Nashville
New Orleans
United States · Multi-city itinerary
Music South itinerary — January 2027
By Tripsapien Research · Updated May 20, 2026
January 2027 is an off-season time for the Music South trip (Nashville & New Orleans). Daytime highs run from about 9°C / 48°F to 17°C / 63°F across the stops. Plan around 6–8 days for the full Nashville & New Orleans loop. Tripsapien checks every place on your list against your exact dates — hours, closures and booking pressure at each stop.
The route
About 6–8 days · 2 cities
America's music trail: Nashville, for the Grand Ole Opry and honky-tonk row, and New Orleans, for jazz, the French Quarter, and Creole cooking. A short flight or a day's drive south connects country to brass.
Nashville
Nashville in January
Temperature
48°F / 29°F
9.1°C / -1.7°C
Precipitation
11d
4.1in · 105mm
Daylight
9.8h
January is cool and damp, so build days around the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman tours, and hot-chicken lunches.
January is cool and damp, so build days around the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman tours, and hot-chicken lunches.
City overview
Nashville sits on the Cumberland River, where Lower Broadway honky-tonks, Music Row studios, East Nashville restaurants, the Gulch, 12 South, and Germantown turn country-music history into a working entertainment city. The city is also a Tennessee capital, university town, hot-chicken stop, and Opry pilgrimage.
Food & drink
Nashville food starts with hot chicken, especially Prince's, Hattie B's, Bolton's, and slow-burn neighborhood debates, then adds meat-and-three plates, biscuits, barbecue, Goo Goo Clusters, and banana pudding. Nashville Farmers Market, Assembly Food Hall, Germantown restaurants, and East Nashville kitchens give visitors a route beyond Broadway.
Top sights
Ranked for January suitability using weather, setting, ratings, and review volume.
- 1National Museum of African American Music
- 2Ryman Auditorium
- 3Grand Ole Opry
- 4Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
- 5The Parthenon in Centennial Park
- 6Johnny Cash Museum
- 7Frist Art Museum
- 8Belle Meade Historic Site and Winery
- 9Honky Tonk Highway on Lower Broadway
- 10Tennessee State Capitol and Bicentennial Capitol Mall
1National Museum of African American Music
4.9★ · 1,993indoorOpen dailyThe museum opened in 2021 at Fifth and Broadway and covers gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and soul through interactive exhibits. It is across Broadway from the Ryman and Bridgestone Arena.
Wikipedia
2Ryman Auditorium
4.8★ · 20,991indoorOpen dailyThe former Union Gospel Tabernacle opened in 1892 and hosted the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974. The brick auditorium stands just off Broadway, a few blocks from the Cumberland River.
WikipediaBackstage tours and evening concerts use separate tickets.
3Grand Ole Opry
4.8★ · 32,662indoorThe live radio show moved to the Grand Ole Opry House in 1974, east of downtown near the Gaylord Opryland complex. Multi-artist bills keep the format closer to a broadcast than a standard concert.
WikipediaCheck the lineup before buying because Opry shows rotate performers nightly.
Show 7 more sights
- 4Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
- 5The Parthenon in Centennial Park
- 6Johnny Cash Museum
- 7Frist Art Museum
- 8Belle Meade Historic Site and Winery
- 9Honky Tonk Highway on Lower Broadway
- 10Tennessee State Capitol and Bicentennial Capitol Mall
Neighborhoods
1Downtown and Lower Broadway
Downtown is loud and performance-driven, with Honky Tonk Highway, Ryman Auditorium, Bridgestone Arena, Fifth and Broadway, Printer's Alley, and riverfront walks.
2Music Row and Midtown
Music Row and Midtown mix recording offices, RCA Studio B, Vanderbilt edges, Demonbreun bars, Division Street restaurants, and hotels west of downtown.
3East Nashville
East Nashville feels local and restaurant-heavy, with Five Points, Gallatin Avenue, Shelby Bottoms, vintage shops, cocktail bars, and small music rooms.
4The Gulch
The Gulch is newer and polished, with hotels, rooftop bars, restaurants, murals, boutiques, and quick access to the Frist and Music City Center.
512 South
12 South is walkable and retail-focused, with bungalow streets, coffee shops, boutiques, Sevier Park, hot-chicken stops, and photo-heavy murals.
6Germantown
Germantown is brick and food-led, with historic houses, Nashville Farmers Market, Bicentennial Capitol Mall, restaurants, and First Horizon Park.
Getting around
WeGo Public Transit buses cover downtown, East Nashville, the airport, and major corridors, but most visitor trips rely on walking downtown plus rideshare or car trips to the Opry, Belle Meade, and 12 South. The free WeGo Star commuter rail is limited, so schedule Opry and Franklin trips separately from Broadway walking nights.
New Orleans
New Orleans in January
Temperature
62°F / 46°F
16.9°C / 7.8°C
Precipitation
10d
5.1in · 130mm
Daylight
10.3h
January is mild but wet, with early Carnival parades starting after Twelfth Night and layers useful for damp French Quarter nights.
January is mild but wet, with early Carnival parades starting after Twelfth Night and layers useful for damp French Quarter nights.
