Manchester TN to Nashville drive: Distance, drive time & best stops

The distance from Manchester TN to Nashville by car is 65 miles, with a 1h2m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Manchester TN to Nashville drive are Earth Experience, Wat Lao Buddharam and Percy Priest Lake.

Planning a Manchester TN to Nashville road trip itinerary

The Manchester TN to Nashville drive takes you from one of Tennessee’s best nature gateways to the country music capital of the world. You’ll pass this way on the Chattanooga to Nashville drive or Atlanta to Nashville drive.

The town of Manchester isn’t especially riveting, although you can visit Common John Brewing and the Beans Creek Winery.

It is, however, the gateway to several photogenic waterfalls. The closest to the town centre are Blue Hole Falls and Big Falls in Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park. Head a little further west, and there are plenty more – Rutledge Falls has a glorious swimming hole at the bottom.

Nashville is renowned for its country music, but the National Museum of African American Music is also in the Tennessee capital.

The best Nashville experiences include backstage tours of the Grand Ole Opry House, helicopter flights over the city and tasting tours at the Big Machine Distillery. You can also try line dancing classes, the Country Music Hall of Fame and haunted pub crawls. Or, for lavish old homes, visit Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, the Travellers Rest Historic House Museum and Belmont Mansion.

Excellent Nashville accommodation choices include the gloriously evocative Belle Air Mansion and Inn, plus downtown’s grand dame, the Hermitage.

You can save money in Nashville by combining a tour ticket with admission to two top attractions. These combo tickets give you a half day tour of the main sights, plus entrance to the Ryman Auditorium and Country Music Hall of Fame. Find out more here.

Manchester TN to Nashville distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Manchester TN to Nashville is 65 miles. That makes for a driving time of around one hour and two minutes. The quickest route goes straight up the I-24.

The best stops on the Manchester TN to Nashville driving route are Earth Experience, Wat Lao Buddharam and Percy Priest Lake.

Manchester TN to Nashville road trip attractions: Earth Experience

Also called the Middle Tennessee Museum of Natural History, Earth Experience in Murfreesboro is all about archaeological relics. That means gems and minerals, but mainly dinosaur bones.

The highlight is the big T-Rex skeleton, but you can also visit the working paleontology laboratory, see how replica bones are moulded and cast, then touch petrified wood and dino bones.

Manchester TN to Nashville drive: Wat Lao Buddharam

Just to the north of Murfreesboro, the Wat Lao Buddharam temple feels like you’ve been transported to South East Asia. This Buddhist temple, attended by monks, is awash with colour and oriental flair. Expect a large Buddha statue, golden dragons, beautiful pagodas and intricately-painted building roofs.

Best stops on the Manchester TN to Nashville drive: Percy Priest Lake

Percy Priest Lake is a massive reservoir created by damming the Stones River. It’s not just used for water supply, however. Percy Priest Lake has become a popular recreation spot, especially popular with boaters.

Perhaps the most fun way of tackling the lake is with High Tide Rides, which rents out pontoon boats with a captain on board. The boozy boat trips are aimed at groups and parties, and include water tubing.

Nashville, Tennessee skyline.
Nashville Tennessee skyline. Photo by GingerColwell/ Pixabay.

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