Quick Trip to Nashville - Ideas? Where to Stay?

[Erica Ladd]

DH and I are going to go on a quick trip and we have never been to Nashville. We will have all day Saturday and Sunday and no car. Where’s a good place to stay to get to things easily? How about an itinerary with a mix of things to see/do/eat drink? I’d love some ideas…

 

[GBRforWDW]

Are you flying in? We stayed at the airport Drury Inn in April for a night before getting a rental car. Their shuttle is free and can use anytime. We got in at 11pm and they had a ride for us in less than 10 minutes. The airport was really clean and in good shape, my wife and kid enjoyed the pool. The breakfast area was small but the continental breakfast was good. I believe they also serve lunch and/or dinner and it might be free, I forget, but my wife loves it.

the airport is undergoing major renovations, so it’s a bit of a hike to the shuttle pickup, but it’s the same area for other pickup and rental car, just be prepared.

there’s lots to see and do in Nashville but it’s really spread out, so not having a car puts you at a disadvantage. First time in Nashville though, it’s always worthwhile to check out The grand Old Opry house. Check out their site for tours:

https://www.opryentertainmentgroup.com/opry/online/default.asp
It’s also right next to the Opry Mills mall so once your tour is done or before it begins, you can grab some food, etc.
This location is also just a short distance from the Drury, about 15 minute drive.

You could also check out Music Row. I’m not as familiar with it, but I believe there are lots of music bars and different recording sites around, maybe research the location if it sounds interesting to you and see what you might want to do. It’s also really close to one of my wife’s favorite spots in Nashville, the Parthenon building. It’s an exact replica of the Greek Parthenon. We just walked the perimeter on our last trip, I think the inside didn’t open until the afternoon.

A unique restaurant near music row that I would recommend is called Biscuit Love. They’re a breakfast place, so they close early. My wife’s cousin is a manager of the Franklin location, so slightly biased, but the food is amazing.



here’s directions from Biscuit Love to Music Row. Centennial park on the far left is where the Parthenon sits. The Parthenon is about 2 miles from Biscuit Love, so you could theoretically take an Uber to one location and walk between. I can’t attest to whether this is safe or not, which is why I say theoretically.

thats about all I have for now. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Erica Ladd]

Thanks! We are flying in but won’t be renting a car. I’m hoping to Uber or taxi to a central location where we can walk some snd Uber more when necessary. Hoping it’s safe!!

 

[mandy200587]

When are you looking at coming? What is your price point?

 

[ms_flo]

For walkability, we like to do VRBO or airbnb downtown. There are a couple of apartment complexes within a few blocks with multiple units available. It is common to see homeless people & LOTS of drunk people in the area, but I've never felt unsafe -- a little wary a couple of times, but never actually in danger. But we mostly go during the SEC basketball tournament which is a major event, so I may be accustomed to a higher level of security personnel & police than during "normal" times. If you're a light sleeper, be forewarned that the downtown area can be quite loud at most any time of the day or night.

I can't think about Nashville without thinking of Lower Broadway. Of course there's a wide selection of honky tonks, but there's other stuff too. The Downtown Sporting Club was a ton of fun in 2020 - live music, food & drinks, a rooftop bar, shuffleboard tables, axe throwing, an AMAZING high-end restaurant. Apparently the pandemic took its toll on them though. When we were there in 2021, the axe throwing wasn't open & the restaurant looked like it was permanently closed. (They also have hotel rooms. We've never tried them though, because they don't have on-site parking.)

There are also several museums downtown. We visited the Glen Campbell Museum on our last trip. https://www.glencampbellmuseum.com/ I loved it!! The National Museum of African American Music is on Broadway. https://nmaam.org/ When we were there, you had to buy tickets for a specific time; and we never got their availability to fit with our other activities. The website makes it sound amazing though. It might be easier to get in now. I think both museums were still fairly new when we were there. Demand might be lower during your trip.

We pretty much always have our leaving-town brunch at The Diner. I've heard good things about Biscuit Love, but we haven't managed to eat there yet.

Hmmm... There's also a jazz club near Broadway, but the line has never been short enough for everyone in our group to be willing to wait.

That's everything that's popping to mind right now. It's a lot of "tourist" stuff, but isn't that what quick trips are for?! Hope something in there sounds interesting to you.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I wouldn't count on a hotel at this late date...especially downtown. Nashville and the outlying area stays booked. We usually stay downtown and Uber for dinner. I would grab restaurant reservations too.

 

[Erica Ladd]

When are you looking at coming? What is your price point?

we plan on being there the last weekend of august. Id like to stay under $300 for a hotel and I’m willing to pay for activities and dining that sound interesting to us! And I’d like to feel as safe as possible!!

 

[mandy200587]

we plan on being there the last weekend of august. Id like to stay under $300 for a hotel and I’m willing to pay for activities and dining that sound interesting to us! And I’d like to feel as safe as possible!!

