3 DAY NASHVILLE GUIDE
Nashville was our first stop on the Blues Highway road trip. If you have not heard of this route before - I beg you to look into it if heading to Nashville. It can take you right though Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana, giving you an incredible feel of the Mississippi Delta - from small towns to big cities.
We had 3 days in Nashville - which meant packing a lot in. If like us, you did not have long there but want to get a really good overview of all that Nashville has to offer then see our plan below.
We stayed at the Comfort Inn Downtown Nashville - Music Row. It had a pool, really lovely staff, nice clean rooms and was a short walk (15-20mins ) into the main strip and Broadway. It can recommend it for those on a little bit of a budget - it is 3 star - clean and modern ( and has a good snack range in reception - very important )
DAY 1 - Downtown & Broadway
Head to Broadway to discover all of the bars and shops. The bars have live music on all day - and you can pop in and out as many as you like. We would walk past and if we liked the band we heard playing, we headed on it Make sure to tip the band if you can ! It really is one of the happiest cities I have ever been to. Everyone is super friendly and in very good spirits
Shops worth visiting - Garage Sale Vintage, Legends Gift Shop, Swaggie Records
To Eat - Hattie B's hot chicken. There will be a queue - it goes down quite quick and you cant visit Nashville and not try the hot chicken and greens
Sun Diner - a Sun records theme diner
Roberts Western World does a Recession Special, which is lunch and a beer for $6. A nice pick me up when you sample all the bars!
To Do - Johnny Cash Museum. Open every day from 9am - 7pm. You can buy tickets online if you prefer and they do not have to be for a certain time or date.
Head to River View at the end of Broadway for a nice view point of the bridge over the river.
Random activity but was mentioned a lot when we were researching - for the nicest most aesthetic toilets in Nashville head to the Hermitage hotel . These art deco toilets are truely stunning I have to say. Once you enter the hotel turn to the right and go down the stairs.
Bars to visit - You will see them as they are all next to each other in the same block but honourable mention to Kid Rocks Bar, Nudies Honky Tonk, Jacks BBQ and Ole Red.
Once you have explored Broadway head up to Printers Alley for even more bars !
Ryman Theatre - we went to watch a show at the Ryan Theatre in the evening. A) because its a historic music venue and B) because Ringo Starr was playing. If you can go here than I would 100% recommend that you do. Make sure you get in the queue early to grab a limited edition Hatch Show Print . They only make a small amount per show!
DAY 2 - South Broadway and Music Row
Today was the RCA Studio Tour, Country Music Hall of Fame and Hatch Show Print tour day. You can buy 1 ticket that covers all 3 activities including your travel to RCA and we found that to be the best option. RCA was our highlight but we loved the Hatch show print far more than we thought and would really recommend anyone to do it. It gives an overview of the prints that have been made for everyone from electoral candidates to Elvis - and then you can make your own print to take away. Everyone makes the same print but.
.. its still cool to see how to do it !
After the tours head to the Walk of Fame Park and then to the Goo Goo Shop - because getting chocolate from Nashville is 100% a tourist attraction to me
We then wanted to explore Music Row more - where RCA was. Although there is not a lot to see here - it was nice to wander around area so linked to past and current music. We walked down Music Square West, passing buildings such as the Quonset Hut and Starstruck Entertainment. Check out the Musica Sculpture and an incredible shop called Any Old Iron.
If you want an ice cream sandwich & I know you do now - The Baked Bear is the place for you.
The finish the day with drinks at The White Limozeen - a Dolly Parton inspired rooftop bar with beautiful views across Nashville. Stunning interiors but without being pretentious. Win Win.
DAY 3 - The Gulch and 12 South
A day of exploring neighbourhoods, cute cafes and some shopping is ahead.
Head to the Gulch; which if you stay in the same hotel as us is right around the corner. A nice neighbourhood to wander around to see a slightly slower Nashville.
Places to visit -
The Gibson Garage - if you are a music or guitar fan - this will already be on your radar.
- Barista Parlour for coffee as you wander around
- Third Man Records which is owned by Jack White and just a really cool shop
- Carter Vintage Guitars - again for any musicians amongst you
- L.A Jacksons - which has an amazing rooftop
12 South
12 South will be the Nashville you see on Instagram and Tik Tok. Murals, vintage shops, coffee shops and doughnuts a plenty . Its a single street you can walk down to find all these things and you can easy fill a couple of hours here !
- Start at Savant Vintage and walk down 12th Ave South
- Make sure to visit 5 Daughters Bakery !
- Find the Nashville Looks Good on You mural
- Planet Cowboy was our favourite shop on the street so make sure to visit
Other activities to mention
We did not get time to do the below but maybe you will !
- Cooters Place. Operated by Ben Jones who played the Duke Boy's sidekick at this tribute to Dukes of Hazzard
- Blue bird Cafe. We heard a lot of good things about this but we went to the Ryman instead. However make sure to check out the live nights here