Nashville, Tennessee
An Honest Guide to Nashville
When you're not coming for work or a bachelorette party, this is the guide for you.
I've lived in Nashville for three years, but it's been a second home my whole life. I grew up coming here for holidays and summers because my family has homes in the mountains about an hour and a half outside the city, so I've watched Nashville grow up, and I've formed some opinions along the way. This is the guide I send friends when they come back for their second trip, and I'll explain what I mean by that below.
First, about that first trip
Most people come to Nashville for work, a bachelorette, a friends trip, a game, or a concert. They stay inside the downtown radius, get a little wild in the Broadway honky-tonks, and maybe board a party bus or a pedal tavern, which is how we earned the name Nashvegas. That's a fun first visit and I'd never talk you out of it. But that's not the locals' Nashville, and when you come back, here's how you actually want to spend your time.
What surprises people
How green it is. Visitors expect neon and find themselves under tree canopy, surrounded by parks and winding country roads. The city is full of charming historic neighborhoods with sidewalks and yards, though developers are doing their best to change that, one modern-farmhouse McMansion and horizontal property regime at a time. Such is the plight of every Southern city right now.
Nashville is still a Southern city. Yes, it's changed enormously with the influx from California, New York, Chicago, and Florida, but the hospitality has held. And here's the thing most visitors never discover: drive 20 to 30 minutes in almost any direction and you're in real countryside. Rolling hills, horse farms, and stone walls, with lakes within 20 minutes, creeks and swimming holes, and some of the best parks and hiking of any city I know.
My honest gripes, since this is an honest guide: I wish my own neighborhood in west Nashville were walkable to coffee and restaurants (the food out west has been thin, though as you'll see below, it's getting better), and I wish the restaurant scene leaned less on expansion concepts imported from Chicago, Atlanta, and New York. The places worth your time are the homegrown ones featuring up-and-coming chefs, and that's what this list is.
01
Where
to stay
The ChloeA 19-room boutique hotel in Hillsboro Village from the New Orleans team, set across two restored 1920s cottages. The rooms are small, but the restaurant is good, the grounds are charming, and nothing else in town compares design-wise.
Four SeasonsIn the heart of downtown by the bridge, with the pool deck to prove it. The most standard luxury option.
Hermitage HotelThe 1910 grande dame, recently refreshed. The lobby is beautiful, and they do a great tea experience during the holidays.
Soho House NashvilleThe members' club in the converted May Hosiery mill in Wedgewood-Houston, with a rooftop pool overlooking the neighborhood.
Blackberry FarmMy biggest piece of advice is to pair Nashville with Blackberry Farm, about three and a half hours away in the Smokies foothills. That's the best way to experience Tennessee hospitality, and it's the only true luxury hospitality experience in the state.
02
What
to do
everything here is family friendly
- Percy Warner ParkPart of 3,100 acres of trails and scenic drives, with the iconic limestone steps off Belle Meade Boulevard.
- Nashville Zoo188 acres with a giant jungle-gym playground and kangaroo encounters.
- Shelby BottomsNearly a thousand acres of greenway and nature trails along the Cumberland River in East Nashville.
- CheekwoodA botanical garden and art museum in a 1930s mansion, with seasonal festivals the kids will love as much as you do.
- A boat dayRent a pontoon on Percy Priest or Old Hickory Lake. Book early in summer.
- Nashville SoundsMinor-league baseball in Germantown under the guitar-shaped scoreboard.
- Nashville SCA soccer match at Geodis Park, the biggest soccer-specific stadium in the country.
03 · The day trip
Leiper's
Fork
If you have a car, this is non-negotiable. Take Old Natchez Trace down toward Leiper's Fork and Franklin. It's one of the most beautiful drives in Tennessee, ending in a charming country town with real small-town spirit.
- Wines in the creekThe Crown Winery's tasting room lets you take your glass to a chair sitting directly in the creek, often with live music. This is the whole point of summer.
- Fox & LockeThe historic general-store venue always has singer-songwriters. Buy tickets, get a table, and eat dinner there (the food is fine, but the talent is the point).
- Country BoyThe county's oldest diner, open since 1968, and the breakfast stop. Fun fact, there's a speakeasy called the Tornado Room hidden underneath it.
- The Christmas paradeIf you're here in December, downtown Leiper's Fork is exactly what you're picturing.
04
Where
to eat
- JuniorDate nightBasque-inspired, open-flame cooking in East Nashville from the team behind Rolf and Daughters and Folk. It's an intimate room and one of the most exciting tables in the city right now.
- Maiz de la VidaCasualChef Julio Hernandez presses heirloom-corn tortillas by hand, and the quesabirria alone is worth the trip.
- FolkGroupsWood-fired pizza, vegetable-forward plates, and natural wine in East Nashville. Get the clam pie.
- AudreyDate nightSean Brock's Appalachian flagship, named for his grandmother. A beautiful room and a real point of view.
- ButterlampDate nightA wine bar and bread house in East Nashville, all sourdough, cheese boards, and good bottles (adults only).
