The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: November twelfth, enjoying Music City's new tune.

Home of the Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame and a cacophonous concentration of honky tonk clubs, Nashville is known worldwide as the capital of country music.

The potion of hard driving, neon and rhinestone sounds attracts some six million visitors a year to this city set in a broad basin in central Tennessee. In addition to the high energy acts, tourists come to visit Rhyman Auditorium, mother church of country music. Nashville offers a full menu of other country music venues, from ersatz dives along the much hyped Printer's Alley to the more genuine, down-to-earth joints in the rough stretch known locally as Lower Broad.

But there's also plenty to Nashville that isn't country music. The primary settlement in this part of Tennessee since 1779 and state capital since 1843, Nashville has become the financial and insurance hub of the mid-south. Despite its Nash-Vegas reputation, the city that calls itself the Athens of the South has long been an education center, home of Vanderbilt University and 15 other institutions of higher learning. Giant auto assembly plants for Nissan and Saturn have given it a broad manufacturing base. The city boasts some fine hotels and great restaurants. Now, it even has an NFL team.

Nashville also has culture that doesn't involve a guitar. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, opened recently in a renovated post office building, hosts world class exhibitions. An Arts Trolley shuttles among eight other cultural venues, including Cheekwood, a 55-acre garden and art museum. There's more to Nashville than meets the ear.

You'll find tips for enjoying 48 hours in Nashville in this issue of the magazine National Geographic Traveler, a supporter of this program. You can register for a free sample copy at our home page.

FMI For Nashville information, contact the visitors and convention bureau at www.nashvillecvb.com or 800- 657-6910

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