Most of what's new at Cheekwood this holiday season is indoors. Laura Dowling's French-themed An Enchanted Noel fills the Historic Mansion from November 20, 2026, through January 3, 2027. It's included only with Gardens and Mansion Access tickets. If you buy the least expensive evening ticket, you'll walk the light path and never go inside the house. If you're a member and come by day, you can see the whole installation, join a guided tour, and pay nothing for admission.
Cheekwood sits on Forrest Park Drive, right next to Belle Meade, so you can choose an afternoon visit, an evening visit, or both. Each option shows you a different part of the season.
This Year's Change Is Inside the House
Last year the Mansion was decorated as "Sweet Holiday Dreams," with sugarplums, candy colors, and chestnuts. In 2026, her third year at Cheekwood, Dowling went French. She worked with Paris- and Dubai-based guest artistic advisor Mauricio Clavero Kozlowski, and each room is a different take on French holiday style. The rooms move from château celebrations to Versailles to Marie-Antoinette's Hameau. Along the way you'll see mirrored salons, set tables, and a winter garden.
The centerpiece in the Loggia is Le Carrousel Parisien. Stephen Brown of Glitterville first built the carousel for the White House's 2024 Blue Room Christmas display. Above it hangs a blue-and-white striped hot-air balloon by Ohio artist Studio Cera Marie. Baccarat supplied crystal and Arcadia tableware for the tables. Le Meurice, the Paris palace hotel, is also a collaborator, and French antiques were loaned for the exhibition.
Outside, much of the display is back from last year. The 28-foot Pixel Pine returns to the Bradford Robertson Color Garden, and the Sparkling Serpentine again stretches 600 feet across the Mansion lawn. The one-mile path still runs past the Peppermint Path, the Star Field, and the Enchanted Esplanade. The outdoor changes are smaller. The TRAINS! exhibit has a new theme, North Pole Butterfly Garden, and heated igloos are new. In Cheekwood's announcement, published by Visit Nashville, President and CEO Jane MacLeod also put the Mansion first:
"This year, Laura Dowling has created something truly special in the Mansion, bringing the beauty and spirit of French design, craftsmanship and hospitality to Cheekwood."
Which Tickets Get You Into the Mansion
Cheekwood runs daytime admission and Holiday LIGHTS as two separate programs, and each one has a Gardens Only option. Here's what each ticket includes:
- Daytime Gardens + Mansion. Includes the Mansion. Nonmember adults pay $26 to $29, and members get in free.
- Daytime Gardens Only. Does not include the Mansion. Nonmember adults pay $20 to $26.
- Holiday LIGHTS Gardens + Mansion. Includes the Mansion. Nonmember adults pay $29 or $32, depending on whether the date is non-peak or peak.
- Holiday LIGHTS Gardens Only. Does not include the Mansion. Nonmember adults pay $26 or $29.
- Late Night LIGHTS. Does not include the Mansion. It costs $20 per person for 8:30 p.m. Gardens Only entry on select Monday through Thursday nights.
- Merry & Bright package. Includes the Mansion. You get two adult Gardens & Mansion passes for any night, plus two drink tickets, two s'mores kits, and 10% off at the Holiday Marketplace. It costs $130 for members and $155 for nonmembers.
At night, adding the Mansion costs $3 more per adult than Gardens Only on the same date. The $20 Late Night ticket saves money, but it skips the one part of the season that's completely new.
The Daytime Door
Cheekwood's holiday hours started November 3. The grounds are now open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., through January 29, 2027. An Enchanted Noel opens during those daytime hours on November 20, the same day as the lights. The daytime grounds are closed on Mondays.
Daytime visits come with a guided tour. Mansion Holiday Décor Tours look at how the installation was made, and they run November 24 through January 3, free with admission. The installation page lists the tour at 11 a.m. daily. Cheekwood's Visit page lists docent-led Mansion tours at 11:15 a.m., Tuesday through Sunday, so check the current time before you plan your morning around it.
For members, daytime is the best deal of the season. Membership includes free general admission and free parking for one vehicle per visit. You still need to reserve a timed entry in advance because parking is limited. The Holiday Marketplace in the Frist Learning Center is open 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. It carries new décor collections, Jellycat plush, and a new Mansion snow globe. Perenn at Cheekwood serves hot chocolate, spiced cider, and fresh-baked cookies from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Families with young children can book Santa during the day. From December 12 through 24, Santa visits the Historic Stable and Tack Room in the Frist Learning Center. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends. Either daytime ticket type includes the visit. The Ann & Monroe Carell Jr. Family Sculpture Trail stays closed for construction until further notice, so leave it out of your daytime loop.
The Nighttime Door
Holiday LIGHTS runs seven nights a week from November 20 through January 3. Timed entries start every 30 minutes from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., and everyone has to leave the grounds by 10 p.m. Cheekwood is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas, day and night, and on New Year's Day. Holiday LIGHTS reopens on New Year's night, January 1, 2027.
At night, membership gets you a discount rather than free entry. Members have to buy Holiday LIGHTS tickets in advance like everyone else, and every guest needs a ticket, including children 2 and under. Each ticket carries a $2 service fee, or $3 for walk-up tickets when any are left. If a time slot sells out online, Cheekwood has no extra tickets by phone or at the gate. Nonmembers pay $5 per car to park. Spaces go first come, first served, and Cheekwood suggests rideshare, with drop-off at Parking Lot A.
You can buy a daytime ticket and an evening ticket for the same day, but you'll have to leave the garden by 3:30 p.m. and come back for your Holiday LIGHTS entry time. Perenn's evening service ends at 8 p.m., so latecomers will find cocoa at the bar kiosks and firepits on the Frist Learning Center terrace instead.
The new Holiday LIGHTS Igloo Experience is the evening's most private option. Each heated igloo seats up to eight guests and costs $350. The price includes blankets, a charcuterie and sweets board, a bottle of champagne, and gardens admission. Seatings run 5:30 to 7 p.m. or 7:30 to 9 p.m. Igloo admission covers the gardens, so anyone who wants to see the Mansion should check what the booking includes.
Two Decorated Mansions Before November 20
The neighborhood's holiday season starts a week before Cheekwood's. Here's the run-up in date order:
- November 12, 5 to 8 p.m. Belle Meade Historic Site & Winery's Holiday Open House is free and open to all ages. The evening includes walkthroughs of the decorated Mansion, Santa and Mrs. Claus, carolers, crafts, wine and bourbon tastings, and holiday cocktails. Mansion walkthroughs are first come, first served.
- November 17 to 19, 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Dowling and Kozlowski lead VIP preview tours of An Enchanted Noel and share tips for home décor and table settings. Tickets are $110 for members and $130 for nonmembers, and space is limited.
- November 19, 4:30 p.m. "Designing Iconic Places" brings Dowling, Kozlowski, and Glitterville founder Stephen Brown together, moderated by Flower magazine Editor-in-Chief Margot Shaw. It's free for members, and reservations are required.
- November 20. Holiday LIGHTS and An Enchanted Noel open to the public.
- November 24. Daily Mansion Holiday Décor Tours begin.
If you visit Belle Meade's open house on the 12th and Cheekwood's Mansion after the 20th, you'll have seen two historic houses dressed for the season, eight days apart and a short drive from each other.
When you're entertaining guests this season, a few local details can make the visit easier, like the free 11 a.m. décor tour or which night ticket includes the Mansion. If you're thinking about the year ahead in Belle Meade or nearby, Janelle Waggener is happy to share what she knows about this part of town. Let's Connect. Start Your Brentwood Search.