The neon-lit strip, live music venues, and bars along it are the stuff that dreams are made of in the United States. So if you just have a few days to spend in Nashville, what should you prioritize seeing and doing? Chris Allsop provides a more specific explanation.
It’s a good moment to be in the music capital of the United States. Yet in addition to Nashville’s thriving economy and rapidly increasing population, the city’s renowned culinary culture, which has been maturing for some time now in this center of country music, has lately reached its full potential.
Nashville is well-known for its close-knit musical community, which is responsible for the production of a plethora of country music heroes in addition to Jack White, Justin Timberlake, and India Arie. The city Further is located in the northeastern corner of the Bible Belt. If you take into account a life-size reproduction of the Parthenon, a dish known as “hot chicken,” and the largest Kurdish population in North America, you have the makings of an intriguing location that begs to be investigated. Further, in May 2022, after a hiatus caused by a pandemic in the operation of the route, British Airways began operating direct flights between London Heathrow and Nashville again.
Things to do in Nashville
Tune in and feel the beat
At the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in the downtown area, you may brush up on your knowledge of the musical genre that memorably summed up as “three chords and the truth.” Admission for adults costs $28 or £22 respectively. It is a treasure trove of over 2 million artifacts and is considered to be one of the largest museums in North America that devoted to American music.
Even if country music doesn’t make your steel string twang, it is still well worth the price of admission to check out the stars’ daredevil fashions and curiosities such as Elvis’s gold-plated Cadillac, which had a sparkling paintwork that achieved by applying 40 coats of a crushed diamond and fish-scale emulsion.
The museum will teach you that Nashville has been a national powerhouse for music publishing since the 1800s if you can pull your attention away long enough from the cars covered in fish stickers. The Grand Ole Opry, a musical variety program of Southern culture that has featured anybody and everyone in country music, including Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, and Johnny Cash, gave Nashville the name “Music City” when it premiered in 1943.
This was the year that Nashville became known as “Music City.”
Browse the event calendar on the website to find out when you have the opportunity to be a part of a live recording of a show (tickets start at $40/£31). It’s going to be one of the most interestingly amusing evenings of your life, especially if you bring some popcorn and an IPA.
The National Museum of African American Music is an expansive venue that celebrates the contributions of African-American musicians to jazz, blues, and hip-hop. Admission to the museum costs $25 or £19 per adult. Explore the six interactive exhibitions, which cover topics such as the development of rhythm and blues after the Second World War and the history of spirituals and gospel music.
Explore East and South Nashville with your horse
The hip area of East Nashville is home to a number of neighborhoods that are rich in personality. The best way to experience it and understand its significance in the city’s ongoing culinary revolution is on one of Walk Eat Nashville’s three-hour excursions, which cost $65 per person plus tax (except for Sundays) and offered six days a week. The knowledgeable tour guides will take you to the urban pioneers and best-in-class eateries that have helped make this neighborhood one of the most talked about locations in the entire country.
Kurdish, El Salvadoran, and Somali communities in South Nashville weave a surprising ethnic tapestry beneath the bland auspices of Nashville strip malls. South Nashville is more under the radar than other parts of the city.
The Hotels to stay in
The boutique Kimpton Aertson Hotel in downtown midtown’s City of Angels vibe comes from its large lobby art and roof terrace pool. Chic design details, like the Hatch Show print on each bedroom wall, elevate the cozy rooms.
The hotel is next to the popular Henley Brasserie, which offers exceptionally unhealthy breakfast options such as the enticing (and almost unfinishable) Dutch Baby. The Dutch Baby is a type of enormous, fluffy pancake that is comparable in texture to a Yorkshire pudding. During the hours of five and six in the afternoon, complimentary wine offered in the lobby. Double accommodations start at £157 per night, room only; aertsonhotel.com
The Graduate Nashville located in a lively neighborhood that is known for its restaurants and nightlife, and the hotel itself features a cozy rooftop bar that guests may enjoy. The walls of quirky rooms covered in pink and blue chintz, and the furniture may be in the form of guitar-shaped bed frames or goofy horse-shaped sofas. In the meantime, a significant portion of the rooftop and the rowdy bar located downstairs painted vibrant flamingo pink.
Where to find food
Arnold’s Country Kitchen
Run by the outgoing Khalil Arnold and his mother, Rose, it is a welcoming family company. They renowned for being the leading suppliers of the traditional Southern “meat-and-three” dining style, which entails serving one “hero” meat along with three vegetable sides. Join the James Beard-recognized canteen-style line at this restaurant and fill your plate with fried catfish, collard greens, baked squash, and mac & cheese (yeah, it’s a vegetable here).
Further, Margot McCormick, who is considered an urban and culinary pioneer in the city as well as one of its top five chefs, is the proprietor of the Margot Café & Bar, which is located in the Five Points neighborhood. This Nashville institution further is run out of a building that was formerly a service station. Expect hearty food with French influences at this restaurant, and reserve some time for a pre-prandial beverage at its famously lively stone bar.
