DH and I are planning a 3 or 4 day trip to Nashville next month. Would love some ideas for hotels, dining, shopping, vintage shopping, basically everything! We love to walk and bike, so maybe trails as well. Thanks!
Son is moving to Nashville next week and we have never been - so also eager to hear Nashville visit ideas!
I’ll reply at length when I’m on a computer. Nashville is the greatest!
The nicest hotel (except for the historic Hermitage downtown) is the new Omni next to the Music City Center (convention center). I would recommend staying closer to Vanderbilt- there’s a Marriott and a Lowe’s and several others. It’s only a couple of miles or less from the downtown “scene” but also gives you a lot of different eating options and places to walk around campus.
The Country Music Hall of Fame is terrific and is downtown. Go to the Bicentennial Mall near the Capitol (not a shopping mall) and walk on the huge stone map of Tennessee. It’s really cool.
For walking, hiking etc go to Percy Warner Park. It’s a huge city park (not downtown) and just amazing and gorgeous. Radnor Lake park is another beautiful option for walking and seeing nature.
Walk along Broadway where all the honky tonks are. It’s gotten sort of tacky with lots of bachelorette parties, but it’s worth seeing. Acme Feed and Seed is a decent, casual place to eat on lower Broadway. Husk is more upscale and is south of Broadway and very popular. Make sure you see the famous Ryman Auditorium- birthplace of country music- which is downtown. The Ryman has tours.
If you like country music, try to get tickets to the Opry, which is about a 20 minute drive away. If you are here while there is a show at the Ryman, grab those tickets. I think there is a Thursday night “country legends” show which is terrific. It’s worth the experience, even if you don’t think you love country music.
I would definitely take a 25 minute drive south to downtown Franklin. It’s a historic town with a Main Street that has all sorts of shops and cafes (sort of like a Colorado ski town). The old Franklin Theater is a renovated old movie theater. Take a peek inside. Puckett’s is a good dining choice- casual, southern food.
A DO NOT MISS (and where I take all my out of town guests) is Arrington Vineyards. It’s about 10 miles east of Franklin in a little town called Arrington. Famous country singer Kix Brooks is one of the owners. You sit out on the huge sloping lawn at picnic tables (or take lawn chairs) and drink wine that you buy in the gorgeous lodge-like building. You can bring food or they offer some cheese etc. You can also sit under cover on the porch of the building. It’s a beautiful setting and very relaxing. There is live music, too. Check it out online.
People like to visit The Hermitage (not the hotel)- Andrew Jackson’s home. It’s about 15 minutes east of downtown Nashville.
The Frist is an excellent art museum (right downtown).
The famous “must try” dish is hot chicken. I recommend Hattie B’s, which is near Vanderbilt at 19th and Broadway (or thereabouts). Get the mild or medium or you will die.
Loveless Cafe is also a popular restaurant and is a little bit of a drive to the western part of Nashville. Breakfast there is fantastic, but the lines are long.
MOWC will have the best scoop, so I’m going to just add a few personal favorites. Pancake Pantry for breakfast/brunch if you have time & patience to wait to get in. Go on a weekday. Casual, cheap, & quick - Taqueria del Sol for Mexican. It’s on 12 South and in addition to basics, has some interesting twists such as Memphis tacos (chopped pork, jalapeño cole slaw, & bbq sauce). D & future SIL go there several times each week and have often seen Dierks Bentley & his family there. They love it so much that we’re considering having some delivered as the late night snack for their wedding next year. Just down the street is Las Paletas, a gourmet popsicle place that has been featured in Southern Living and elsewhere. There is unique shopping in the 12 South area as well.
For a nicer meal, our family likes Germantown Cafe.
My favorite tourist attraction is the Country Music Hall of Fame. You don’t have to be an over the top fan to enjoy it. If you go there, be sure to add on the bus tour to Studio B which I think is the highlight. The stories the guides tell of Elvis and other greats recording in that studio are really interesting. My favorite is about Dolly Parton recording I Will Always Love You there. I won’t say more so as not to spoil if you go. Hatch Show Print has moved to the CMHofF and their tour is interesting as well. They have printed posters for many music greats through the years (lots of big rock names in addition to the country musicians).
D & future SIL love to walk in Percy Warner Park. In fact, so much so that he proposed there. Have a great trip!
I’m overwhelmed with the thought and time that MOWC and 2VU0609 took to type all that out! Thank you so much, what a great starting point to investigate what we want to do!
While I was out walking, I realized I forgot to mention Cabana, a favorite restaurant that is about a block behind Pancake Pantry. D & SIL like to eat at Lockeland Table and The Southern for nicer dinners. They ate at The Catbird Seat, a small restaurant with long waiting list for reservations, to celebrate their engagement and D said it was the best meal she ever had. I got the menu rundown from her and I would not have enjoyed it as much as they did. I’m a picky eater and don’t like duck, which was heavily featured that particular evening, but it is quite the thing among the serious foodies and has been favorably reviewed by the NYT.
Report back after your trip if you have time. I always like to know what appeals to others and like to poll for things to suggest for out of town guests who will come in for D’s wedding next year.
I love Nashville and the area so much! After your trip I can recommend a realtor!
Thought of this thread when this morning’s Style Blueprint e-mail push out focused on good meals in Nashville. My runs to Nashville these days focus on wedding planning and quick meals, but some of these places would be on my list if I could just go on a “foodie” trip. http://styleblueprint.com/nashville/everyday/last-best-meal-in-nashville/?utm_source=StyleBlueprint&utm_campaign=28290b2714-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b14f54998d-28290b2714-198185717&goal=0_b14f54998d-28290b2714-198185717
The Marriot hotel at the former Union Station is wonderful. It is next to the Frist Museum. Stop in for a drink to see the lovely stained glass windows. I think that they are Tiffany.
Agree about the Marriott Union Station and I love the Frist.
Packer, H and I recently spent a 3 day weekend in Nashville and our favorite part was the Greensleeves Bicycle Tour! We rode very cool $1500 bicycles that were easy to maneuver and pedal and completely folded up! Everyone pointed to us as we rode by. We learned a lot of cool things about Nashville from our guide. Also, LOVED the Pancake Pantry -simply delicious!
My D is meeting up with a male friend from college in Nashville in August. They will just have a few days. Her friend has the nights planned but she asked me for daytime ideas. I suggested Franklin but she felt that if she was going with me that would be great but her friend will not want to walk in and out of cute shops. Plus she doesn’t want to spend a lot of money since the airfare and hotel are already costing her a lot of money.
Looking for lunch spots and daytime activities? They will have a car and are staying near Vanderbilt.