New year, same great city! Welcoming 2020 got me thinking about hometown activities for my to-do list this year.

From the great outdoors to art and music to history, Nashville really has it all — and we can do it for free!

If you have other ideas on free or cheap activities I need to do, please let me know.

Here are 20 things on my Nashville 2020 bucket list that you should also put on yours:

Head for the honky-tonks

Definitely touristy but great fun for locals is a visit to some of the honky-tonks on Lower Broadway. Most of them, including Tootsie's Orchid Lounge and Robert's Western World, never have a cover charge and offer great live music night and day.

Details: www.nashvilledowntown.com

Enjoy our college offerings

Nashville is blessed with some beautiful college campuses, including the historic Fisk University with its Jubilee Hall and other architecturally significant buildings, the sprawling and gorgeous Vanderbilt University, Belmont and Lipscomb. You could easily spend a few hours taking a self-guided tour of any or all of these campuses.

Plus, our local universities often have concerts, lectures and other performances that are free and open to the public.

Between Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music and the Belmont School of Music, there are oodles of free concerts each year, from jazz to pop to full orchestras and eclectic smaller groups and ensembles. There is even free parking with many performances.

Details: blair.vanderbilt.edu and www.belmont.edu/cmpa/music

Tour the state Capitol

Tennessee state Capitol tours, which last 45 to 50 minutes, start at 9, 10 and 11 a.m., and 1, 2 and 3 p.m. Monday-Friday. Walk-ins should go to the information desk on the first floor of the Capitol through the west entrance of the building.

For a guided tour, check tnmuseum.org/state-capitol for a schedule and details. Adults will need a photo ID to get through security, and everyone will have to pass through a metal detector.

There also is a self-guide brochure in English and Spanish available at the Capitol. The Capitol is a prime example of Greek Revival architecture, and it has one of the best views of Nashville from its hilltop perch.

Details: www.tnmuseum.org/state-capitol or 615-741-0830

Take the Nissan plant tour

The 6-million-square-foot Smyrna Nissan plant offers a free guided tour with a start-to-finish look at how cars are assembled.

You can reserve a tour at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. most Tuesdays and Thursdays. The tram tour takes groups through the plant, showing the various steps that take a big block of steel to a shiny, ready-to-drive vehicle in just 24 hours.

Models produced in the plant include Altima, Maxima, Pathfinder, Leaf, Rogue and Infinity QX60. The Rogue is the best-selling Nissan vehicle.

You must be at least 10 years old to take the tour, which lasts an hour to an hour and a half.

To request a tour, call 615-459-1444 or email nissansmyrnapublictours@nissan-usa.com.

Details: www.nissan-tennessee.com/en/visit-nissan-smyrna

Take a state park hike (or walk)

The Tennessee state parks now have five "all-park hike days," when all 56 state parks offer activities and ranger-led hikes. These hikes are a great way to check out our beautiful parks and enjoy the added value of a ranger's perspective and knowledge about wildlife, plants and history.

Each park has calendars full of free and inexpensive programs, but the all-park Signature Hikes series includes First Day Hikes, Spring Hikes in March, National Trails Day Hikes in June, National Public Lands Day Hikes in September and After-Thanksgiving Hikes the day after Thanksgiving.

Two highly recommended state parks to visit in Nashville are the 19-acre downtown Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park next to the Tennessee State Museum, which has regular programming and ranger walks and offers a self-guided walking history lesson with its Tennessee history timeline.

The other is the 1,400-acre Radnor Lake State Natural Park, which not only has a full calendar of events, but also 5 miles of trails for walking, photography and wildlife observation, and the Barbara J. Mapp Aviary, where you can see eagles, a red-tailed hawk and other birds of prey on Wednesday mornings and Saturday afternoons.

Details: www.tnstateparks.com

Civil Rights Room at library

The Civil Rights Room at the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., is filled with materials that capture the drama of the 1960s when thousands of African Americans in Nashville sparked a nonviolent challenge to racial segregation in the city and across the South. The collection includes a video presentation, a black and white photography exhibit, as well as other resources.