- Rolf and DaughtersDate nightThe Germantown institution that raised a generation of Nashville chefs. The handmade pasta still delivers.
- DozenBakeryClaire Meneely's bakery, beloved for baguettes, croissants, and cookies, now in a bigger home in Woodbine.
- Mama BreadBakeryA corner bakery in Lockeland Springs from a former Tartine bread director. The croissants sell out for a reason.
- Roberta's at Urban CowboyGroupsThe Brooklyn pizza favorite in the backyard of Urban Cowboy Public House. Order the Bee Sting.
- BastionDate nightA 24-seat tasting menu hidden behind a lively cocktail bar in Wedgewood-Houston. If you can't get the reservation, the bar nachos are their own reward.
- Bad IdeaDate nightLao-inspired cooking and one of the best wine programs in the city, inside a converted East Nashville church.
- KisserCasualDaytime Japanese comfort food in East Nashville. The chicken katsu sandwich has a deserved cult following.
- Lion's ShareGroupsThe luxe new tavern in Sylvan Park with wood-fired hearth cooking. Proof the west side is finally getting the restaurants it deserves.
- TantísimoFamily friendlyFarm-to-table Latin American cooking in Sylvan Park from Husk alumni, open breakfast through dinner.
- Sho Pizza BarFamily friendlySean Brock's neo-Neapolitan pizzeria. It's your dinner stop before a show at the Opry.
- BabychanBakeryA Japanese-French bakery café in Germantown from the Kisser team. Go for the milk-bread French toast.
- Sally's Stay AwhileFamily friendlyAn all-day spot in Wedgewood-Houston with rotisserie chicken, croissant waffles, and easy neighborhood energy.
- Antoinette'sFamily friendlyA brand-new wine bar and provisions shop in west Nashville with a big, family-friendly backyard. I'm rooting hard for this one.
- MielDate nightA French-leaning bistro in Sylvan Park that's been quietly excellent since 2008. Romantic without trying too hard.
- Hattie B's or Prince'sCasualFor hot chicken. They're touristy, but they're touristy for a reason, and Prince's is the family that invented the dish.
One hot take
Skip Locust.
Reach out to hear my opinion on other overrated spots!
05
Live
music
the real reason you're here
- Ryman AuditoriumCheck what's playing before you book anything else. I saw Leon Bridges here and it's still one of the best concerts of my life.
- Grand Ole OpryA fun night out, just don't try to make a day of Opryland. Get dinner at Sho Pizza Bar beforehand instead.
- Station InnThe legendary bluegrass listening room in the Gulch, seven nights a week for fifty years.
- Bluebird CafeThe famous 90-seat songwriter room in a Green Hills strip mall. Reservations are hard to get and worth the effort.
- 3rd and LindsleyThe longtime club near downtown for serious rock, soul, and Americana bands.
- Star Rover SoundA newer Germantown spot pairing steak dinners with nightly live music in a room styled like a '70s studio.
- Listening Room CafeSinger-songwriter rounds downtown, where you hear the stories behind the songs.
- The honky-tonksWhen the mood strikes.
06
Where
to drink
- Groceries Etc.A dark, moody vinyl listening bar upstairs from Mama Bread, with snacks from the bakery below.
- SaucedNatural wine in an 1850s Germantown house, no menu, just tell them what you like.
- Skinny DennisA proper honky-tonk in East Nashville with live country music seven nights a week and no line dancing allowed.
- MiddlemanA whiskey-focused cocktail bar tucked between restaurants in Wedgewood-Houston.
- Santa's PubKaraoke in a double-wide trailer with year-round Christmas decor. Cash only, and a Nashville institution.
- Love's AlibiA cocktail bar in the Gulch from the New Orleans team behind The Chloe, with a cheeseburger worth planning around.
- Golden SoundA Gulch bar styled after a 1960s recording studio. The martinis come sub-zero.
And yes, give yourself one night on Broadway in the honky-tonks, because it's part of the deal.
07
Where
to shop
- Patina Home & GardenBrooke and Steve Giannetti's home and antiques shop in the old Leiper's Fork general store. Pair it with the day trip below.
- High Class HillbillyCountry singer Nikki Lane's vintage western shop in East Nashville, full of hand-picked boots, denim, and leather.
- GasLamp and GasLamp TooTwo enormous antique malls in Berry Hill, easy to lose an afternoon in.
- 12SouthJenni Kayne, Loeffler Randall, and Hero for designer shopping, all within a few blocks.
- Edgehill VillageA charming shopping village off Music Row with Billy Reid, Aesop, and Warby Parker.
- HermèsYes, Nashville has an Hermès now, in a converted brick hosiery factory in Wedgewood-Houston.
- UALLuxury designer consignment at steep discounts, with several locations around the city. Hit or miss, but typically a hit.
- 503 BloomhouseLuxury consignment for Chanel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.
- Plaid RabbitThe classic Green Hills boutique for kids' clothes and baby gifts.
Planning a trip to Nashville, or thinking about pairing it with Blackberry Farm? Inquire below and I'll help you plan it!