Nashville
Day One: West End of Broadway
- Arrived in Early afternoon and checked into Airbnb in 12 South area. Recommend 12 South because you can walk to some good restaurants and shops.
- 4:00PM. Lyft to Broadway - might as well jump right into it, crowded sidewalks with street entertainers, multiple bachelorette partiers, and high energy. Below I put together recommendations for places to go on west end, east end later. Too big to tackle in one or even several nights.
- Tip: Highly recommend watching the Ken Burns documentary Country Music prior to visiting Nashville. The history is interesting even if you are not a country music fan. The foundation of country music popularity is the Grand Ole Opry weekly radio show out of Nashville.
- 4:00-5:00PM. Roberts Western World (416 Broadway). First floor is where the traditional country music and the history is with 2nd and 3rd floor blending in more rock. See more about the history of this place in description below (again watch the documentary).
- 5:00-6:00PM. Tootsies Orchid Lounge (422 Broadway). Almost next door to Roberts and same history. Funnest rooftop bar overlooking Broadway.
- 6:00 - 7:30PM. Rippy's Honky Tonk (429 Broadway). We have been to Nashville several times, we always end up on the second floor of Rippy's, it is usually rowdy with people dancing to a mix of country and rock covers. Wonder if the bands ever lose enthusiasm for playing Low Places. We always eat here as well, good BBQ and you can get a local IPA.
- 7:30PM+. Nudie's Honky Tonk (409 Broadway). This is where we've heard covers of Classic Rock and 90's Alternative, think Zeppelin and AC/DC to Pearl Jam and Nirvana.
Day two: Bikes, Breweries, 5 Points and Printers Alley
- 8:30-9:30AM. Frothy Monkey (1700 S 9th) in 12 South.
- 10:00-12:30AM. Guided Bike Tour (934 Jefferson St). Great way to see Downtown and surrounding neighborhoods with interesting back stories in only 2.5 hours.
- 1:00-1:45PM. FIve Points Pizza (1012 Woodland) NY style, you can get whole pizzas or by the slice, try the Garlic Knots.
- 2:00-5:00PM. Shopping and Breweries in 5 Points. Vintage/Consignments: Hip Zipper (1008 Forrest), Anaconda Vintage (1062 E Trinity LN #101), Star Struck Vintage (604 Gallatin Ave Unit 109), Goodbuy Girls (1108 Woodland St Unit E), Black Shag Vintage (1220 Gallatin Ave). Breweries we went to, both Great: Crazy Gnome (948 Main St) has wonderful tasting beers and an eccentric diverse local crowd, Smith & Lentz (903 Main St) is a fantastic day drinking spot with pilsners, Helles Lager, and Kolshes. Also has good pizza. Big outdoor space with picnic tables.
- 5:30-6:30PM. Back to 12 South Airbnb to regroup.
- 7:00-8:30PM. Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar (220 Printers Alley). Gumbo and live music, nough said.
- 8:30PM+. Skull's Rainbow Room (222 Printer's Alley) This is a step back in time, a speak easy feel with live Jazz and upscale menu.
- Tip: Printer's Alley has several places to check out, like Broadway, you could spend more than one night here.
Day Three: Bus tour and head for home
- 9:00-10:00AM. Five Daughters (1110 Caruthers) in 12 South. Perhaps the world's best doughnuts, see more below.
- 10:00-11:30AM. Shopping in 12 South. Tons of shops up and down 12th Ave South. There is a Draper James (founded by Reese Witherspoon) and the famous I believe in Nashville mural.
- 11:30-12:30PM. Bartaco (2526 12th Ave S). Large selection of tacos.
- 12:30-1:30PM. Filing Station (118 Halcyon). Great little tap room with small patio in front. 24 taps, great variety. Mostly local.
- 2:00-4:00PM. Nashville Redneck Tour (2408 Music Valley Drive). Holy Crap, this was very entertaining, our guide was a former WWE wrestler wtih a big personality. Covered much of the history and key locations in Nashville.
- Option: Mural Art Tour of Nashville. Next time for sure.
- 4:00-6:00PM. The Gulch. Shopping and Breweries. Like 12 South, tons of shops including an Uncommon James. Several breweries, really liked New Heights. There is a fun taproom called Hops and Craft.
- Options: Johnny Cash Museum.
- 6:00-7:00PM. Kid Rock's Big Ass Rock and Roll Steakhouse (221 Broadway).
- 7:00-8:00PM. Dinner, take your pick, Kid Rock's, Jason Aldean's Kitchen + Rooftop Bar, Redneck Riviera BBQ & Bar for dinner with live music. Acme Seed and Feed also has live music but feels more like a restaurant first and bar/live music second. Another popular spot off of Broadway is Pinewood Social, large menu with reasonable prices, bowling, and outdoor space.
- 8:00PM+. Pick your favorite spot(s) and last as long as you can.
More tips for nashville visit
- More Suggestions, maybe take several 3dayvacations: To be honest, I've been to Nashville about five times and spend most of the time on Broadway, we started to expand to Printers Alley and Five Points, there is much more to Nashville.
- See a show in the Ryman, Go to the Grand Ole Opry. Want to do the Mural Tour. People say there are Honky Tonks off Broadway we should go to. Maybe a trip to Franklin. Need multiple 3dayvacations.
Details & Descriptions
Roberts Western World
Roberts Western World
Roberts Western World
Roberts Western World . Imagine being in a place where the most famous country singers in history played, drank before and after Grand Ole Opry performances at Ryman theatre which is conveniently located right out the back door. Check out the Alley in back. 2nd and 3rd floors have more of a mix of Country and Classic Rock.
Guided Bike tour
Roberts Western World
Roberts Western World
Guided Bicycle Tour of Downtown Nashville and Neighborhoods covered the sites and history of downtown, germantown, and the Gulch to name a few. We also stopped by Bearded Iris, home to perhaps TN's best IPA.
Five daughters
Roberts Western World
The Filing Station
FIve Daughters is home of my favorite doughnuts (like Ess-a-Bagel in NY, John's Pizza in NY and Pizzaria Regina in Boston,,,, world class, the only downside is waiting). 100 Layer doughnuts are awesome.
The Filing Station
The Filing Station
The Filing Station
acme seed and feed
The Filing Station
acme seed and feed
Acme Feed and Seed has good food at reasonable prices in a fun atmosphere, cleaner and not as loud as other places on Broadway. We ate on the Rooftop with a view of the Cumberland River