My daughter and her suitemates are traveling to Nashville for spring break in March…I have looked briefly online but I didn’t realize how confusing it was! There seem to be a multitude of areas to stay in, broken into neighborhoods. These are four 21 year old girls who are not heavy drinkers/partiers…but are foodies…
It seems like such a cool, vibrant city but I am overwhelmed when I start to look at hotels, restaurants, things to do, etc.
I know they are doing their research but the resources on here are so incredibly helpful I couldn’t resist asking!
What would be a safe yet central neighborhood? How about not-to-miss things to do, places to eat, places to shop?
Thank you so much in advance! They will be there Saturday-Thursday, including travel…
I go to Nashville for business a few times each year. I like to stay in the area close to Vanderbilt University. There’s a very nice Embassy Suites there, and you can walk to the Vanderbilt campus, and to some good restaurants.
That’s my favorite, most walkable area to stay in. If you want a more upscale hotel in the same area, The Hutton is wonderful. Nashville is kind of spread out, and I have taken cabs out for dinner but you might be happier with your own car-it’s not a hard city to drive in at all, it feels like a big suburb. If you are foodies, try Husk, which is wonderful. If you do end up staying in the Vanderbilt area, you can walk to the Pancake Pantry, which is kind of touristy but good. And also touristy but good is Puckett’s - they have live music and the food is great. The other area with a lot of hotels is downtown-closer to the Ryman and the arena and conference center. There’s a lot there on paper, but I find it very unappealing as far as walking around. If you do stay in that area, I recommed the Renaissance. Just a few blocks away is an area called the District with a lot of big bars and nightlife-not my scene, but it is lively and fun, and if they are 21, they might enjoy having the option close by.
We liked our stay at the Loewes across from Vandy. I was surprised to find that some other accommodations- Hampton Inn, for example- allow smoking. Yuck! We ate at Pancake Pantry too, and also Noshville.
We also like to stay near Vanderbilt. We stay at The Hutton or the Loews but those are probably too expensive for college kids. It is quick/cheap to Uber into the downtown if they want to party. You can walk to the Parthenon. There are places to eat. They are probably too young to rent a car so they should plan to spend some money getting around. Nashville is a city where things are pretty spread out so without a car they will need to take Uber/Lyft or taxis. We use Uber when we visit. Our son likes Lyft.
I agree with the previous person about staying downtown. It is fun to go downtown but I wouldn’t want to stay there.
If they are doing an airbnb- downtown, the Gulch, midtown/Vanderbilt/Belmont, Germantown or East Nashville could all be fun areas. Uber and Lyft are widely available. Pancake Pantry is in the Hillsboro/Vanderbilt area; Hattie B’s Hot chicken is popular; Marathon motor works has a distillery, and a winery both of which offer tastings. East Nashville has lots of funky restaurants (Pharmacy, Wild Cow, Rosepepper, Edleys) coffee shops (Ugly Mugs, Sip), and some bars (Filling station.) Check out the Nashville Guru dot com website.
For a visit to Vanderbilt, my son and I stayed at the Hampton Inn on Elliston Place. The rooms were what you would expect for that kind of hotel. The area was safe and walkable, and we didn’t notice any smoky smell - thank goodness, as I am very sensitive to it. There are certainly nicer hotels in that area just north, and some nicer ones in the area on the east side of Vanderbilt, if a nicer hotel is what you are looking for.
However, I think if I were going to see Nashville (not just to see Vanderbilt), I would probably try to stay downtown in one of the hotels just south of Broadway. From there, it would be an easy walk to the Ryman Auditorium to see a show, to the honky tonks, and to the Country Music Hall of Fame. It’s also close to the Bridgestone Arena if there’s anything going on there during your daughter’s trip. And although downtown is not within walking distance of the Pancake Pantry, I second the recommendation in previous post to go there for breakfast. But get there early!
I hope your daughter and her friends have a great time!
Your D & her friends might want to investigate the NashTrash tours. D has done them several times and wants me to do one with her sometime, but we never seem to be able to book on short notice. Now is not too early to book that.
I would recommend Pancake Pantry and there is also a coffee shop/sandwich place named Fido in the same neighborhood that is good and gets some celebrity traffic. There are so many good places to eat - The Southern, Burger Up, Pharmacy, Tacquera del Sol on 12 South (near Burger Up) for inexpensive fresh Mexican food, the chicken spots, Marche in East Nashville, and on and on. Lines are frequently long at Pancake Pantry, so my experience has been the later you go in the morning, the better after the crowds have thinned. The exception to that is on Sunday mornings after church.