The Civil Rights Room, which overlooks the intersection of Church Street and Seventh Avenue North, where nonviolent protests against segregated lunch counters took place, is open during regular library hours. You can request a free tour for individuals and groups.

Details: www.library.nashville.org/research/collection/civil-rights-room

Attend a Metro Council meeting

Learn how your city government works. City Council meetings are open to the public, and there are free parking passes for people who attend the meetings. The 40-member council meets at 6:30 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays of the month on the second floor of the Metro Courthouse.

Details: www.nashville.gov or 615-862-6780

Enjoy a free concert

Here in Music City, there are plenty of free concerts to choose from, particularly in the warmer months: Musicians Corner, Jazz on the Cumberland, Crockett Park's summer concerts, Live on the Green, Symphony in the Park, the CMA Music Festival and the big free Fourth of July and New Year's Eve musical extravaganzas.

Take a walking tour of downtown

Start with a walk across the pedestrian bridge, where you can take some great photos.

This downtown bridge offers a spectacular view of the city and an up-close look at the Cumberland River. Walk along Church Street and the Avenue of the Arts, and make time to look inside the sanctuaries of some of the historic downtown churches, such as the Downtown Presbyterian and Christ Church Cathedral.

If you're on Avenue of the Arts (Fifth Avenue), visit the Nashville Arcade on a weekday. It was built in 1902, modeled after an arcade in Italy. There is a lot of public art downtown, too.

Details: www.nashvilledowntown.com

See String City and other puppet shows

The Nashville Public Library's award-winning Wishing Chair Productions, with more than 30 puppet shows in its repertoire, offers a seemingly endless schedule of free Friday and Saturday morning shows for children at the main library downtown — including "Cinderella," "Puss in Boots," "The Little Rabbit Who Wanted Red Wings," "Anansi the Spider," "The Frog Prince," "Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "A Midsummer Night’s Dream."

All are wonderful, but the "String City" production, which chronicles the history of country music in an elaborate collaboration with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, is a musical treat for adults and children.

The unique production, which has a constantly changing set and computerized light and sound, features 95 puppets — marionettes, rod puppets and hand puppets — portraying musical figures from DeFord Bailey to Taylor Swift. Plus, you will see some shadow/animation puppetry, as well as a few life-size puppets of Patsy Cline, Charley Pride and Ernest Tubb.

The free 75-minute show is performed several times a year (usually in the summer and around Thanksgiving) in the Country Music Hall of Fame auditorium.

Tennessee State Museum

The Tennessee State Museum, which reopened in fall 2018 next to the Nashville Farmers' Market, always has free admission.

The interactive museum is known for its wonderful permanent collection of artifacts related to the state’s history, along with displays of art, furniture, textiles and photographs produced by Tennesseans, and it has rotating contemporary exhibits.

The museum has weekly storytimes and monthly lunch-and-learn programs on history and art. It is closed on Monday.

Details: www.tnmuseum.org

Check out local art galleries

Local art galleries are fun to explore, and many have free exhibit-opening receptions. They include:

Vanderbilt's Fine Arts Gallery: www.library.vanderbilt.edu/gallery

Belmont's Leu Art Gallery: www.belmont.edu/omore/leu_art_gallery.html

Centennial Art Center Gallery in Centennial Park: www.nashville.gov/Parks-and-Recreation/Cultural-Arts/Visual-Arts.aspx

The LeQuire Gallery: www.lequiregallery.com

The Arts Company: www.theartscompany.com

York & Friends: www.yorkandfriends.com

Enjoy a free day at the Frist

Frist Art Museum, 919 Broadway, is always free for ages 18 and younger and for college students on Thursday and Friday evenings. There is also free music 6-8 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays in the Frist Cafe. The Frist offers free architectural tours of its art deco building at 4:30 p.m. Saturdays. Meet in the Frist's grand lobby. The tour does not include gallery admission.

