I visited the Nashville Zoo back when it was in Springfield, north of town. It was pretty terrible -- the animals were behind chain-link fences and there was no shade for weary visitors. The Grassmere location is a huge improvement.
The zoo meanders in a relaxing way around 200 acres; the layout does a great job of providing shady walks and sitting areas for visitors. It is a great place for kids, with its little petting zoo and huge playground. It still has a way to go before it will entertain adults, though; the "big name" animals are few and far between.
The zoo needs more monkeys; monkeys are always big entertainers. They just have gibbons now; you can watch the gibbons swing from branch to branch and call to each other in those booming sounds. They aren't interested in interacting with visitors. The good news is that the zoo just added an elephant exhibit, and giraffes are coming in 2006.
more