City Guide to Nashville, Tenessee

By Lauren Elizabeth Campbell, Editor-in-Chief

Settled between Memphis, on Tennessee’s western edge, and the Great Smoky Mountains on its eastern border, lies Nashville, officially named "Music City, U.S.A." by WSM announcer David Cobb in 1950, and has been living up to that title ever since.

Nashville is the cultural hub for musicians and music-fans alike to gather and celebrate country music in its hometown. Even if you have never been, Nashville feels like coming home. This guide will help you find the best places to eat, stay, consume music, and experience the culture in this great town.

Eats

Nashville is home to some of the world’s most iconic food experiences. Known for its southern comfort cuisine, hot chicken, and eccentric offerings, there is no shortage of options to electrify your taste buds. While the list of great places to dine in Nashville could go on for miles, here are a few you can’t leave town without trying:

Adele’s

Located in The Gulch, Adele’s offers a creative and healthy menu in their farm-tofork style restaurant on sharable plates. Their menu changes daily due to their chef’s creative inspiration and ingredient availability, but always offer the same New American dining experience.

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken

Every Nashvillian has their favorite place for hot chicken, but Hattie B’s is considered a local icon. Their heat levels range from "southern" to "shut the cluck up!!!," which is dunked on chicken and served either on plates or in sandwich form. Along with your meal, you must try their kosher pickles, banana pudding, and "dirty bird fries," which are seasoned crinkle-cut fries topped with pimento mac and cheese, and dark meat tender bites.

The Pharmacy

The Pharmacy, dubbed Nashville’s "wurstburger" joint, is a specialty burger, sausage, and bier garden, built on German roots. Their menu features a wide variety of creative burger and wurstchen options, including 100% vegan options. Their bier garden is comprised of beers from all around the world, including several local brews.

The Grilled Cheeserie

Served over-the-counter, The Grilled Cheeserie offers six different specialty grilled cheese melts, and options to make your own. A favorite among locals is the "Pimento Mac & Chee," house made pimento cheese, cheddar, macaroni, tomato slice, and bacon bits on country white bread. The Grilled Cheeserie also offers a wide variety of salads, soups, and sides, including chicken pot pie soup and spicy tater tots.

The Loveless Cafe

To experience true southern comfort cooking, you must try The Loveless Cafe. They’ve been serving people for over 65 years, offering all day breakfast options, including the local favorite "Music City Platter," consisting of two eggs, a choice of bacon or French toast, and a choice of bacon, sausage, or country ham. The locals always choose the country ham. For lunch and dinner, they offer a wide variety of salads, sandwiches, platters, and fried chicken options. You can’t leave without trying the fried green tomatoes.

Stays

Nashville is a spacious driving town, and there is just as much to see and do in the surrounding towns of Franklin and Hendersonville, as there is to do downtown. So no matter where you choose to stay, you are guaranteed a good time, but here are some of Rock & Roamer's top picks:

Gaylord Opryland Resort

This resort, operated by Marriott and located directly beside the Grand Ole Opry House, is like a town within a hotel. Tropical vegetation covers more than nine acres inside Gaylord Opryland, which can be explored aboard a riverboat that takes passengers around the quarter-mile-long indoor Delta River, containing water from more than 1,700 rivers around the globe.

The resort hosts 17 different restaurants and several speciality shops. It also has an indoor/outdoor waterpark. Even if you don’t stay at this resort, it is worth a visit after a trip to the Opry.

The Hermitage Hotel

Built in 1910, The Hermitage Hotel was Nashville’s first million-dollar hotel. It became popular amongst politicians traveling to Nashville, and in 1920 was the national headquarters for both pro- and antiwomen’s suffrage causes. When the 19th Amendment passed, giving women the right to vote, a celebration was held at The Hermitage, and again 75 years later on the anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment, in March 1995.

The Hermitage Hotel remains one of Nashville’s most upscale hotels to date and is still frequented by many politicians, as it sits across the street from Nashville’s Legislative Plaza.

