Nashville
Nashville holds a very special place in my heart. I have been here on three different occasions and this city is one of my favorite places to visit. If you love country music, good food, and good times then add this to your travel list. This post will cover things to do, places to see, restaurants to visit, and some of my favorite memories.
Broadway
Okay, I am sure everyone who has been to Nashville has been to Broadway for a great night out. A lot of my nights became early mornings on this street.
Both sides of the street are lined with bars, each bar is typically 2-3 stories and each floor has a different band or DJ playing. Not to mention, they DON'T have cover charges. That means you can move from place to place depending on what type of vibe you are looking for. Don't like the band? Just move on... But if you do then make sure to tip the band!
Some of my favorites include: Aldeans, Luke Bryan’s, Blake Shelton’s, John Rich’s, Underground, Flamingo Cocktail Club, FGL house, tootsies, honkytonk, Crazy Town.
Always wear the costumes and always make sure you have a great time!
One of my favorite places to stop at least once while on Broadway is called ACME feed and seed. They have an amazing frose which I always find on the first floor. They have three floors. The first one you can order my favorite frose and also bbq type food. The second floor, you can order sushi, and the third floor is a rooftop bar with a great view.
Yes, I make this stop every time!! And yes, I celebrated my bachelorette weekend in this amazing city!
GRUB
Let's talk food since were downtown... I will admit, we are usually so excited to get to the live music we tend to not spend too much time finding fancy dinner spots. However, a great find is this Mexican restaurant on a side street right as your coming into the bars of Broadway. It's called Pancho and Lefty's. I am not kidding that they have amazing tacos, guacamole, and margaritas! Also, its very affordable and the service is awesome! If you get there before the rush you can get your pick of balcony seating over looking the city with a great view!
Another great place to stop for lunch or dinner honestly is a bbq joint literally on Broadway. We walked by it a few times thinking how good it smelled but didn't go in until our last day. This place is called Jack's Bar-B-Que and it was amazing!
Let's say you were out all night and now your needing breakfast. Well, The Diner is open 24/7 for all your needs! (This may be different since COVID but I'm sure things will go back to normal eventually)
There are many many many more restaurants downtown to try out but these are some of the memorable ones so far for me.
Midtown
This is just a scooter ride away from Broadway and holds a couple of my favorite bars. They are called Winners and Losers and they are right next door to each other. Winners has a fun thing called Whiskey Jam on Mondays and Thursdays where up and coming artists come to play their own music. This was my first time experiencing Ranch Water and I am definitely sold!
When your in Midtown check out some of the restaurants right there. There is one called The Slider House . When I ate there you got to choose from a huge menu of different sliders so if you are someone like me and can never decide what to eat its perfect! Also, there happened to be a live band in there while we were eating.
Another fun restaurant we visited in Midtown was called Flatiron. The food was delicious and it had a classic upscale vibe that was relaxing with great service.
Classy Bars
Okay, if you are like me, sometimes you get tired of the average drinks downtown and want a specialty cocktail. If so, I highly recommend checking out The Graduate. It's a hotel that has a fancy restaurant and bar inside called The White Limousine. We tried to book reservations online weeks ahead of time and there were never any availability! Well, we ended up checking out the hotel, which was super unique and fun inside.
They had a secret bar that we ended up finding that was not open at the time so we got to check it out. Also, they had a fun coffee shop inside with an area full of books and couches to hang out at. After we checked out the hotel we tried to make our way up to the White Limousine so we could at least just ask if they had any openings for a cocktail. Well, the main elevators don't let you up to the floor unless you have a room key. We were persistent and tried every elevator and the last one had a button for it! Once, we got upstairs we asked the hostess if there was any possibility for us to just have a cocktail and lucky for us there was room at the bar!! We enjoyed amazing cocktails and a great ambiance while we enjoyed the rest of our evening.
There are sooo many more of these hidden gems and I hope to find another one every time I go back!
A bar that I have looked up numerous times but have always ran out of time or haven't been close by is called Old Glory. It is an old boiler room that got transformed into a bar. It looks amazing and I definitely will check it out one of these times.
Another restaurant hotel combo I really want to check out is called Thompson Hotel. When we were walking around The Gulch area of Nashville after breakfast one morning we walked inside and I loved the feeling with the design and got a good impression of their food menu!
Breakfast
Yes, breakfast needs its own category, because let's face it, its what I live for!
One of my all time favorites is called Sinema. I went here for my bachelorette trip and this was pre-COVID. It has unlimited mimosas and blood Marys as well as options to choose off the menu or a buffet. It is such a unique design inside since its an old movie theatre turned into a restaurant. Since COVID they have changed the buffet status but still have an all you can eat menu that you choose from. The food was still great but it was a completely different experience.
Another breakfast spot I checked out on a different trip was called Frothy Monkey. It's definitely an modern and energetic coffee shop feeling. I ordered my coffee and breakfast and headed upstairs and grabbed a table near the window so I could people watch while enjoying my breakfast.
I am obsessed with coffee, literally have to have it everyday because I LOVE the taste of coffee. So when we were walking near the gulch (an area of town full of shops and restaurants) I spotted this placed called Milk & Honey. They had a restaurant that was very popular and a coffee bar. We had already eaten so we grabbed a coffee and I looked at everyones plate. I definitely will stop in for a meal next time!
Activities
Well, when your are not eating, drinking, or listening to live music you can still find plenty to do!
Pedal Tavern This was a fun activity I did on my bachelorette and when I attended a bachelorette party and its a great way to get out and see Nashville and of course enjoy an afternoon with beverages and fun stops with your friends!
General Jackson (Dinner and Show) then floats downtown for view of Broadway and Cumberland River.
Whiskey Jam is at Winners in Midtown where artists come to debut their own music.
The Gulch, this is an area of Nashville with shops and food that are walking distance from downtown or take a scooter! Check out Milk & Honey that I mentioned earlier in the blog or head over to Burger Republic for some food and spiked milkshakes! Here is a great website that has more information on what to do when in the gluch.
Nashville kayak tour
See a show at the Grand ole Oprey
Where to Stay
Each time I have gone to Nashville we have had different accommodations. My first time, we stayed near Gaylord Opryland. The hotel had a kitchen and living room and was very comfortable. However, it was about 30 min uber drive to downtown.
The second time I went we rented and Airbnb that was about 10 minutes from downtown. This was reasonable and was a safe neighborhood.
The third time I went we only had 4 people so we decided to all stay in one hotel room. We stayed at Cambria hotel which was a great location that allowed us to walk to Broadway. They had a pool which was a great way to spend some downtown. This saved a lot of money of Ubers and we were able to rent scooters or walk during the day when we wanted to check out other places.
There are sooo many accommodations all depending on the size of your group and your budget.
Just book the trip!
I have had such great memories and experiences in this music city! I have only scratched the surface on all the endless adventures this city has to offer and I plan to explore even more of Tennessee on my next trip back! If you have had any other must see experiences please message me because I would love to add it to my list of must-do's!
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