Now I remember why I considered living in Nashville. The vibe is just right. It reminds me of Athens, but on steroids. Or better yet, if Athens, GA and Atlanta, GA had an energetic baby it’ll be Nashville, Tennessee. So without further ado, here we go!
What To Pack For Your Trip to Nashville, TN:
We are so crazy. We decided to pull up in Nashville in early January, knowing dang on well, that it gets cold there and it SNOWS. We thankfully escaped the snow, but the cold snuck upon us. This time, I was semi-prepared for the weather. I packed:
- 1 travel outfit – consisted of a basic pair of joggers, a basic crop tee, Tevas and a raincoat (so that I could stay dry — it was raining in ATL when we left, and then it was raining + sleeting in Nashville!)
- 2 “day out” outfits – consisted of jeans, plaid pants, a flannel and 2 solid colored shirts (one cropped long sleeve and a screen tee) that could easily pair with anything. Plus my raincoat became my main coat because it was freezing and I forgot my winter coat!
- 1 “turn up” outfit – Look I included a pink jumpsuit that was super cute, but friends, it was 30-40 degrees in Nashville, so I went on Broadway looking very cozy. With jeans, a long sleeve, and my raincoat. LOL.
- The Nitty Gritty items – included the usual – undies, socks, a set of pajamas, toothpaste, toothbrush, makeup (that I didn’t use. LOL), and other personal toiletries. The hotel had soap, towels, and lotion, but if you’ve booked an Airbnb, make sure to bring that stuff.
How to Get To Nashville TN:
Atlanta is about a 3.5 – 4-hour drive to Nashville. Rent a car or drive your own for a quick road trip! If your car is good on gas, you’ll only need to fill up about 2-3 times.
Where to Stay in Nashville, TN:
This time around, Jeremy let his boujee-ness take over. We opted to stay in a hotel. In all honesty, the hotel and Airbnbs do cost about the same amount, so if you can swing a deal on a hotel, go ahead and book it.
We chose to stay in The Holiday Inn that was located in Midtown, which was right around the corner from Vanderbilt University, and down the street from Broadway. Broadway was about a 5 to 10-minute drive up the road.
How to Get Around Nashville, TN:
We (Jeremy) drove everywhere. But, we could have opted to not drive. Our hotel offered a shuttle, that ran for most of the day. Ubers and Lyfts from Midtown to Downtown were also extremely cheap. A shared Uber / Lyft was about $6 dollars.
The Official Nashville, TN Food & Drink Tour:
Once again, Jeremy and I put the local hype to the ultimate test during our trip. This time, we took our adventure to the next level. We downloaded a ton of social apps and asked locals what their favorite things to eat, see and do in the city were. Based on their feedback, we curated a list of food featuring Hot Chicken, BBQ, and Brunch.
You can view a list of places that we visited on my “Nashville, Tennessee Food, Drink, & Sights Tour“ Yelp page. A few of the spots on the list fell way below our expectations, but I included them so that you could try it out for yourself. Here were the ones that I would possibly revisit:
- Martin’s BBQ – The BBQ is just aight, but the vibe is just right at the main downtown location. I absolutely love the ping pong section, outdoor patio, live music stage and the entire chill, college bar hangout vibrations that this place radiates.
- Mas Tacos – The tacos here are on the more authentic side of things. Don’t believe me, just ask Pablo. This man ordered what looked like 10 tacos. I am not joking. The sweet plantains are on point too.
- The Pharmacy – We have a theory that this place was named in order to entice drunk people who want to avoid hangovers (apparently greasy foods helps with this.) Anyway, if greasy foods, burgers, and fries are your thing, try out this spot.
- Biscuit Love – Super hyped up by the locals and tourists alike. Probably because of it’s proximity to the famous “Nashville Wings Mural.” We actually went to the other location in Hillsborough, but I’m assuming it’s all the same. It’s actually not that bad, but make sure you ask for jelly and hot sauce. The meal that I had couldn’t stand on its own and needed some kind of sauce to complement it.
- Ole Glory – A speakeasy – inspired night club. The night we went, they were playing older hip-hop songs, and the crowd was light but lively. This one came recommended by one of my new friends [thanks for the drink! ;)], and I’m glad I got the chance to chat in such a lively environment.
- Ole Smoky Distillery / Yee-Haw Brewing Co. – We actually stumbled upon this place, because we wanted to try Prince’s Hot Chicken. You can skip the chicken (and go to somewhere like Zaxbys instead), but definitely check out the distillery and all of its fun little quirks. It has fun outdoor games, huge screens for viewing parties, a bar, and many other food options. You can even try some of the moonshines that they have if that’s your thing (if you’re nervous to try it don’t be. It literally just tastes like a strong fruity cocktail. lol).
Notable Sights & Instagramable Stops in Nashville, TN:
During our trip, we kind of knew where we wanted to go, but our laziness got the best of us. Nonetheless, we still managed to use our 3 days wisely, and we did see most of the tourist attractions. Of course, this included live music stops and lots of murals. Check out our mini-tour maps, day schedule, as well as my descriptions of the stops. Use them if you’re headed to Nashville and need a bit of guidance.
Friday: Y’all we arrived early afternoon. So we relaxed for a bit, had dinner, and then hit the town (aka Broadway). I’m so glad that we did because I think I might have found my newest favorite artist, as well as got to experience the craziness of a Friday night on Broadway. Here were our Friday stops:
- Martin’s BBQ: Adding this because of the upstairs patio, and live music stage! It really does have a cool vibe, so even if you don’t want to eat here, you should still stop by.
