Welcome to our Memphis-to-Nashville road trip! Now, there are probably a billion ways to get from Memphis to Nashville. Okay, maybe not literally a billion — but there are certainly enough that choosing just one wasn't easy. The simplest option is obvious: get on Interstate 40, point the car east, and stay there until Nashville. It's fast, efficient... and that's exactly what we're not going to do. Because this road trip isn't about getting to Nashville as quickly as possible. It's about making the most of the journey between two of America's great music cities. So when we designed this route, we had a few rules. We wanted to keep the trip reasonably efficient, while getting you off the interstate whenever the alternative was worth it. We looked for roads that would take us through small Tennessee towns, beautiful countryside, forests and historic communities rather than simply around them. We wanted stories too — music, barbecue, Civil War history, old railroads, forgotten highways, unusual characters, and the people and places that shaped Tennessee. And every once in a while, when the interstate really is the best option, we'll use it. We're adventurous, not unreasonable. Along the way we'll travel portions of old highways that carried people across Tennessee long before I-40 existed, wind through the countryside of West Tennessee, cross the Tennessee River, discover communities like Lexington, Waverly, McEwen and Dickson, and gradually watch rural Tennessee give way to Nashville. Some places will be worth stopping. Others we'll simply enjoy from the road. And occasionally we'll take you somewhere you probably never would have discovered if you'd just asked your navigation app for the fastest route. That's really the idea behind this tour. Memphis and Nashville are the bookends. But today, the space between them is the story. So get comfortable, enjoy the drive, and don't worry — we'll handle the storytelling. Let's take the long way to Nashville.

