Home > Nashville > Historic Tennessee - Southern Plantations and Presidents
USD $69.00
Historic Tennessee - Southern Plantations and Presidents
Nashville, United States of America
See the South’s deep history first-hand on this historic tour of Tennessee, departing from Nashville by charter bus. On this guided experience, you’ll explore Southern plantations and presidential estates as well as learn about prominent Nashville and Civil War history. Hear Nashville’s storied past on a guided tour of the Belle Meade Plantation and Andrew Jackson’s manor, The Hermitage. History buffs won’t want to miss this.
Your 6.5-hour Tennessee history tour begins with a comfortable charter bus ride to the stately manor of Andrew Jackson, The Hermitage. Home of the seventh U.S. president, historians consider President Jackson’s Hermitage the best preserved early presidential home. Explore its quarters just as President Jackson and his staff did back in 1836.
Stroll the lovely formal gardens, then visit the slave quarters, the estate’s original 1804 cabin and the sight where this president and his wife were laid to rest. Afterward, lunch is on your own accord at the on-site historic Hermitage Smorgasbord, offering a traditional Southern Buffet, including dessert. From there, continue on your chartered bus ride to the Belle Meade Mansion.
Known as the Queen of the Tennessee Plantations, the Belle Meade Plantation was the centerpiece of a 5,200-acre estate, world-renowned as a thoroughbred stud farm and nursery in the 19th century. It’s a prime example of Southern Greek Revival Antebellum architecture. The present 30-acre site features 10 outbuildings which include an 1832 slave cabin and a colossal carriage house and stables.
The day comes to a leisurely close with a wine tasting session at the Winery at Belle Meade Plantation in the afternoon. Sip the estate’s wines, such as chardonnay and cabernet, while enjoying views of the vineyards, then board the bus to return to Nashville.
Nice tour to beautiful places. Comfortable ride and enough time to explore the various plantations on your own. Lunch was terrible though and not included everyone was dropped off at the same place for lunch and told to go eat and make sure to pay for yourself.
Review by: Nancy T, April 2018
Wonderful
Review by: Marja.d, March 2018
Well organized and professional tour. Great day!
Review by: dbmorrow, March 2018
Tour was excellent, but buffet lunch was not as good as we expected it to be. Average buffet food.
Review by: Alice J, March 2018
Excellent trip. Lunch at the Smorgasbord was very good value.
Review by: Chun B, March 2018
Very informative if you are interested in history.
Review by: bcevans, March 2018
A lovely day was spent with extremely knowledgeable historian guides, including the bus driver, touring two Southern plantations. I especially appreciated the way facts were presented as they would have happened in the day without sugarcoating. History is what it was. The Belle Meade Plantation has been very well maintained with historical artifacts that have been there from the beginning or repurchased. The only disappointment of the day was the closed off areas of the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson's home, due to refurbishing and upgrading fire suppressant equipment, but there was still plenty to see._br/_ The lunch was great at the Hermitage Buffet - very authentic Southern, as my Granny used to make. And the wine tasting room at the Belle Meade Plantation was very entertaining with acceptable wines presented.
Review by: Jon K, February 2018
Actually disappointed. While the weather did not help, both places were less than expected. The Hermitage was undergoing renovations and we were not informed ahead of time. The customer service from Grayline was deplorable.
Review by: Kirk M, February 2018
The Plantation tour was worth it. Belle Meade was awesome. Wine tasting was a nice touch. Hermitage was interesting (historically), but under renovation and it took away from the experience.
Review by: jojo, January 2018
We went on this trip the weekend of New Year's Eve. It happened to be a cold spell in Nashville and the temp was about 10 degrees._br/_ We all really liked the tour so much. The bus ride was very nice and both sites were beautiful. It was too cold to walk around the grounds but the grounds looked like they were spectacular. We we do it again in the warmer weather when the gardens are in bloom.
Review by: Demetria C, January 2018
This tour is a must, when visiting Nashville. Pick-up/drop-off were excellent. Tour is very informative. I would have given this tour 5 out of 5 stars, but both mansions we visited were being renovated and our access was a bit limited. Buffet lunch was fine, but a bit rushed, tour guides were excellent. Overall, I would take this tour again and highly recommend it.
Review by: Kimberly M, December 2017
The tour was great. It is run by Grayline and that driver mainly just shuttles you from place to place. There was a guide at each place that gave you historic information at each place you visited. Lunch was awesome and affordable!
