Step out on your first excursion with\u00a0Franklin on Foot<\/a>. Branding itself Franklin\u2019s original walking tours, this company has something to pique every interest. Curious visitors can follow their stomachs through downtown on its\u00a0Food Tour<\/a>. Or, they can feel a lurch in their stomach during its spectacular (and spectral)\u00a0Haunted Franklin Tour<\/a>. I took this tour with my sister shortly after moving to Tennessee, and yes, it was the catalyst to the aforementioned ghost-in-the-gallery conversation months later\u2014but you\u2019ll have to take the tour to find out more! Franklin on Foot also guides\u00a0kid-focused field trips<\/a>\u00a0intended to teach little ones about our city’s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stride into your next walking tour with the confidence that you\u2019re about to have a unique experience. Franklin Walking Tours<\/a>\u00a0offers a myriad of\u00a0fascinating tour topics<\/a>\u00a0to choose from, including a Psychic Walk, Tombstone Tales, and Franklin\u2019s Fierce Females. The latter lays out the history of local women who were settlers, spies, a suffragette, and more. Two-hour private Tours are also available, boasting customizable itineraries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pedal (or coast) through town on one of\u00a0Pedego Franklin Electric Bike<\/a> tours. Perfect for those who like to cover a lot of ground, these\u00a0guided rides<\/a>\u00a0focus on history and scenery. Architecture buffs will enjoy the Historic Homes Tour, small-town fanatics will be thrilled by its three-hour Leiper\u2019s Fork ride, and nature-lovers will have plenty of stunning views to soak in on The Natchez Trace Tour. If you\u2019re a cyclist with your own agenda (that was more ominous than it needed to be), you\u2019ll want to check out Pedego\u2019s electric bike rental options. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trek around town to three of our city\u2019s most historic homes with the purchase of a\u00a0Tennessee Campaign Ticket<\/a>\u00a0from the Battle of Franklin Trust. This combo includes the classic house tours at Carnton<\/a>\u00a0and Carter House<\/a>\u00a0in Franklin and\u00a0Rippavilla<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Spring Hill<\/a>. Each tour is 60 minutes, and history enthusiasts can either make a day of it or spread their visits out, peppering time to explore the grounds and the cities that surround them into their experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make your way back over to the Battle of Franklin Trust\u2019s website because they have another set of tours you\u2019ll want to go on. Their specialty tours<\/a> offer visitors the chance to learn more about the people who were enslaved on the Carnton, Carter House, and Rippavilla properties (Slavery & the Enslaved Tour); extend their time in the houses (Extended Tour), or venture out onto the battlefields (Spring Hill to Franklin Battlefield Tour). A Reconstruction & the Aftermath of War tour is also on the docket at the Franklin homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stroll around downtown Franklin to find elements of the \u201cFuller Story.\u201d These include five markers and a bronze statue<\/a>, placed in the town square in recent years to highlight and honor African Americans\u2019 experience before, during, and after the Civil War, as explained by the Battle of Franklin Trust<\/a> and here<\/a>. And keep an eye out once you\u2019ve finished your self-guided exploration, as the Battle of Franklin Trust will soon be hosting guided extended \u201cFuller Story\u201d tours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amble out to the countryside for the\u00a0Leiper\u2019s Fork Distillery Tour<\/a>, but be sure to wear your closed-toe shoes, as you\u2019ll be walking through\u00a0the distillery<\/a>\u2019s Still House, right among the action. In addition to getting a firsthand look at what goes into making small-batch whiskey, you\u2019ll also look back in time to the early years of distilling in the area. And (if you\u2019re 21-plus), you\u2019ll be able to indulge in a tasting during this 45-minute tour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ride along on the\u00a0Dinner & Distilleries Tour<\/a>\u00a0if your entire group wants to take part in the Leiper\u2019s Fork Distillery Tour and tasting. (The Dinner & Distilleries Tour comes with a built-in designated driver). It elevates the stand-alone trip, adding a second distillery, dinnertime, and black car service to chauffeur you around. After its first stop in\u00a0Leiper\u2019s Fork<\/a>, the five-hour journey continues into\u00a0Thompson\u2019s Station<\/a>. Here, you\u2019ll pay a visit to\u00a0Company Distilling at Thompson’s Station<\/a>\u00a0(formerly H Clark Distillery). Then, you\u2019ll dine at\u00a0Circa<\/a>\u00a0before being driven home. Of course, tour-goers must be of legal drinking age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n March over to the Visitor Center in downtown Franklin to proudly show off the checks on your\u00a0Masters & Makers<\/a>\u00a0digital passport. Not only will you have the right to brag that you\u2019ve been to some of the best breweries and distilleries in the area (plus a winery), but you\u2019ll also get a free t-shirt. What could be better than that? Be sure to download this interactive passport early on in your trip so you can line up your designated drivers and safely enjoy each locale. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guide yourself confidently with a little help from the rest of our collection of free\u00a0Digital Passports<\/a>. Looking for the best cup of joe?\u00a0The Craft Coffee Trail<\/a>\u00a0will help you find it. Want to spice up your photo albums?\u00a0The Murals of Williamson County<\/a>\u00a0are the perfect backdrop. Sweet tooth kicking in every night of your trip? Stock your hotel room by following\u00a0The Sweet Treats Trail<\/a>. Got a feeling you\u2019re going to want to know even more about Franklin\u2019s ghosts? (Yep, it always comes back around to ghosts when I\u2019m writing\u00a0the article<\/a>.) Sign up for\u00a0Haunts & Headstones<\/a>. And there\u2019s more where those came from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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