Day trip to Franklin from Springfield
Franklin, an hour south past Nashville, offers a preserved Civil War-era Main Street, real bookshops, and dinners worth the drive. Here is how to make the day work.
Historic Main Street in downtown Franklin Tennessee
The drive and downtown Franklin
Springfield to Franklin is 55 miles via I-65 south, about an hour off-peak and 90 minutes at rush hour. Park in the Franklin Public Square garage on Second Avenue for $2 an hour, capped at $10. Walk Main Street: Landmark Booksellers, the Franklin Theatre (see if a matinee is on, tickets from $12), and the shops around the Public Square. The Lotz House Museum ($12) covers Civil War history from a civilian perspective and is worth the hour.
Battlefield, Carnton, and dinner
Carnton and the Carter House ($20 combo ticket) are the two big Civil War sites and can be done back-to-back in an afternoon. Lunch at Puckett's Grocery on Fourth Avenue for a $16 plate. Save dinner for Homestead Manor in Thompson's Station on the way home; entrees run $22 to $30 and the setting in a restored 1820s mansion is unmatched in the region. Home to Springfield by 10pm.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask before they set off on this one.
55 miles or roughly an hour south via I-65 and I-65 to Highway 96. Add 30 minutes at afternoon rush hour.
It depends on what you want. Franklin is walkable, historic, and quieter; Nashville is bigger and has the honky-tonks and major museums. Franklin is the better choice for couples and families.
Tight but possible. Do Franklin in the morning and Nashville from 3pm onward for Broadway and dinner. You will pay for it in traffic.
For a splurge, Homestead Manor or 55 South. For casual, Puckett's Grocery or Gray's on Main. All three are on or near the Public Square.
Hotels in Springfield
Hotels we cover across Springfield
- Quality Inn & Suites Joelton Nashville 2★ · 4.7/5
- Hampton Inn Pleasant View TN 2★ · 4.6/5
- Hampton Inn by Hilton Springfield 2★ · 4.4/5
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites Nashville North Springfield by IHG 2★ · 4.4/5
- Quality Inn Pleasant View 2★ · 3.9/5
- Quality Inn White House 2★ · 3.7/5
- Springfield Inn TN 2★ · 3.2/5
- Charming Springfield Escape with Furnished Deck 3★
- Family friendly Home w Yard: 27 Mi to Nashville 3★
- Comfort Inn White House 2★
- Hampton Inn White House 2★
- Holiday Inn Express White House by IHG 2★
- Motel 6 White House TN 2★
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Same room, same price you would pay anywhere else — with one verified tonne of carbon removed for every booking made through this site.