City overview
New Orleans sits on a bend of the Mississippi River, where the French Quarter, Tremé, Marigny, Bywater, Garden District, and Uptown turn Creole architecture, brass-band music, Catholic parade calendars, and river commerce into one city. The French and Spanish colonial grid, St. Charles Avenue streetcar, above-ground cemeteries, and festival schedule make the visitor map unlike any other U.S. city.
Food & drink
New Orleans food is specific: gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, crawfish etouffee, po'boys, muffulettas from the Central Grocery orbit, oysters, pralines, and beignets at Cafe du Monde. Use the French Quarter for old Creole dining, Magazine Street for neighborhood restaurants, and the Treme-Marigny-Bywater corridor for music plus late meals.
Top sights
Ranked for January suitability using weather, setting, ratings, and review volume.
- 1St. Louis Cathedral
- 2National WWII Museum
- 3New Orleans Museum of Art and City Park
- 4Steamboat Natchez and Mississippi riverfront
- 5Mardi Gras World
- 6Frenchmen Street
- 7St. Charles Avenue Streetcar
- 8French Quarter and Jackson Square
- 9Audubon Park
- 10Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
1St. Louis Cathedral
4.8★ · 5,019indoorOpen dailyThe cathedral on Jackson Square traces its parish to 1720, with the present triple-spired building completed in the 1850s after earlier fires and rebuilds. It anchors Chartres Street beside the Cabildo and Presbytere.
2National WWII Museum
4.8★ · 29,728indoorOpen dailyThe museum opened in 2000 in the Warehouse District and grew from the Higgins Boats built in New Orleans for Allied landings. Exhibits cover the European and Pacific theaters, aircraft, oral histories, and the U.S. Freedom Pavilion.
Wikipedia
3New Orleans Museum of Art and City Park
4.7★ · 5,307indoorClosed MonNOMA opened in City Park in 1911 and holds French, American, African, Japanese, and decorative arts collections. The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden sits beside bayous and live oaks in the same park.
Show 7 more sights
- 4Steamboat Natchez and Mississippi riverfront
- 5Mardi Gras World
- 6Frenchmen Street
- 7St. Charles Avenue Streetcar
- 8French Quarter and Jackson Square
- 9Audubon Park
- 10Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
Neighborhoods
1French Quarter (Vieux Carre)
The Quarter is dense and old, with Jackson Square, Royal Street galleries, Bourbon Street bars, hidden courtyards, Creole townhouses, and the riverfront within a tight grid.
2Marigny and Bywater
Marigny and Bywater are downriver and music-heavy, with Frenchmen Street clubs, Crescent Park, colorful cottages, St. Claude Avenue venues, and neighborhood restaurants.
3Tremé
Tremé is tied to Black New Orleans culture, with Congo Square, Backstreet Cultural Museum, brass-band history, Creole cottages, and second-line routes near North Rampart Street.
4Garden District and Lower Garden District
The Garden District is mansion-lined and leafy, with St. Charles Avenue, Magazine Street shops, Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, Commander's Palace, and streetcar stops.
5Uptown and Carrollton
Uptown stretches along St. Charles and Magazine, with Tulane, Loyola, Audubon Park, Maple Street bars, old oaks, and po'boy counters.
6Warehouse District and CBD
The Warehouse District and CBD feel more modern, with the National WWII Museum, Ogden Museum, Julia Street galleries, hotels, Superdome access, and convention crowds.
Getting around
RTA streetcars and buses cover the French Quarter edge, St. Charles Avenue, Canal Street, Rampart Street, cemeteries, City Park, and parts of Uptown using Le Pass fares. Walking works in the Quarter and Marigny, the St. Charles streetcar works for Garden District days, and rideshare is practical for late-night Bywater or airport trips.
Best time to do the Music South trip
In January, the Music South trip runs daytime highs from 9°C / 48°F to 17°C / 63°F, with nights down to about -2°C / 28°F at the coolest stop. It is one of the wetter months, with up to 11 rainy days at the wettest stop. Weighed across both stops, January is an off-season time to travel.
The most comfortable months across Nashville & New Orleans are October, April and November, based on average daytime temperatures and rainfall at every stop. January 2027 is off-peak to go.
Check this route against your dates
Tripsapien starts with the sights on this page or places you paste, then checks hours, closures, booking pressure and neighborhoods for your exact January dates — across every city on the Music South trip.
Plan this Music South tripCommon questions about the Music South trip
- When is the best time to do the Music South trip?
- The most comfortable months across Nashville, New Orleans are October, April and November, based on average daytime temperatures and rainfall at each stop. January is an off-season time — see the per-stop weather below for the exact picture in January 2027.
- How many days do you need for the Music South trip?
- A comfortable Music South trip runs about 6–8 days, allowing roughly Nashville 3, New Orleans 3 nights plus travel between stops. Add a day if you want a slower pace or extra day trips.
- What's the route for the Music South trip?
- The classic order is Nashville & New Orleans. Each city below has its own January weather, events and top-sights list.
- Will the sights be open during my January Music South trip?
- Opening days and hours vary by weekday, season and public holiday, and they differ from city to city on a multi-stop trip. Paste your Music South list into Tripsapien and it checks every place in Nashville, New Orleans against your exact dates, flagging closures and what needs booking ahead before you go.