The Complete Guide to Nashville, Tennessee

Updated April 2023

The DL – Nashville, Tennessee: A city full of history, country music, good food, and more recently – a popular tourist destination. Nashville is home to many celebrities, bachelorette trips, hipsters, and musicians, but there is something for everyone and you will be planning your next trip back to the Music City pretty soon. Below is the complete guide to all things Nashville, Tennessee!

Nashville Neighborhoods:

• Downtown Nashville (Lower Broadway, SoBro) – popular spots for restaurants, concert venues, honky tonks, tourist attractions, and where most people think of when they think Nashville.
• The Gulch – upscale, trendy shops and places to eat, home to celebrities in high rises.
• Midtown (west end) – local bars, more low key, less touristy, where the younger locals tend to go out and eat.
• East Nashville – artsy, hipster, known for more eclectic shops and restaurants.
• Germantown – up and coming, gentrifying, good food, restored victorian period homes and shops.
• 12 South – a street of trendy shops, lively restaurants, residential homes, and the famous I believe in Nashville mural.
• Melrose – antique shopping and a more grunge area that has recently become more developed, south of the main downtown area.
• Green Hills – upscale, more residential, home to large mall and shopping area
• Brentwood – a popular residential suburb of Nashville and home to many of the wealthy locals (15 minutes from downtown)
• Franklin – residential area, home to historic and quaint downtown that has become extremely popular, you could spend a whole day here, also a suburb of Nashville (30 minutes from downtown)

Where to Eat:

Breakfast/Brunch:

• Pinewood social – home to a posh bowling alley, pool, coffee shop and full bar
• Pancake pantry – the line gets long, get there early, avoid on Sundays
• Loveless cafe – need a car to get there since it’s a little out of the way, but get the biscuits and get there early
• Pfunky griddle – cook your own breakfast on the table, will need a car to get there
• Pucketts – a Nashville classic spot, you can’t go wrong with anything you get here
• Noshville – breakfast is served all day, jewish delicatessen
• Tavern Midtown – great brunch gastropub, with good drinks and delicious food – try the red velvet waffles
• Five daughters bakery – grab some extravagant donuts with many being gluten-free this is a perfect grab and go breakfast for all eaters – line does get long though so go before 1pm before all the good flavors are gone.
• Biscuit Love – the bonut appetizer is a must, this can be a hot spot on the weekends
• Milk and Honey – busy brunch spot, but you can get it to go as well
• Restoration Hardware – pricey, but boujee environment, this is in the greenhills area
• White Limozeen – good for brunch on the roof – Dolly Parton Themed
• E + Rose – acia bowls, smoothies, health food
• Henrietta Red – one of my favorite brunch spots!

Coffee:

• Frothy Monkey
• Eight and Roast
• Fido
• Bongo Java
• Crema
• Steadfast
• Barista Parlor
• Red Bicycle

Lunch:

• Pharmacy – burgers and an outdoor garden patio, what more could you want- the wait gets pretty long here
• Mas Tacos – most authentic Mexican in Nash, cash only, across from the pharmacy
• Baja Burrito – get the fruit tea and pineapple salsa (by the drink machines)
• The Yellow Porch – celebs tend to eat here, classier lunch, girlier menu
• Puckett’s – if you couldn’t make it to brunch, this spot is such a Nashville classic it needs to make your list
• Burger Up
• Taco Mamacita
• The Grilled Cheesery
• Bartaco
• Franklin Juice – acai bowls
• Frothy Monkey
• MacDougals
• BBQ: Edley’s, Martin’s, or Peg Leg Porker
• True Food Kitchen
• Hattie B’s – Nashville Hot Chicken – the essence and creator of all things Nashville Hot Chicken, and let me tell ya – its hot!
• Taqueria

Dinner:

• BBQ: Edley’s, Martin’s, or Peg Leg Porker – you must get bbq once on your Nashville trip, these are my favorites
• Whiskey Kitchen – the nachos are a must but plan to share the portion is huge
• Merchants – 1st-floor bistro 
• Farm House 
• Rolf and Daughters 
• Cityhouse
• Henrietta Red – no parties bigger than 6 no reservations 
• Butcher and Bee
• Husk
• Bakers Field 
• Adeles 
• EiO & The Hive
• O-Ku – one of my favorite sushi spots
• The Optimist
• Etch
• Audreys – farm to table, one of the most unique cocktail bars upstairs you pick an item from the farm basket and they make your cocktail
• M.L.Rose
• Barcelona – tapas
• Barlines – the nachos or buger are delish
• Coco’s Italian Market – some of the best Italian in Nash
• Saint Anejo
• Bar Taco
• The Burger Republic – spiked milkshakes, a trendy burger spot
• Urban grub
• Saltines
• Sambuca
• House of Cards – under Johnny Cash Museum and magic shows throughout the night
• White Limozeen – one of my favorites! Its at the graduate hotel and Dolly Parton Themed – get a resy for the roof and explore the lobby while you are there
• Foodhall at Fifth and Broadway good spot to try lots of local places in one area

