Visiting Nashville? Take It In Like A Local

10 Ways to Make the Most of Your Time in Music City

Our Revelry team is passionate about our hometown; New Orleans is an amazing place to work and play with some of the best food on the planet! (If you’re ever visiting, we’ve got you covered.) But when it comes to travel destinations, Nashville is where it’s at – and we can’t wait to be there in September for LaunchTN’s 3686 Festival.

Here, one of our Music City Revelers offers 10 suggestions for experiencing the city like a local.

1. Stroll the Hermitage Hotel, a National Historic Landmark and pivotal locale for the women’s suffrage movement, and the downtown Nashville Public Library.
2. Enjoy dinner and live music at The Listening Room Cafe. It’s low key and won’t have the wait you’ll find at other venues. It’s also family friendly if you’re traveling with (well-behaved) kids.
3. Have dessert and a cocktail on the rooftop bar at L.A. Jackson (in the Thompson Hotel in The Gulch neighborhood) and then slip over to Station Inn for some bluegrass or classic country. Note: At venues like this and The Bluebird, the expectation is you’ll listen quietly – people go for the music and want to hear it.
4. Weather permitting, take in a Nashville Sounds baseball game. Get cheap seats in the outfield lawn and enjoy the outfield bar and play area. Pre-game at Von Elrod’s (about 50 yards from the stadium entrance). Their brisket is amazing!
5. Stroll Bi-Centennial Park and then grab lunch (or ice cream) inside the Nashville Farmers Market. If you have time, run the steps of the state capitol and enjoy a birds-eye view of the city.
6. Lyft or Uber to Lane Motor Museum, a working museum focused on European cars. Ask about a tour of the basement… it’s not always available, but it never hurts to ask (and it’s ah-mazing!)
7. Take a tour of Corsair Distillery (or at least grab a drink there) and then explore Marathon Music Works and the surrounding area (heading toward 12th). For a great meal, consider Chauhan Ale & Masala House, Eastern Peak, or The Mockingbird.
8. Walk the Shelby Bottoms Greenway  alongside the Cumberland River. The full length is about five miles and will take you into downtown Nashville. Stop for a snack, drink, or meal and then head back.
9. Drop in for a yoga class with non-profit Small World Yoga. Many of their classes are donation-based and all levels, and their 12th Ave. S location is convenient to downtown (just a couple of blocks off Music Row).
10. Visit one of Nashville’s many craft breweries. Favorites near downtown include: Tennessee Brew Works, Little Harpeth, and Jackalope. 
11. BONUS! For good measure, brave the crowds and check out one of the many rooftop bars on Lower Broadway, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and The Ryman. They’re totally worth the madness.

Image courtesy of TicklishPanda123