Nashville is very transportation friendly now with a strong presence of both Uber and Lyft. My D & SIL much prefer Lyft as being cheaper and just as reliable as Uber.
I agree with @wustl93 that downtown can be a great place to stay so that nightlife & downtown attractions are easily walkable. The Ryman is awesome and there is almost always something going on at the Bridgestone Arena. My favorite thing downtown is the Country Music Hall of Fame Studio B tour. You have to pay a little extra and take a little bus to Studio B on Music Row. Belmont College students serve as tour guides and I have raved and raved about that tour since I did that tour about 4 or 5 years back. You can play the same piano that Elvis used to record numerous hits. Our tour guide gave me chills when she dimmed the lights to play some of the famous music recorded there. One of those songs is I Will Always Love You which Dolly Parton wrote for Porter Waggoner when she struck out on her own. Most people think of it as Whitney Houston’s song, but it has made Dolly a very rich woman over the years. Elvis wanted to record that song, but as we were told, he would only record songs he owned and Dolly couldn’t bear to sell the song. The rest is history. Lots of other great stories like that.
OP…you may want to contact @MomofWildChild. I think Nashville is her turf…
I am staying at the Inn at Opryland next month. Like being close to the Grand Ole Opry and Gaylord Opryland and Opry Mills. When I visit the Downtown area, I’m thinking it’s better to travel by a shuttle, Uber, or take a cab. When I first visited Nashville 35 years ago I don’t think there were as many honky tonks on Broadway as there are now. From what I can tell Martins BBQ, Aquarium Restaurant, Hattie B’s, and Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse might be great places to eat. Opryland may be too far away for young girls visiting Nashville.
Any recommendations for fun things to do on Valentine’s Day?
It is my turf, but sometimes it’s harder for someone who lives here to give recommendations, I think I would recommend staying in the Vandy area, our hotel rates - especially downtown- have gotten ridiculous. You might want to look for a VRBO or Airbnb, too. It is a very Uber friendly city as far as getting around to restaurants,
Catching a show at the Rynan is always a good idea. If they have a car, our town of Franklin (south of Nashville) is fantastic and has one of the top Main Streets in the country. Lots of cute shops and cafes. The Gulch area has tons of restaurants and would be walkable from Vandy. The Nash Trash tour is a good idea.
It’s a fun city with SO much to do.
also the Walk Eat Nashville tour would be good for foodies. You can also see on their website what restaurants are part of those tours for ideas as to where to eat.
I second Nashtrash Tours. It’s basically a comedy show on wheels. I went with college friends when we were in Nashville (although we are older) and had a blast. Just beware that some of the humor is a bit crude so if that bothers them maybe not.
Ds2 went to Nashville last year on spring break with a bunch of college friends. They had access to a car so it didn’t matter where they stayed. They ended up getting an AirBnB in East Nashville. He liked it and felt it was plenty safe though it wasn’t an area he thought was good for walking around. East Nashville is gentrifying, and one block can be cool and hip and safe and another a little sketch.
Ds was there in part for an internship interview, which he got, so was there last summer, too. He had another group of college friends come in, and they did a bunch of stuff already mentioned. In addition to all the tours they did one of those awful peddle taverns. 
Another free thing is to go to Margaritaville on Friday afternoon for SiriusXM’s Music Row Happy Hour. That’s mainly for those who are country music fans, but they can try to get on the air. They did the Pancake Pantry, went to Acme Feed and other stuff that I can’t remember. Ds spent a lot of time in the Green Hills area, which is close to where a friend there lived.
When I went there last spring, I stayed downtown at the super-convenient Omni and Ubered to places or walked. I loved being so close to the action. Ds is hoping to move there after graduation, and it’s a place I’d love to visit over and over again.
D and BF were there for wedding and went for airbnb. They wanted cheap so found a nice place but in suburbs. They had a car so fine. They were some nice looking ones more central
I got this post about new Nashville restaurants this morning and immediately noticed the first one on the list, The Grilled Cheeserie. I’ve eaten at their food truck and I’m excited to know they now have a permanent location I can visit on my Nashville trips. http://styleblueprint.com/nashville/everyday/new-restaurants-in-nashville/?utm_source=daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=privy&utm_content=nashville
The Grilled Cheeserie is a don’t miss, for sure!
@MomofWildChild One of these days I’m going to make it to Franklin. Every time you talk about it, it makes me want to visit!
D & I did the Franklin Tour of Homes a few summers back and we really enjoyed that. It is a charming place:)
Wow! Thanks for all the good ideas! I’m going to book the NashTrash tour as my gift…I think they’ll love it! And those restaurants make me want to go to Nashville!
Just booked the NashTrash tour for the 5 girls! They are very excited!