This is it! The cumulation of living in Nashville for 3 months rests in this article… just a little over a year late.
The following lists don’t include bars, restaurants or coffee shops, I have separate articles for both.
For me, the charm of Nashville isn’t in the craziness of an alcohol-induced night out on Broadway. As fun as that is, I fell in love with the city stargazing at the Percy Warner Parks, when I was blasting country music as I summited the hills to a distant skyline, while I ate the heavenly apple fritters from The Donut Den and watched the sunset while chasing fireflies outside the Parthenon.
Alcohol and Broadway are what Nashville’s known for, but the city’s best qualities are the ones you aren’t looking for.
East Nashville
The Bookshop
This is a small independent bookshop in East Nashville. The place makes great use of the space, always carrying an alluring selection of books. There is also an attached coffee shop to satisfy your caffeine cravings.
Shelby Park + Shelby Bottoms
Shelby Park sits in East Nashville and connects to the Shelby Bottoms. The Bottoms parallel the Cumberland River with a trail loosely connecting Downtown to Opryland. A one-way trip is about six miles, but a much more relaxing way to travel than the city’s traffic. The park has a few ballparks and a lake. The bottoms have some boardwalks and other trails that wind around the forest.
Oakwood Park
This city park is a bit outside of town, but it has THE best skyline view. There’s a paved trail that goes through the park’s small patch of woods, but I doubt you’ll be here for anything other than the view.
South Broadway
Honky Tonks
Nashville is the home of the honky tonk, with dozens of them lining the three blocks of South Broadway. They’re pretty much all 21+, but there’s no cover and each has a different band playing live music. Don’t like the music in one? Hop to the next, or even the next floor! Rooftop bars were a trend a few years ago, so each now has their perch overlooking the street below. Here are some more of my favorite bars in the city.
Country Music Hall of Fame
The pride and joy of South Broadway, the Country Music Hall of Fame is a museum chronicling the history of the music genre. It holds everything from Johnny Cash’s car, to handwritten lyrics from some of Taylor Swift’s songs. It’s worth a visit for country music fans or anyone with even an inkling of interest in music.
John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge
This may have been changed to American Prisoners of War Pathway, but the bridge will still give a great view of Downtown. If there’s an event at Nissan Stadium, it’s a great place to hear what’s happening without paying the price tag! The best views are at night, when the skyline twinkles in the river.
Printer’s Alley
It’s like a smaller, less crowded Broadway with cooler bars. Be sure to see the burlesque show at Skulls Rainbow Room and hear some Memphis-style blues at Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar.
Ryman Auditorium
As a musician, a significant event in your career is playing at the Ryman. This place of music history is a necessity for visiting Nashville. As the original home of the Grand Ole Opry, everyone from Elvis Presley to Taylor Swift has performed on the stage. Unless you’re a singer, expect to either attend a concert or take a quaint tour of the site.
The Listening Room
A classic Nashville experience is sitting in this dark room as songwriters perform their creations. It’s an intimate experience and perfectly pairs with a glass of wine. You might recognize the songs they sing, some of the songwriters sell their music to A-list singers.
The Gulch
Third Man Records
Pretty deep in the neighborhood, Third Man Records is a sick record shop! They have booths where you can play demo records and a seemingly endless supply of vinyl. The company also does pressings, so you might already own something from the studio.
Fort Negley Park
I wrote a whole article about this park that I’m hoping to upload soon. It’s super cool, under the radar and historical! What more could you want? The fort played a large role in the Civil War-era Battle of Nashville. Now, it holds skyline views and sheep.
Germantown
Bicentennial State Park
Bicentennial State Park connects the State Capitol with Germantown. The stretch of green isn’t super wide, only about a block, but stretches about half a mile. Inside its bounds are a number of Tennessee memorials and the city’s farmers market. My favorite is a splash pad that plays homage to Tennessee’s Rivers. I used to run here on balmy summer mornings.
Tennessee State Museum
This free museum chronicles the history of the Volunteer State. The building sits in Bicentennial State Park. It separates the history into different segments and provides a surprisingly critical, for Tennessee, overview of the state’s beloved Andrew Jackson.
