Traveling to Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University is a private university in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. Nashville is sometimes called Music City because it is a major center of music creation and production, just like Los Angeles is for film and TV. While it is most famous for Country music, you will find an endless variety of any music and entertainment of your choice.

Airport

Nashville is served by Nashville International Airport (BNA), which is approximately a 15-20 minute drive from Vanderbilt. An Uber or Lyft ride will cost ~$20-$30 to or from the airport from campus.

Lodging

Nashville is a tourist destination, so securing lodging early is important. Given that the school is 2 weeks in duration, some options are:

  • The Scarritt Bennett center: this is a conference center on the edge of the university campus that provides no-frills accommodation. For the duration of the school, there are currently suites available that have 2 beds with a shared bathroom.
  • Airbnb: as with the Scarritt Bennett center, if you can find people to share with then your costs will be reduced. It is possible to find rentals of entire apartments or houses that can host multiple people relatively close to campus.

Please see the list of participants on this website to contact fellow attendees for lodging share arrangements.

Getting Around

Nashville has a limited public transit network of buses. While there are bike lanes in some parts of the city, it can often be unsafe to get around that way. For short distances, you will see many people get around with e-scooters, which are easy to access and unlock through associated apps on your smartphone. For longer distances, Uber and Lyft are the best way to get around.