Review by: Maryanne B, December 2017
Informative tour
Review by: Geoff Gillam, December 2017
Only disappointment was no photos inside otherwise friendly guides and time at each stop for a good look around
Review by: matthew f, December 2017
The President's house and Bel Meade were a great part of our trip. The lunch wasn't fantastic, but it was fine - there was enough to choose from for everyone I'd have thought.
Review by: Jane M, December 2017
This was a very informative tour with lots of time to look around the plantation. If you are a history buff, take this tour and see the lovely house and grounds.
Review by: Tony Y, December 2017
The Hermitage was interesting but a guide for the whole tour would have been better. The Belle Meade tour was horrible. The tour guide did not want to be a guide, told us so and the whole tour was over in 20 minutes and then they wanted to sell us wine. The Belle Meade was a great disappointment.
Review by: wanda, December 2017
It was a very nice tour and the driver/guide was very accommodating , but the narration left a little to be desired.
Review by: RichardR, November 2017
Generally ok and worthwhile. The pace was slow. The driver was a driver not a well informed guide he offered little commentary along the way. If we had rented a car, the two major attractions would have been easy enough to get to on our own at our own pace.
Review by: Sandra S, November 2017
Our tour was everything we expected. Our tour guide has a lot of knowledge and the place we went to eat was very outstanding.
Review by: garybinter, November 2017
Great tour guide.
Review by: Janet B, November 2017
Fun day for a solo traveler! A Viator tour is the way to go!
Review by: tino, November 2017
tour guide was incredible...funny and vey knowledgeable..a must see
Review by: Kenneth G, November 2017
This was a wonderful way to see both the Hermitage and Belle Meade Plantation. The tour guide was very informative and professional. At both sites the tour guides were exceptional, especially the junior docents at the Hermitage. Don't miss the duel._br/_ The lunch was very good and gave a wide variety of choices.
Review by: Gerard R, October 2017
What a great tour and once again thank you Viator your organisation is first class.we highly recommend this tour.
Review by: Susan K, October 2017
Bus was on time and our driver was very knowledgeable. Great to experience both the hermitage and belle Meade. Not enough time at either place would be my only concern. So much to see and learn. Lunch was very good...buffet so no waiting. Very handy to have the bus drive us....no parking issues!
Review by: owen h, October 2017
The tour guides were nice and the grounds and the house was a lot of fun. you could take your time to see it all. I wish we had more time there.
Review by: Marilyn M, October 2017
This was enjoyable and instructional. I particularly enjoyed the Belle Meade Plantation.
Review by: nanp23, October 2017
Great tour! A lot of great history.
Review by: Eva S, October 2017
For history lovers, all about Andrew Jackson and the plantation has nothing to do with growing crops, but something a whole lot more interesting: pure bred race horses. We went with friends, all of us enjoyed the tour and highly recommend it
Review by: Vicki H, October 2017
Would have liked more time at Andrew Jackson, Hermitage. Didn't get to see everything. The amount of time at the Belle Meade Plantation was more than needed. We were done more than 30 min. early. The bus even left 15 min. early as everyone was just waiting around.
Review by: debwoodill, October 2017
Lunch was terrible
Review by: Judy C, October 2017
My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this tour and only wish we had more time. Both were well narrated by knowledgeable drivers and tour guides. Thank you for making this so easy and enjoyable. Ray and Judy Castaneda
Review by: Jerry L, October 2017
It was so easy and comfortable traveling from Nashville to see two historic plantations, the first being home of President Andrew Jackson, The Hermitage. Our second stop was the Belle Meade Plantation, equally fascinating in history and southern charm. The personal tour given at Belle Meade Mansion, with our guide in period costume, was informative. The Mansion itself, filled with original furnishings, was beautiful.
Review by: Maria V, September 2017
This needs to allot more time for the Andrew Jackson property. After attending the very interesting lesson on dueling, we did not have enough time to explore Andrew Jackson's home. The plantation, in my opinion was really not that interesting to me and I would have preferred to have stayed longer on the Andrew Jackson property.
Review by: Rosa M, September 2017
My girlfriends and I went to Nashville on a girls trip. We booked this tour because it looked really interesting and we all love history as two of us are teachers. The tour of Andrew Jackson's estate was great...they had a reenactment of a dual, which was very informative. The tour of the Belle Meade plantation was also very good...we had a good tour guide, who was also very knowledgeable of the grounds, the house, and the prominent family who used to live there. The only thing I would change is that more time should be spent at Jackson's estate. By the time we watched the film clip, and the dual, we only had 10 minutes to tour the house before we needed to meet the bus needless to say, we only got past the 1st floor before we had to leave. That was disappointing. We had a lot of extra time at Belle Meade, which was interesting, but the family is not nationally well known..so we would have rather spent less time on the Belle Meade tour. Will have to go back and tour the Jackson estate on my next visit.