Nashville’s hot chicken, which is basically fried chicken with a cayenne-based spice on top, is popular all over the world right now. People think that Thornton Prince III’s girlfriend took out her anger on him by putting cayenne pepper on his fried chicken, which he liked the taste of. Because of this happy accident, the recipe for Prince’s Hot Chicken, which known as the first hot chicken shack, made. You will, too, but whether or not you try the XXX Hot is up to you and the lining of your stomach.
Edley’s Bar-B-Que
Most people agree that Edley’s Bar-B-Que is the best barbecue restaurant in Nashville. The restaurant known for its high-quality meat-and-three combos as well as its perfectly cooked baby-back ribs. Enjoy the famous Tuck Special brisket sandwich, or go for the cherrywood-smoked turkey with Alabama white sauce if you want something that is usually thought to be healthier.
It is a warm family business run by outgoing Khalil Arnold and his mother, Rose. They well known for being the top suppliers of the classic Southern “meat-and-three” dining style, which calls for serving one “hero” meat along with three vegetable sides. If you want to fill your plate with fried catfish, collard greens, baked squash, and mac & cheese (yes, it’s a vegetable here), join the James Beard-recognized canteen-style line at this eatery.
Where one can get a drink
Downtown Nashville’s main drag, Broadway, lined on both sides with honky-tonks, which are bars that feature live music. Robert’s Western World is the honky-tonk that most Nashville residents recommend going to, despite the fact that it is a magnet for hen groups coming from out of town. Robert’s was once a clothing store (you can still buy a pair of cowboy boots there), and it harkens back to an era that was more civilized and less garishly commercial.
Once an industrial district, the Wedgewood Houston neighborhood is located approximately four miles from the central business district and now serves as a fantastic destination for art galleries and craft drink tours. Make sure the award-winning Corsair Distillery, Diskin Craft Cider, and Jackalope Beer are on your tasting schedule. Dinner can be had directly across the street from Jackalope at Bastion, which is a party bar and fine dining venue housed in an old jam factory. Guests may choose between a two-hour tasting menu in the exquisite rear dining room or gourmet nachos in the bohemian front dining room.
The dark and mysterious Attaboy speakeasy, which can only be found in East Nashville, is the only location outside of New York City of what is widely recognized as one of the best cocktail bars in the world. There is no menu; instead, the bartenders will prepare a drink for you using handcrafted bitters according to your whims and based on what they think you’ll enjoy.
Where to find the goods
Jack White, singer for the White Stripes, opened Third Man Records in Nashville, which quickly became one of the city’s most popular stores and a mecca for musicians. Even if you don’t have any vinyl with you, just browsing through the record bins with their waspish black and yellow covers might feel spiritually nourishing. In addition to that, the location well-known for its direct-to-acetate recording booth, which further utilized by Neil Young during the recording process for his album A Letter Home.
Alternatively, the Hatch Show Print store, which furthermore housed within the Country Music Hall of Fame, is a great place to pick up a memento or historical artifact related to Nashville. In the afternoon, the company Hatch, which is responsible for much of the advertising for country music, hosts a number of tours of its ancient printworks. These excursions cost $20 or £15 for adults and take place every day at 11 am and on weekends at 10 a.m.
The Grand Ole Opry is right across the street from Opry Mills, which is Tennessee’s largest outlet mall. From downtown Nashville, it takes about 15 minutes to drive to the mall. There are about 200 different stores there, from high-end ones like American Eagle and Saks Fifth Avenue to cheaper ones like Forever 21 and Forever 21. Also, the food court has things like the Aquarium Restaurant that you didn’t even know you needed.
Feature prominently in the architecture
At the city’s Centennial Park, there is a strange, full-scale copy of the Parthenon that also acts as an art museum. Admission costs $6 or £5, depending on which currency you use, and if you’re British, be prepared for a joke about leaving the marbles where they are. In addition to that, the replica boasts having the largest pair of matching bronze doors in the world.
The Secrets of Nashville
Which form of currency do I require?
US dollars.
Which language do they speak?
English.
Ought I Should Leave a Tip?
When dining out, it is customary to leave a gratuity of 15 percent, unless the restaurant adds a service charge automatically (18-20 percent is standard for the US). At pubs and with bellboys at hotels, the standard gratuity is one dollar per drink or bag.
What is the difference between the times?
A delay of five hours compared to GMT.
How long does a flight typically take from the United Kingdom?
The time was nine hours and five minutes.
What is the best way for me to get around?
Taxi services such as Lyft and Uber can be a cost-effective form of commuting in areas like this one, where everything is within a 15-minute drive of one another.
Insider tip?
The Music City complete access pass can save you more than fifty percent off the price of admission and box office tickets if you are going to visit a number of different tours and museums in the area. It costs $119 or £100.
Are you attempting to fly less?
Freighters transporting cargo sometimes depart from European ports (such as Southampton and Antwerp) and make their way to either Wilmington, North Carolina, or Houston, Texas.
Feel comfortable in the air?
Further, British Airways offers nonstop flights to Nashville from Heathrow starting at approximately £495 for a round-trip ticket. You could also investigate the possibility of connecting with airlines such as American Airlines or Finnair.
