My first recommendation would be to either get a hotel room downtown or splurge for the Opryland Hotel. But let's be realistic here, so get a hotel downtown. Reason being there's a lot going on downtown and who really wants to pay ridiculous sums of money for parking? And it will be easier to get to the live music shows on Broadway.
In Nashville our first stop was the Cracker Barrel. I'm not going to say I'm in love with their food, because we ate there three different times and it was a few hits and a few misses. Their prices however are pretty good and the serving sizes are more than generous. What not to order, chicken and dumplings, unless Tyler takes you home and his mom makes you some. And also don't order the Buttermilk Chicken. Stay away from the green beans unless lard is your best friend. Things that you could order fried chicken (gravy on the side), cucumber salad, biscuits, coca-cola cake, rice pilaf, apples, sweet tea (a must their's is pretty great), and I think the steak was okay too. Hopefully Tyler is your waiter and if he tell him I say hi.
We took a few drives around town and that was oh so fun. Not a single house has a fence, yards go on forever, all the houses are made of brick, fireflies are everywhere and such a sight to see. If you are trying to find a grocery store it can be difficult, so look up a Kroger.
I think it's a must to spend an afternoon checking out Broadway and picking up a few knick-knacks. Also listen to the live music, they are absolutely amazing. We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, it was good and clean which was nice. We also ate at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville (I wasn't a big fan but the fries tasted good, beware of the veggie burger it's a no go). While there the Johnny Cash Museum is a must see so take the tour and shop a bit, I loved it. The Museum was very high-tech and modern and definitely put me at ease. Beware of all the boots stores rumor has it they are all made in China and most of them are rip-offs. Though I do believe the three story boot store we found was a legit boot shop, not like a remember the name at all.
I do not believe it is necessary to tour the Country Music Hall of Fame or RCA Studio B. Neither of those tours were interesting and they were a BIG waste of money and time, so definitely skip that.
We went to the factory store mall, and that was fine and just like any other mall. But skip all the chain restaurants we found them to be dirty and go to Chuy's. I loved it there! And the food was goooood.
I'm not sure if you're interested in touring but we weren't so there are a bunch of tours we decided not to go on and I believe that was the best decision we could have made.
Out in Hillsboro, it was really clean and urban. So it's fun to go check out what is over there. Including the Bluebird Cafe, where the food isn't great but the music is. So just go for appetizers or drinks or whatever.
There is a good college scene over by Belmont and Vanderbilt, with cool local shops and restaurants. And I thought it was definitely worth checking out. Cool places to explore.
We didn't spend much time in the Gulch because it didn't seem like there was much there, but I still think it's worth checking out.
A show at the Grand Ole Opry is a must!!! So different than any show you've been to before. No matter how famous the singers are that evening, go anyways. Also it's best to get seats close it was easier to enjoy that way. But you can't skip this whatsoever.
We went over to Hendersonville and didn't find all that much, partially because I was sleeping. But it was very suburban, we ate at this good sandwich shop, and saw Taylor Swift's middle school. So why not check it out?
We spent an afternoon in Franklin which was one of my favorite stops. Very antique and small and it's pretty great. I recommend going on Saturday when there are more vistors out and about. Great small clothing shops and food places. We ate at Puckett's which is a must eat, I really liked it there. But I also recommend the Mushroom pizza place it smelled better than any pizza you've ever smelled. Seriously this town was so cute I could not get enough, and we found some great little gifts.
Check out the Opryland hotel, possibly in the evening. There was so much going on in there, it was just fun to watch it all.
Willie Nelson's general store is not a must see.
Hatch Show and Print was awesome, I wanted my own poster made. I say it's a must to do something like that!
And I really mean it when I say don't do any tours, seriously never ever worth it. I tried to tell my family.
It's fun to check out centennial park, and to see the outside of the Parthenon, no need to pay to go inside.
Check out 12South and The District.
Walk around Music Row.
Places I wish we would have visited:
- At least check out the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens
- Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream
- Loveless Cafe
- The Wildhorse Saloon
- Drive two hours to the National Park the Smokey Mountains
- Or drive two hours to Memphis
There are a lot of things in Nashville that are not necessary to do or see. But live music is what this city is all about. So go check it out hear some amazing voices, and enjoy the music. No matter your preference for genres of music. It isn't all country music, there is so much diversity in Nashville. That was one of the things we noticed most, here in our smallish town there isn't much diversity but in Nashville there are all types of people trying to live their lives and live out their dreams. It's a city for dreamers and that is what I loved most about it.
