Nashville’s many restaurants cater to a variety of
preferences from home-style Southern meals to gourmet dining. Entertainment choices range
from bluegrass and jazz to supper clubs.
Sports and recreation thrive in the rolling green hills of
Middle Tennessee. The city of Nashville ranks second in the nation for the number of city
acres protected as public parks. The city’s parks host everything from steeplechases
to craft fairs to historic exhibits. The area surrounding Nashville is a natural for
hiking, camping, and spelunking. The abundance of streams, rivers, and lakes allows
boaters to choose lazy scenic float trips or the challenges of white-water rafting, and
are popular with water-skiers and anglers. Professional baseball, football, and ice hockey
teams call Nashville home and Vanderbilt’s football, basketball, and other
Southeastern Conference teams generate sports excitement throughout the school year.
The prominence of learning in the history and life of
Nashville has earned it the title of the Athens of the South. To commemorate this
reputation, the city has constructed a full-scale replica of the Parthenon of Athens,
Greece, as part of its centennial exposition in 1897. The Parthenon in Centennial Park
borders the northern edge of the campus and in recent years has been the site of art
fairs, Greek drama, and an array of beautiful landscaping. Athena Parthenos, the creation
of Vanderbilt alumnus and sculptor Alan LeQuire, dominates the main hall of the Parthenon
and is the largest indoor statue in the world.
The city’s many beautiful residential areas, easily
accessible to offices, shopping, and recreation, provide a comfortable environment for
family life. Nashville’s combination of Southern hospitality and progressive
vitality, combined with a moderate population and reasonable cost of living, offers a
lifestyle rich in opportunities.
