The Belmont Mansion was built in 1850 for wealthy socialite Adelicia Acklen. It is an Italian-style villa, and was initially used as a summer home for the Acklen family. Over time, the house was enlarged, creating the more than 10,000-square-foot mansion you can see today. According to the Belmont Mansion website, it is the largest house/museum in all of Tennessee. In 1972, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Tours of the mansion begin on the first floor and last around 45 minutes. The first floor is wheelchair-accessible, but the rest of the home is not. The tour of the upstairs portion of the home takes about 15 minutes. The Belmont Mansion features one-of-a-kind furniture pieces, statues and artwork created solely for Acklen.
The mansion is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The last tour of the day always begins at 3:15 p.m. Parking is free.
Belle Meade Plantation at one time encompassed more than 5,000 acres, making it one of the largest private estates in Nashville. As of 2011, this historic site features 30 acres and 10 outbuildings. Locals referred to Belle Meade as the "Queen of the Tennessee Plantations" during the 19th century when it was equipped with a full-service thoroughbred stud farm, a carriage house, stables and slave quarters.
Virginians John Harding and his son, William, were the estate's original owners. Over the years Belle Meade was passed down to William's son-in-law, William Jackson. The mansion itself, which was built in 1853 in the Greek revival style, remained in the Harding-Jackson family for five generations. The estate and its resident buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
The mansion, outbuildings and slave quarters are open to the public Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Sundays, tours are from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Only the first floor of the mansion is accessible to wheelchairs. An on-site restaurant and winery are open to visitors.
Located approximately 12 miles from Nashville's city center, The Hermitage offers daily tours to the general public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The mansion and estate were once the home of President Andrew Jackson.
Estate tours include the mansion, the formal gardens, the slave quarters, the Jackson family burial sites and the original log cabin that was their home in the early 1800s. The 1,100-acre plantation was once home to more than 150 slaves who worked for the Jacksons as farmers, livestock hands, gardeners and nurse maids. The Hermitage was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. The estate has been operated by the Ladies Hermitage Association since 1889.