If you’re looking at $300 a night there are maybe some options if you’re looking total you’ll have to stay out of downtown and Uber in. Activities there’s a brand new place on Broadway that opened up geared to everyone that has arcades and bowling. There’s hall of fame, ryman you can tour. It is also a football weekend so that may play into your hotel pricing

 

[disneyfanforever]

We just went to Nashville for the first time and stayed at the Drury Downtown, and it was great. Easily walkable to Broadway with all of the restaurants/bars. Went to Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman tour and Opry. The Drury was great because of the free breakfast and 5:30 Kickback which served free food and drinks. We would definitely stay there again

 

[ms_flo]

Activities there’s a brand new place on Broadway that opened up geared to everyone that has arcades and bowling.

They finally got the bowling alley up & going?! I had decided they'd either given up or were only joking when they originally announced it. Looking forward to checking that out!

 

[mandy200587]

They finally got the bowling alley up & going?! I had decided they'd either given up or were only joking when they originally announced it. Looking forward to checking that out!

They did! The delay was due to still supplies, I went to the original venue years ago but haven’t been back since but knowing who owns it, I don’t know the upgrade is awesome

 

[Erica Ladd]

They did! The delay was due to still supplies, I went to the original venue years ago but haven’t been back since but knowing who owns it, I don’t know the upgrade is awesome

what’s the name of this place? Where exam is it? Thx!

 

[rwdavis2]

If you want to be where the action is stay within walking distance of Broadway. We were there in May and took Uber anywhere we couldn’t walk.

 

[mandy200587]

what’s the name of this place? Where exam is it? Thx!

It’s right next to acme on Broadway between first and second street I believe.
https://www.tennessean.com/story/en...derground-brings-bowling-broadway/5296399001/

 

[YachtClubWoman]

I stayed at the Hilton ( walkable to Broadway - right behind the arena and the Loews by Vanderbilt- both are great hotels

 

[ms_flo]

what’s the name of this place? Where exam is it? Thx!

It’s right next to acme on Broadway between first and second street I believe.

Yep, it's practically at the end of Broadway, next to the river. It's called Nashville Underground.
If it helps you get your bearings... The big tourist/party area is basically just the last 4 blocks of Broadway going from Bridgestone Arena down to the Cumberland River. When you're standing at Nashville Underground, you're on the south side of the last block of Broadway. The city is to the west. The river is to the east.

Also, I've remembered another restaurant - Merchants. It's on the corner of 4th (two blocks up the street from Nashville Underground & also on the south side of Broadway). They have 2 floors of seating with 2 different menus. We've only eaten downstairs, which is pretty casual. Upstairs is supposed to be nicer. Even the downstairs menu is nicer than your typical Broadway bar food though. While the food is good, one of the main reasons we keep going back is that you can reserve it on Open Table. Again, Broadway is normally PACKED when we're there - not waiting in line for a meal can be a pretty big deal!

 

[Belle1962]

I always stay at Gaylord Opryland and Lyft into downtown. I took my brother and SIL with me in 1999 and since they’d never been we did Lyft to downtown them did one of those hop on hop off trolley tours.

 

[sk!mom]

We were there in March and stayed at The Moxy on 3rd just off Broadway. I highly recommend it. The location is just around the corner from lower Broadway and a quick walk back at the end of the night. We walked to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Ryman from there. It’s directly across the street from the Johnny Cash museum. All were easy walks.

We used Lyft from the airport, to get to Belle Meade for a private Bourbon tasting (loved it) and to get to the Grand Ole Opry.

We also loved the Ole Smokey Distillery at 6th and Peabody (walkable although we took an Uber back because I was tired.) We loved the Moonshine tasting. Go at lunch because Prince’s Hot Chicken Food truck is in the yard.

Our favorite honky tonk was Robert’s Western World. We ended up ending every night there.

If you’re there on a weekend, it can be a good idea to pick a bar, get inside, and stay. Don’t waste your night bar hopping and standing in lines. The ‘name’ bars have more lines but we were more interested in the old school places.

Gosh, after typing all this, I want to go back!

 

[Erica Ladd]

Thanks so much! Sounds like fun! Walkability is key for us but will probably Uber a place or two like maybe the Parthenon. Looking at hotels now and also getting some ideas of must do eateries and honky tonks so thanks for all the input! Keep it coming

 

[sk!mom]

Thanks so much! Sounds like fun! Walkability is key for us but will probably Uber a place or two like maybe the Parthenon. Looking at hotels now and also getting some ideas of must do eateries and honky to LS so thanks for all the input! Keep it coming

If walkability is key, then again, go with Moxy or another lower Broadway hotel. Do Not stay near the Opry/Gaylord. It’s a long expensive Lyft ride to anything else. The Opry was also our least favorite activity. We’ll only go in future if there is an artist performing that we want to see. We went in March because it was our first visit.

Food: For breakfast, we loved the Sun Diner (across the street from the Moxy) and Biscuit Love. The Diner was good too. I highly recommend the Stillery for dinner…so good. Best lunch was Prince’s food truck at Ole Smokey which we combined with a moonshine tasting and a YeeHaw beer tasting (also on site.) The two tastings likely explains why I needed a Lyft back for a nap before our evening plans.

Have fun. Nashville was awesome!