The Parthenon

2500 West End Ave, Nashville, TN 37203, USA

Address:	2500 West End Ave, Nashville, TN 37203, USA
Phone:	+1 615-862-8431
Site:	nashville.gov
Rating:	4.2
Working:	Closed 9AM–4:30PM 9AM–4:30PM 9AM–4:30PM 9AM–4:30PM 9AM–4:30PM 12:30–4:30PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 8

Nick Steele

This place is a tourist trap. All the original art (about 80 paintings) are from local artists and within 100 years, most will make your eyes roll and arent very good or creative, they are clearly struggling to get any sort of collection, they should stop displaying it for a while, because its currently just a time sucker. The "artifacts" in the lower level are literally amarican coins and metals and dollar bills... VERY out of place at a Greek building replica! The upper level is kind of nice, the statue of Athena is a replica about actual size, which is impressive but the artist took liberties to make it "more impressive" and looks little like descriptions of athena. they decided not to go with complete accuracy, which sucks because this is the only life sized Parthenon on Earth and reminds me of a giant cowboy statue more than athena. Its made out of wire and clay and they put gold leaf on it and painted it. All the Greek statues on the upper level are replicas (ALL of them, they are labled as such and its obvious, they dont look real, they have markings in the wrong place, and are stained to "look" as old as they are supposed to be), which adds to the sense that they want you to just go "wow cool" and not get a real sense of being in the Parthenon, which is what the thing is advertized as being able to do, you would think at least ONE Greek thing would be here, but nope. The bathrooms are smelly, small and terribly dirty, and the entrance smells very musty. I am sorry I went here. The outside Nashville gardens are pretty nice though, although litter is around, but well kept otherwise, and they are free

Coin Ivystone

The inside of the Parthenon was quite enjoyable, the architecture and history of the building were greatly interesting, and the statue of Athena inside was stunning. The historical displays were very descriptive and portrayed the period of the construction well, and the art gallery was beautifully layed out, with both the modern and 18-19th century works. My only (fairly large) issue with the building was not the building itself, but the process of entering it. My party arrived at the front of the building to enter through the large, glass doors that we were led to by the plaque outside the building. Upon climbing the stairs, we came upon a note on the door that we could not go through the front, you had to go through the back entrance, which you could not reach on the level we had climbed to. We had to go back downstairs and walk through the grass to the back entrance, which was not wheelchair accessable (even if our party had no members requiring this, it should still be accessible), and had no railings on any of the stairs. There was also no returning sidewalk to the area we parked in, so we had to walk back through the grass to our car. All in all, it was nice, but more sidewalks are needed, and there should be more warning or direction to go to the back entrance.

Lucas Lowe

Walked around the outside only at dusk. Had no Idea this place even existed and was eating at a nearby restaurant and took a quick walk over to check it out. I have to say the structure is simply breathtaking. The scale is so big that its hard to comprehend that this was built in the 1800s here in Tennessee, let alone 2,000 years ago in Greece. The park is a very beautiful setting for this magnificent structure. There were fireflys buzzing about lighting up the well maintained grassy areas, couples sitting in the swinging chairs looking at the Parthenon. People and groups were gathered on the steps just hanging out or giving/listening to a lecture, as I imagine the original was used for similar acts. Very cool piece of US history and world history as well. Would highly recommend visiting for history and Greece buffs. Next time I will definitely visit the museum inside.

A Private User

HAPPY People work there. I was there today with my husband and kids during the middle of a rush where one kid group stormed the gift shop right after the other one. There was a young lady in the gift shop in a vandy t-shirt that was still chipper and happy after all the kids and half of which didnt have correct change and she let them purchase their stuff anyway and was still laughing and nice to the entire line. I think the store or the lobby needs to be bigger because it is hell with all those kids and elderly groups on top of regular tourists. We still moved through the line relatively quickly and she was by herself on top of having to remind chaperones of the the kids to keep the store doors clear but yeah I love the Parthenon just based on the gift shop people. I would have bought the entire store if they worked on commission because she was awesome.

Andy Calhoun

My friend and I wandered around the outside. First off, the actual Parthenon is in ruins and doesnt look like that. The work done on the outside was an artistic rendition. The gardens at the park were beautiful. At another time, I went into the Parthenon here. There is an exhibition on its construction and the whole affair of the World Fair. Very cool. The art exhibition was less my interest. The statue to Athena and the "childrens educational talks" were an insult to Greek culture. This place sorely needs a fully qualified archeologist, not a Sunday school teacher to educate people on the culture and society that originally erected the Parthenon.

J C

Well, I loved it. I thought it was a remarkable opportunity to view a historic building that is actually in a different country. Kind of like a little time-machine that allows us to glimpse the past. Our young country has a difficult time with that concept, I think. Anyhow, the building is very well kept. Clean, tidy. There isnt any graffiti or trash and I think that takes some doing with all the people who go through there every day. My one wish is that the gift shop had an online catalog for ordering or at least viewing the products offered. If you go to Nashville, you should at least view the building. The park is really lovely as well.

Leigh Ann Sandlin

I checked the website before going to find out the price of admission. There was nothing on the website indicating a charge. Turned out to be $6 per adult and $4 per child 4+ years old. I went ahead and paid it. It wasnt worth it. There were several artifacts and an art gallery inside; seemed unrelated to the real Parthenon in Greece. Upstairs was the replica of Athena and that was just about it. The Athena replica did not look authentic. Parts of it looked plastic. I recommend going, but just taking pictures outside and visiting the gift shop. Just beware that the books in the gift shop are $2-3 less on Amazon.

Krunal Shah

One of the must visit place, if you are visiting Nashville, TN. Good presentation architecture and artifacts. There is entry fee , if you want to visit museum inside but its nominal and its worth visiting. Statue of Greek Athens goddess is inside the building. If you are interested in history and culture, you must visit this place. There are free parking spots outside the building. 0.2 mile walking distance. Street parking is also one of the option. Place is near to Downtown Nashville. There is gift store inside the building. Place is closed on MONDAY usually. So make sure, to check day/timings before visiting.