Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Bronze plaques for every member of country music's highest honour line the rotunda of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the genre's central archive and shrine. The building itself nods to the music: its tall front windows suggest piano keys, and seen from above, its outline evokes a bass clef.

The core exhibition traces country music from its folk and string-band roots through honky-tonk, the Nashville sound and later stars. It draws on a deep collection of instruments, stage costumes, handwritten lyrics, recordings and photographs. Showpieces include Maybelle Carter's Gibson guitar, Elvis Presley's gold-trimmed Cadillac limousine and Webb Pierce's silver-dollar-studded Pontiac. The museum also houses Hatch Show Print, the historic letterpress shop known for its concert posters, and operates the nearby Historic RCA Studio B.

Founded in 1967 on Music Row, the museum moved to its larger downtown building in 2001 and now draws nearly 1.3 million visitors a year. Fans of any era of country music can easily spend several hours here.