There are also several free days during the year, including a fall Family Festival Day and admission as part of the annual national Smithsonian Museum Day each September.

Details: www.fristartmuseum.org

See the Titans play for free

We all know there is a lot of interest in our Tennessee Titans with their playoff performance. For next season, you can get an early look at the team (and maybe some photos and autographs, too) by going to the open practices.

It is free for fans to watch Titans open practices in late July and early August at Saint Thomas Sports Park, 45 Great Circle Road in MetroCenter.

Details: www.titansonline.com

Country Music Hall of Fame

Youth from Davidson and bordering counties get in free to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as part of the museum's Community Counts initiative. Up to two accompanying adults receive 25% off. Proof of local residency is required for free admission. The Community Counts program also allows Davidson County residents of any age to visit for free by checking out a Community Counts Passport from any Nashville Public Library branch.

Details: www.countrymusichalloffame.org or 615-416-2001

Tour the governor's mansion

There are free historical tours of the Tennessee Executive Residence, which has been occupied by nine governors of Tennessee, including Gov. Bill Lee. Tours are offered at 10 a.m. most Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment. Requests for tours and field trips should be submitted at least two weeks in advance.

Details: www.tn.gov/residence/schedule-a-historical-tour.html or 615-532-0494

So you like free things? Sign up for the weekly Ms. Cheap newsletter for more frugal finds.

Visit Hatch Show Print

In business since 1879, Hatch Show Print was the printer of choice for Grand Ole Opry stars for decades. The shop moved from Broadway to the Country Music Hall of Fame in fall 2014. There are paid tours, but it is fun (and free) to walk through and look at the printing process on your own.

Most months, there is a free family program, typically the first Sunday of the month, in which you can get an overview of the shop's history and work and get to make your own print. Program passes to participate are distributed 30 minutes before each session on a first-come, first-served basis. Ages 5 and up and accompanying adults are welcome.

Details: www.hatchshowprint.com or 615-256-2887

Walk the greenways

Nashville has almost 100 miles of greenway trails. These linear parks have been a welcome addition for walkers, joggers and bikers, who enjoy having these paved and often picturesque trails for their outings.

The Shelby Bottoms Greenway, part of which is along the Cumberland River, connects to the Stones River Greenway's Percy Priest Trailhead and dog park. Richland Creek Greenway offers several bridges over the bucolic Richland Creek, as well as multiple views of the McCabe Golf Course. The MetroCenter Levee Greenway hugs the Cumberland River, offering great river views.

See greenwaysfornashville.org for printed or online maps, or download NashGR for free on your smartphone for a pocket version of Nashville's Greenway Trail System.

Volunteer

The best way to get to know your community is to volunteer, and Hands On Nashville and United Way of Greater Nashville offer easy ways for individuals and small groups to get involved. HON pairs volunteers of all ages with projects in all segments of the community. The website describes dozens of opportunities each week.

Details: www.hon.org and www.unitedwaynashville.org/volunteer

More from Ms. Cheap:If you didn't get to volunteer during the holidays, the New Year offers many opportunities

Bluebird Cafe early show

Because of limited seating and high demand, it is no easy feat to get a seat at the famed Bluebird Cafe. But some do get lucky.

There are several free admission opportunities. There is never a cover charge for the Sunday Spotlight, Sunday writers nights or Monday open mics. Most early shows (6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m.) do not have a cover.

However, there is a $3.28 reservation charge when you reserve a spot online, and there is a $10 food/drink minimum per person for all shows except open mics.

If you go for one of the first-come, first-served walk-up seats, you don't have to pay the website fee. Good luck.

Details: bluebirdcafe.com

Bluebird Cafe: 8 things to know about Nashville's famed venue

Reach Ms. Cheap at 615-259-8282 or mscheap@tennessean.com. Follow her on Facebook at facebook.com/mscheap, and at Tennessean.com/mscheap, and on Twitter @Ms_Cheap, and catch her every Thursday at 11 a.m. on WTVF-Channel 5’s “Talk of the Town.”