Music Row(ish)/Vanderbilt
Centennial Park
Centennial Park is one of my favorite city parks in the country. With the strange Parthenon and quiet walkways, it’s unlike any other park. On a warm summer evening, wandering around the pond adorned with Weeping Willows and sparkling fireflies will make you fall in love with the city.
16th and 17th Avenues
16th and 17th Avenues are the headquarters for a ton of record labels around the city. In ‘I Think He Knows,’ Taylor Swift sings “He’s got my heartbeat skipping down 16th Avenue.” It’s really fun to walk down the two street while you search for stars and see where the musical magic happens. One of the most iconic record studios is RCA, where Dolly Parton nervously crashed her car and Elvis Presley recorded some of his songs.
Love Circle Park
A small park set on one of the hills with fantastic skyline views. At night, it’s filled with people smoking pot, but worth the trip to see the skyline.
Vanderbilt University
Vandy, as the locals affectionately call it, is one of the nation’s most esteemed private research universities. It joins the ranks of schools such as Georgetown, USC and Washington University in St. Louis as a ‘Hidden Ivy.’ The campus is very southern, think magnolias towering over large green spaces. The bell tower stands guard while fireflies furiously flash at dusk.
Hillsboro Village
A small concentration of shops, I mainly recommend visiting for the coffee shop Fido, which I rave about in my article on Nashville’s coffee. The Belmont Theater is a sleek resorted theater that shows everything from mainstream films to quirky smaller screenings.
12South
Rather than listing specifics, I’m going to include the entirety of 12South in this list. Some Nashville stores you have to see are imogene + willie, White’s Mercantile, Savant Vintage and United Apparel Liquidators. And for a natural escape, Sevier Park is right down the street. Before heading out, be sure to grab a picture with the iconic ‘I Believe in Nashville’ mural.
Green Hills
Parnassus Books
“An independent bookstore for independent people,” is what novelist Ann Patchett coined when opening the store in 2011. This shop has the best selection of new books in the city and includes everything from fiction to lists for the local school’s required readings.
Radnor Lake
I still don’t know who it was, but I was walking behind this very attractive family at the lake. A woman approaching us stops in her tracks and asks the man for an autograph and picture as I walked past them unbothered. Radnor Lake is a gorgeous state park in the city’s outskirts. It’s nestled in hills and holds the city’s highest point (1,163 feet). The park has a ton of trails with a main five-mile one circling the lake.
Music Star’s Mansions
I’m not advocating for you to trespass but some of these people have GORGEOUS houses. I don’t want to be sued so I’m not putting addresses online. Take a drive around, I’m sure you’ll see some. My favorite was Dolly Parton’s, the gates outside are equipped with music notes!
Metro Nashville
Natchez Trace Parkway
This nationally protected road was given the same designation as the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia. Starting in Nashville, it ends in Natchez, Miss. 444 miles later. It originally started as a trail for Native Americans before explorers and south-bound immigrants took over. It actually has a pretty fascinating history and the whole thing is definitely worth a trip. In Nashville, there’s the iconic bridge that flies over a valley. It’s an engineering marvel and jaw-dropping in person!
McKay’s Books
In what could be the biggest bookstore in the world, McKay’s is the perfect place to walk out with a million books you never knew you wanted while only paying like $6! They also have an impressive selection of CDs and records.
Greater Nashville
Mammoth Cave National Park
More to come on this National Park, but it’s about an hour and a half north of the city. There are a ton of guided tours through the cave, which is stunning.
The Nashville Waterfall Trail
See link for cool waterfalls!
Franklin, TN
A quaint suburb about 30 miles south of Nashville, Franklin was a major Civil War theater. Union troops occupied the town for three years and the Battle of Franklin saw 8,000 casualties. Now, the town has a cute few blocks of locally owned shops and restaurants. The Factory at Franklin is a cool industrial-styled food hall. For a green space escape, The Park at Harlinsdale Farm has a few trails and a nice view of the town. Landmark Booksellers is a cute book shop.
Chattanooga, TN
For further reading, please see this Guide to Chattanooga.
Turquoise Skies 