Dessert

• Jenis Splendid Icecream
• Las Paletas
• The Soda Parlor
• Kokos – vegan icecream
• Baked on 8th

What to See and Do

• Parthenon
• Country Music Hall of Fame
• Music Row
• Johnny Cash Museum
• The Ryman Auditorium
• Gaylord Palms Opryland Hotel
• Pedestrian Bridge
• Fontanel Mansion
• Music City Walk of Fame
• Hatch Show Print Shop
• Grand Ole Opry
• Printers alley
• “I Believe In Nashville” mural (12 south)
• Butterfly mural (the gulch)
• 12 south – shops and places to eat (gets packed on the weekends)
• Mercy Lounge/Cannery Ballroom 
• Frugal McDougal – wholesale alcohol warehouse
• Check out some of the college campuses: Belmont, Lipscomb, Vanderbilt  
• Love Circle – park to see the view of the city at night
• Bowl at Pinewood Social
• Sevier – park at the end of 12 south
• Fifth and Broadway – shopping, foodhall on broadway

Where to Go Out:

Honky Tonks on Broadway:

• ACME Feed and Seed– get the frozen moonshine, check out the rooftop, each floor serves different food with a different style of music. After 10 there tends to be a cover to get on the roof.
• Tootsies – one of the original country bars on broadway, each floor has different live music, check out the view from the rooftop.
• The Wild Horse Saloon
• Casa Rosa – one of my favorites! Good vibes, multiple levels with different music, girly, rooftops
• Roberts Western World
• Underground – very clubby, floor lights
• Old Red – Blake Shelton’s bar – brings an older Crowd but more chill and you can actually have a conversation, also has a rooftop
• Crazytown – Jason Aldean’s bar – loud music, a live band on floor one, rooftop more of a club, but probably one of the most spacious roofs on broadway
• FGL House – Florida Georgia Lines bar – more club-like but has different music per floor, also has a rooftop
• The Valentine – fun music and pretty empty if you need a break from the crowds
• Rippys
• Dueling Pianos – bring cash to request a song
• Downtown Sporting Club – good place to watch a game
• Whiskey Row – Dierks Bentleys bar
• The Stage – rooftop
• AJ’s Good time bar – spiked capri suns – Alan Jacksons bar

Off Broadway:

• Kung Fu Panda – alcoholic Capri suns, games, good for larger groups
• Losers – live music
• Winners – big tvs, lots to watch
• Santas Pub- dive karaoke bar in a double-wide trailer – cash only
• Bobby Hotel Rooftop
• 1 Hotel Rooftop
• Noelle Rooftop Rare Bird and speakeasy
• Patterson House – speakeasy really popular
• Public House
• Headquarters – decorates at Christmas every year
• Skulls Rainbow Room – Speakeasy, Jazz
• Pinewood Social – bowling alley, pool, airstream
• 3rd and Lindsley
• Bluebird Cafe – famous small music joint, lines get long
• Sand Bar
• Old Glory – one of my faves especially for big groups
• Hamptons Social – hamptons themed bar
• Anywhere in Midtown
• White Limozeen – one of my favorites! Its at the graduate hotel and Dolly Parton Themed
• LA Jackson – the roof of the Thompson Hotel in the Gulch is super fun and yummy snacks and cocktails
• The Fox
• Rosemary + Beauty Queen
• Mother’s Ruin fun younger vibe
• Attaboy Nashville
• The Optimist upstairs in the Griff
• The Flamingo Cocktail Club – turns dancing late at night
• Never Never
• Bastion
• Earnest Bar and Hideaway

Tip: After going out you will find the late night hot spot to be cookout where you can grab a burger and shake for super cheap or two boots and grab a slice of pizza.

Extra Time:

• Arrington Vineyards 
• Cheekwood Botanical Garden
• Catch a Game from one of the many sports teams in Nashville
• Checkout downtown Franklin
• Percy Priest – walking path around the lake, hiking

Transportation

Nashville is not a super walkable town outside of the broadway area. The airport is only about a 20 minute drive to downtown Nashville, if you plan to stay in downtown and spend your whole trip there, than Ubers/Lyfts/Birds should be fine to get around the area, since parking is impossible or extremely expensive downtown. If you plan to go to any of the surrounding neighborhoods or outside of Nashville, a rental car is ideal since public transportation is not really a thing in Nashville.