The best Christmas lights in Nashville

7 displays · 2 free · Tennessee

Nashville's holiday season has a showman's heart, which is exactly what you would expect from Music City. A resort hotel drapes itself in five million lights, the zoo fills with hand-sewn silk lanterns the size of buildings, and out in Lebanon a drive-through show syncs 2.5 million bulbs to your car radio.

Lights start appearing in mid-November and hold on through the first days of January. The mix leans toward big produced experiences around the edges of town, balanced by charming free neighborhood displays in East Nashville and the planned community of Westhaven in Franklin.

1.A Country Christmas at Gaylord Opryland

Gaylord Opryland Resort, Music Valley

Ticketed eventFree to stroll, attractions priced separately

The Opryland resort wraps itself in more than five million lights and fills its glass atriums with elaborate holiday decor, making the building itself the show. Wandering the atriums and outdoor lights costs nothing, while attractions like ICE and shows are ticketed separately. It is the single most over-the-top holiday destination in Tennessee.

Season: Mid-November through early January

2.Zoolumination at Nashville Zoo

Nashville Zoo, Grassmere

Walk-through$21-39 per person

More than a thousand custom silk lanterns, some stretching 100 feet long, transform the zoo into one of the largest Chinese lantern festivals in the country. New artistic designs debut each season, so it never quite repeats itself. Pricing varies by date, with weeknights at the low end.

Season: Mid-November through early January

3.Holiday Lights at Cheekwood

Cheekwood Estate and Gardens, Belle Meade

Walk-throughAround $25-35 per person

Over a million lights thread through Cheekwood's 55-acre estate gardens, with a s'mores station, hot chocolate stands, and a holiday marketplace along the way. The historic mansion gets dressed for the season too. It is Nashville's most elegant lights evening, and December weekends sell out.

Season: Mid-November through early January

4.Dancing Lights of Christmas

Lebanon, Wilson County Fairgrounds area

Drive-through$35 per car

Tennessee's largest drive-through light and music show, a 2.5-mile route with over 2.5 million lights synchronized to a holiday soundtrack on your car radio. Admission includes a Christmas village with food, shopping, and a petting zoo at the end of the route. One price covers the whole family vehicle.

Season: Mid-November through early January

5.FrankTown Festival of Lights

Williamson County Ag Expo Center, Franklin

Drive-throughAround $30 per car

A mile-and-a-half drive-through south of town with more than 200 synchronized displays set to holiday music, benefiting the FrankTown Open Hearts youth charity. Select Wednesday evenings open the route to walkers before the cars roll in. It is the Franklin area's signature lights event.

Season: Late November through New Year's Eve

6.Westhaven Holiday Lights

Westhaven, Franklin

Free neighborhoodFree

This planned community in Franklin mounts one of Middle Tennessee's most coordinated neighborhood displays, anchored by a professionally lit community Christmas tree and street after street of decorated homes. You can park and walk the lake trail or browse the neighborhood's small shops between blocks. It is free and genuinely charming.

Season: Late November through New Year's

7.East Nashville Holiday Lights

Lockeland Springs and Historic Edgefield

Free neighborhoodFree

East Nashville's historic neighborhoods turn their Victorian porches into a free lights crawl, with Lockeland Springs running its own holiday decorating competition and the Fatherland arch walk adding a glowing centerpiece. It is less about mega-displays and more about character. Drive it, or better, walk a few blocks with coffee in hand.

Season: Early December through New Year's

Local tip

Opryland's atriums are free to walk but parking there is not cheap, so go on a weeknight after 8 pm when day crowds fade and self-parking is easier to find. Save the Lebanon and Franklin drive-through shows for clear nights early in the week; both back up badly on December weekends.

Displays and prices are researched from recent seasons and stated approximately; hours, routes, and admission change year to year, so check an event's official page before you drive out.

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Common questions

When do Christmas lights go up in Nashville?

Nashville starts early. Zoolumination and Opryland's A Country Christmas both open in mid-November, and Cheekwood follows the same week. Neighborhood displays in East Nashville and Westhaven fill in through early December, and nearly everything runs until the first weekend of January.

What are the best free Christmas lights in Nashville?

Strolling the five million lights and decked-out atriums at Gaylord Opryland costs nothing beyond parking, and it is arguably the biggest free holiday spectacle in the South. For neighborhood charm, Westhaven in Franklin and the Lockeland Springs and Edgefield areas of East Nashville are free and full of personality.

Is there a drive-through Christmas light show near Nashville?

Two good ones. Dancing Lights of Christmas in Lebanon is the state's largest, a 2.5-mile route with 2.5 million synchronized lights for $35 per car, including a Christmas village at the end. FrankTown Festival of Lights in Franklin offers a mile and a half of musical displays for around $30 per car.

How much does Zoolumination cost?

Tickets run $21-39 per person depending on the date, with weeknights cheapest. It is worth budgeting for: the show features more than a thousand hand-crafted silk lanterns, some as long as 100 feet, and ranks among the largest lantern festivals in the country. It runs from mid-November through early January.

Is Cheekwood or Opryland better for a date night?

Cheekwood, without much debate. The million-light garden paths, s'mores fires, and estate setting feel intimate in a way a 2,800-room resort cannot. That said, Opryland is free to wander and stunning in its own maximalist way, so plenty of couples do Cheekwood first and Opryland as the nightcap.

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