Review by: Abbe, September 2017
Very informative tour. I would suggest when visiting the Hermatige, tour the mansion first, then the grounds, then visit the museum. We spent too much time in the museum, then didn't have enough time to spend on the grounds, which are beautiful. _br/_ I definitely would recommend this tour.
Review by: KATHLEEN W, September 2017
I really enjoyed this, it was fun and relaxing and informational.
Review by: Meredith S, September 2017
The garden at the Hermitage was absolutely spectacular. It was by far my favorite spot. I would highly recommend this tour. The people who work at both the Belle Meade Plantation and Andrew Jacksons Hermitage really do have a love for the history and each location. It was great to see and also great to be around people with so much pride in persevering American history. Great day trip!
Review by: abeverly, September 2017
This was a great tour! Fun and informative. It was nice to start off by being picked up at our hotel, tour guide was knowledgeable and friendly. Tour starts off at Andrew Jackson's home followed by lunch and then the Belle Meade Plantation. Both locations include a tour and enough time to see around. Highly suggest this tour for your trip to Nashville!
Review by: Helen E, September 2017
Mix up in other shuttles pickups delayed us one half hour waiting fr them to arrive. Both mansions are worth visiting. buffet we ate at had many choices. Enjoyable day.
Review by: BARBARA H, August 2017
We really enjoyed the tour! Our driver was very informative, funny and helpful. Bob ? from Jasper, IN. The Hermitage was fantastic, Belle Meade Plantation was beautiful. My only wish would be that we had more time to explore Belle Meade. So we will just plan a second trip to come back and see what we missed.
Review by: Roberta T, August 2017
The tours of both of these beautiful homes were amazing. It was so convenient to be picked up and dropped off at our hotel. I highly recommend this tour!
Review by: rebafan99, April 2017
Our driver Steve, was very informative. So much so, that he was giving us all kinds of information that didn't pertain to the tour. Things we would just drive by, he would talk about. Even things we didn't drive by.
Review by: Carole B, March 2017
The good:_br/_ 1. The van was nice, clean, comfortable_br/_ 2. The driver was knowledgeable on topic_br/_ 3. Belle Meade is beautiful, has a great tour, tasty wine, beautiful grounds.
Review by: Mike Stacy, March 2017
We enjoyed the tours of the plantations but really would have liked another hour, at least at the Hermitage. We didn't know that there was so much to see and rushed through in order to see the movie and barely made it back to our bus in time. We would have also enjoyed the walking audio tour. We were not informed about the audio part and only realized when we saw others listening. On the bus, we had a hard time hearing our driver due to speakers in the back being broken. We only got the gist of what he was saying. Over all we enjoyed our tours.
Review by: Kathleen L, March 2017
Wonderful way to intro visiting guests to the South!!!! The winery at Belle Mead Plantation NOT to be missed!
Review by: Sherrie D, March 2017
We were taken there by tour van and just dropped off it became sort of a self guided tour. While we were there the Secret Service was also there preparing for a visit from Pres. Trump and that may have had some bearing on our visit.
Review by: Wanda C, March 2017
This tour was amazing!
Review by: lvnnla, March 2017
The tour began with a pickup at our hotel. The driver was personable and informative. He was very knowledgeable regarding the Hermitage and Belle Mead. My only negative is he spoke so quickly that it was sometimes difficult to understand what he said however, I would still give him 4.5 starts! . The Hermitage was wonderful. There is no negative to that experience. The guides in each individual room were great! I would definitely recommend it! We then stopped for lunch at a restaurant. I was a little disappointed in this. The tour explanation does not state you will be taken to a buffet and made to eat there. If that had been part of the description, I would not have minded, but the manner in which it happened was poor. On to Belle Mead - I was very disappointed in Belle Meade. Our tour guide was weak her knowledge and vocabulary were very limited. She used the phrase pretty much in every room description. The plantation itself was beautiful though. The wine tasting was a joke! Don't take this tour if you want a wine tasting. They herded our group of 21 into one room, handed each one of us a glass and as quickly as possible allowed us to sample three different kinds of wines. However, we used the same glass for each wine, and had no opportunity to have water or anything between them to cancel out the taste of the previous selection - nor was the glass clean between each selection. This was an obvious attempt to sell wine. My recommendation to anyone visiting Nashville is to take the tour of The Hermitage, but skip Belle Meade.
RSS Feed