- Honky Tonk Central: A must stop. Just do a quick walkthrough. They have 3 floors, and I’m pretty sure they have live music every day. At least, they did Friday – Sunday. It’s more of a bar feel, so if you’re looking for hillbillies you won’t really find them here.
- Explore Broadway: Honestly, most of the places we went to on Friday night didn’t really stand out to me. Once you find FREE parking (all the meters down there shut off around 7 or 8), get out and just walk Broadway. Pop in and out of bars to find one that fits your vibe.
- The George Jones: LIVE. MUSIC. That’s all I have to say. The night we went, they had my new favorite artist, Cassidy Daniels, playing. We actually ended our night here and decided to watch her perform for the rest of the night.
Saturday: We couldn’t even make it out of the bed at a decent time. We’re getting old af…. Nonetheless, I was determined to get us out. The map below features what should have gone down on Saturday. LOL ask me how many areas we actually got to…
- Grand Ole Opry: This one is kind of far off from the main downtown area. The night that we went there, there wasn’t much of a crowd, and it was closed. But we still got our photo ops! We got some pretty cool shots too because of the lack of crowd.
- Capitol: The parking situation was a little rough, so we just snapped a pic of the back of the capitol building. Honestly, that was good enough for us.
- 21 C Museum: This place is interesting. It’s a hotel, but it’s also an art museum. We had the intention of doing this FREE art crawl, and this was the starting location. We ended up spending like 2 hours here, and not going to any other museums. The art was nice, but I honestly just used this time, to rest and catch up with one of my friends (hey Nykki!).
- Ole Glory: Thoughts about this place is mentioned above in the food section! It’s definitely cute, and I love a good speakeasy, but if it’s not poppin’ it’ll be a wasted trip since it’s closer to Music Row.
- Back to Broadway: Explore broadway a little more if you’re up for it! If not, just head on home.
Sunday: LOL ok by Sunday I was honestly so done with us. We barely did ANYTHING. But, we got ‘er done. We left the hotel around 11AM and had a goal to leave Nashville around 7PM-ish. This map was our foundation for Sunday but we honestly deviated a lot from it. We added areas that we missed on Saturday to our Sunday list, and it all worked out. Our jam-packed day featured:
Midtown; Melrose; and then Green Hills. Here’s the link in case you’d like to use it as a foundation.
- The Parthenon & Centennial Park: We kind of did a once over of the park, and focused more time on walking around and exploring The Parthenon. The verdict: We came, we saw, and we went to our next location. LOL
- Famous Nashville Murals: If you want to curate your own mural tour, use this website, it helped us out! There are literally murals everywhere, and we definitely missed a bunch, but we saw the most important ones. The ones that we stopped by included:
- [Hillsboro Village]: Dragon Mural; Drippy Lips Mural
- [The Gulch]: #WhatLiftsYou Nashville Wings Mural
- [8th Avenue]: Gibson Guitar Mural
- [12th Avenue]: Draper James wall; Looking Pretty, Music City Mural; I Believe In Nashville
- Thrift & Antique Shops: There are a ton. Here’s a list that someone gave us in case thrifting is your thing. If you want to hear a random live concert in an antique store, definitely check out Fanny’s House of Music. The staff is cool, AND it’s cute too.
- Ole Smoky Distillery / Yee-Haw Brewing Co.: Thoughts mentioned above in the food section! I will say that this is a must-stop if you feel the need to take a break from the hustle and bustle of sight-seeing.
- Pedestrian Bridge: We found a legit parking spot near this general area. So we actually saw this thing the whole weekend. BUT we didn’t actually walk it until Sunday night. It’s cute for scenery and Insta pics, but you don’t have to spend too much time on there.
- GooGoo Shop: Yall it’s a cute little candy shop but you don’t have to make this stop if you don’t want to. And if you’ve never tried these candies, they kind of taste like extra sweet Snickers bars.
Other Nashville, TN Suggestions:
Honestly, the locals are extremely sweet. I took screenshots of a lot of things they recommended. You can sift through the suggestions and build your trip off of the things they’ve suggested. I also used Lonely Planet, and a bunch of people suggested browsing Visit Music City.
Nashville, TN Weekend Budget / Total Spent:
I spent a whopping, $250 for 3 days in Nashville, TN! Which is very cheap. The most expensive thing was the hotel. Everything else, like food and gas, were manageable. Even with eating 3 meals a day, you can get by.
A tip for parking though. It is absolute trash, and you have to be extremely creative when it comes to parking. I mean the people in Nashville create free parking spots everywhere. We quickly took note, and only really paid for it at the hotel. Everywhere else we found free street parking. The meters in Nashville are monitored Monday – Saturday, from around 8A – 6P/7P/8P. The ending time depends on which side of town you’re on. Any other day and time outside of the monitored times are completely FREE.
When Am I Going Back to Nashville, TN?
The live music is a 10 out of 10 for someone like me who likes all different types of music, cheap/free concerts, and new talent. And Nashville is definitely crawling with all of that. Seriously everyone is a performer. I mean, we walked into an antique guitar shop and one of the staff members was holding a mini-concert in the shop for crying out loud.
So if you’re into that you’ll love this city. It also seems like there’s always something to do, or something going on, so for that, it gets an “A” in my travel grade book. While I love the vibe, I could see how the Nashville grind could become overwhelming or tiring, so living in Nashville is no longer on the table for me. I will, however, make my way back for a visit someday, but not anytime soon!