest boutique hotel was due to open Oct. 23, with 140 guest rooms, a coffee house, a bar and a fitness studio. 1719 West End Ave.; 615-329-4200; hotelindigo.com; doubles from $219

Hilton Nashville Downtown
This 330-suite luxury hotel is located in the heart of the city. Its four restaurants include The Palm, the world-renowned steak house. 121 4th Ave. S., 615-620-1000; hilton.com; doubles from $139

Hermitage Hotel
Since 1910, the elegant 122-room hotel has hosted six presidents and celebrities galore. 231 Sixth Ave. N.; 615-244-3121; thehermitagehotel.com; doubles from $279

Gaylord Opryland Resort
An entertainment and business hub with 2,881 guest rooms, nine acres of indoor gardens, nine restaurants and the home of the Grand Ole Opry. 2800 Opryland Dr.; 615-889-1000; gaylordopryland.com; doubles from $199

EAT
Arnold’s Country Kitchen
At $7, the “meat and three” is a steal: barbecue pork or roast beef, plus three veggies of your choice. 605 Eighth Ave. S.; 615-256-4455; dinner for two, $14*

Prince’s Hot Chicken
This spicy fried chicken joint’s been the hottest dish in town for 60 years. Stick with mild. 123 Ewing Dr.; 615-226-9442; dinner for two, $15

Stock-Yard Restaurant
The Nashville Union Stock-Yards headquarters was converted in 1979 into one of the best steak houses around. 901 Second Ave. N.; 615-255-6464; dinner for two, $95

Radius 10
Fine dining with a Southern flair in the trendy Gulch neighborhood. 1103 McGavock St.; 615-259-5105; dinner for two, $85

Virago
Sushi and chi-chi cocktails attract Nashville’s pro athletes and beautiful people. 1811 Division St.; 615-320-5149; dinner for two, $76

Fido
Once a pet shop, now a too-cool-for-school coffee house. 1812 21st Ave. S.; 615-777-3436; dinner for two, $32

*Prices cover a three-course meal for two, not including drinks, tax or tip.

LIVE MUSIC
Bluebird Café
The intimate stage that launched Kathy Mattea, Garth Brooks, Mary Chapin Carpenter and Sweethearts of the Rodeo. 4104 Hillsboro Rd.; 615-383-1461; bluebirdcafe.com

Mercy Lounge
A stylish, upstairs club in an 1883 flour factory. 1 Cannery Row; 615-251-3020; mercylounge.com

Station Inn
The all-but-official home of bluegrass and Western swing. 402 12th Ave. S.; 615-255-3307; stationinn.com

Exit/In
Nashville’s best rock club hosts the likes of Kings of Leon. 2208 Elliston Pl.; 615-321-3340; exitin.com

Grand Ole Opry
The world’s longest-running live radio show hits the stage Tuesdays (7 p.m.), Fridays (8 p.m.) and Saturdays (6:30 and 9 p.m.). From Nov. 24 to Dec. 15 the Opry returns to Ryman Auditorium for Friday shows (7 and 9:30 p.m.). 2802 Opryland Dr.; 615-871-6779; opry.com