Nashville is a city whose citizens enjoy showing their Christmas spirit. From the Gaylord Opryland Resort to its famed honky-tonk scene on lower Broadway, Nashville is awash in colorful lights, ice sculptures, decorations, parades and shows with a festive flavor.

We spent much of a recent week in “Music City,” enjoying a range of holiday-themed experiences. We ate too much and returned home dead tired, but we were happy that we chose Nashville to begin the season.

We split four nights evenly between the Gaylord Opryland Resort and the Omni Nashville Hotel. The former allowed us time to explore Opryland USA, while the latter was within walking distance of most downtown restaurants and attractions including the historic Ryman Auditorium.

Nashville calls itself “Music City” for a reason. Music permeates every block. Nearly every young person we met, from restaurant servers to parking valets, seemed to be in Nashville to develop their musical chops. Their current jobs give them life support as they search for their place in the music world.

Nashville’s most famous venue is the famed Ryman Auditorium, the tabernacle built in the late 1800s that is popularly known as the “Mother Church of Country Music.” This magical place is where we experienced the highlight of our Nashville stay – the annual Christmas program featuring Nashville residents Amy Grant and Vince Gill. The music, lighting and stage interaction of the spouses were a perfect blend to usher in the Christmas season. Additional performances are scheduled on Dec. 14, 15, 20, 21, and 22.

We were also fortunate to see a Grand Ole Opry show in the Ryman. The auditorium served as the Opry’s home from 1943 until 1974 and is now its winter venue.

Not to be missed in Nashville is the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. During lunch in the lobby’s restaurant, we were treated to a school group singing carols beside the 30-foot Christmas tree.

We found the Greek revival mansion at Belle Meade Plantation decked out with Christmas decorations. This is where we learned that 19th century Christmas trees were kept in the house for about 12 hours, rather than 12 days, due to decorations made of paper and lighting provided by candles. A bucket of sand was placed beside each tree for safety.

Belle Meade is less than 10 miles from Nashville’s city center. Two miles further on, Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art offers another Christmas treat. The mansion interior is beautifully decorated, and an evening walk through the 55-acre gardens, filled with twinkling lights, is magical. Santa and two live reindeer, Holly and Jolly, are available for photos on weekends, which also include holiday art activities and gingerbread house decorating workshops.

Fifteen minutes from downtown, The Hermitage, home of President Andrew Jackson, is decorated for Christmas with an early 1800’s theme. The estate includes an excellent museum with an overview of Jackson’s life. Visitors can also see the log cabin where he lived for 20 years and Jackson’s tomb. Plan to spend a minimum of two hours taking in all that Hermitage offers.

General Jackson, one of the world’s largest paddle-wheel showboats, stages holiday musicals during trips on the Cumberland River. Both lunch and dinner cruises are offered.

Exterior grounds of the Gaylord Opryland Resort are festooned with millions of Christmas lights, while the resort’s huge atrium glitters with giant Christmas trees, strings of lights and hundreds of poinsettias. Dozens of large Christmas ornaments hang from the atrium ceiling.

The musical “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” is presented daily (except Thursdays) in the resort’s Grand Ole Opry House. Other offerings include a snowball toss, gingerbread decorating, ice skating, snow tubing, an Elf on the Shelf scavenger hunt and the Opryland Express Kids Train. A Christmas dinner show featuring the Gatlin Brothers is offered most nights through Christmas Day.

A unique holiday experience awaits children of all ages in the resort’s events center, which is converted into a giant icebox filled with large, colorful Christmas characters carved from 2 million pounds of ice. Each visitor is provided with a warm thermal jacket while touring the center that is maintained at 9 degrees.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is this year’s theme for the ICE! holiday attraction, with room after room of brilliantly colored and sculptured ice figures related to the story of Rudolph. The lifelike carvings are quite amazing and would offer a delightful experience for nearly any child.

The two of us tried an icy slide that proved easy going down. Standing up at the bottom was the difficult part.

There is still time to visit Nashville before the holiday season ends. Regardless, the music scene never shuts down. Soon we will tell you about our favorite music location – a magical place where history has been made.

David and Kay Scott are authors of “Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges” (Globe Pequot). Visit them at www.valdosta.edu/~dlscott/Scott