Union Station Hotel

Formerly a 19th century train station, the Union Station Hotel pays homage to its past and unique architectural setting, while using modern features and amenities to make it a one-of-a-kind stay.

Union Station Hotel is said to be haunted. During World War II, thousands of troops departed Union Station to be deployed overseas. A 20-year-old Abigail said goodbye to her soldier before he left for France and promised him she would be waiting on the train platform when he returned. After the war, Abigail returned to the platform to find he had been killed in Europe. Heartbroken, she threw herself in front of a moving train. She is said to occupy room 711.

Music

Music is what drives people to Nashville and is the reason they stay. There is no other town in the world that appreciates music as much as Nashville, Tennessee. While home to country music, Nashville’s music scene is as diverse as the songwriters and musicians that comprise the community. Whatever you are in the mood to hear - pop, rock, R&B, hip hop, or blues Nashville has it. Here are three of the most iconic music venues in Nashville:

Ryman Auditorium

Nashville wouldn’t be Nashville without the Ryman Auditorium. In 1943, the Grand Ole Opry radio show began at the Ryman, and as the Opry began to popularize, the Ryman came to be known as the “Carnegie of the South. ” Elvis Presley, Hank Williams, Minnie Pearl, Patsy Cline, Charlie Chaplin, and President Theodore Roosevelt have graced the stage at the Ryman Auditorium. It is where Johnny Cash met June Carter.

After the Opry changed venues in 1974, a circle of the Ryman’s wooden stage was cut and placed on the Grand Ole Opry House stage so the Opry will always have a piece of the Ryman. The Ryman offers tours Thursday through Tuesday, and live concerts on a regular basis.

Grand Ole Opry House

The Grand Ole Opry House opened its doors in 1974 and is the only venue built to specifically host the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry is the longest-running radio broadcast in U.S. history. Every Friday and Saturday night, the Opry welcomes a mix of country, bluegrass, Americana, folk, and gospel music artists, as well as comedians.

The shows are broadcast to radio and television via WSM and Circle TV. Tickets to the live shows often sell out. Backstage tours of the Opry House are held daily and allow music fans to see the Opry the way their favorite Opry members do.

Bluebird Cafe

Located between a barber shop and hair salon in a strip mall outside of downtown Nashville, a 90 seat diner with a small stage remains one of Nashville’s greatest treasures. On any given night, LeAnn Rimes, Maren Morris, or Phil Vassar may make a surprise appearance. It is where Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks were discovered.

The Bluebird is a place for songwriters to try new material and to mingle and learn from some of the biggest names in country music. The Bluebird hosts two shows a night, seven nights a week, including open mic nights on Mondays at 6 p.m..

Culture

Nashvillians are some of the most friendly people you will ever meet. Exploring Nashville, you will quickly find the large, energetic city feels like a small town. The city has something for everyone and makes visitors feel at home. Here are some of Nashville's most famed institutions you can't leave town without experiencing:

Broadway

Known for its honky tonks, neon lights, and live music, Broadway is probably what you picture when you think of Nashville. Broadway remains active from lunch time to the wee hours of the morning. While on Broadway be sure to stop at the world-famous honky tonk, Tootsies Orchard Lounge, known for its purple exterior and for launching Willie Nelson’s career, and the Ernest Tubb Record Shop. This of the best and rarest records.

Near Broadway, be sure to visit the Johnny Cash Museum, which celebrates "The Man in Black, " and the Goo Goo Shop, which carries a variety of vintage candies

Music Row

Music Row is home to record label offices, radio stations, and recording studios that serve as the headquarters of the country music industry. Drive down the streets of Music Row and see the offices and recording studio buildings of BMI, CMA, Capitol Records, ASCAP, Sony Music Publishing, and other recognizable music companies. Many of these businesses offer tours, such as the iconic RCA Studio B, where Elvis Presley and Dolly Parton have recorded hits.

Several of the surrounding streets are named for industry heroes, such as Roy Acuff Place, and don't forget to stop at Owen Bradley Park, named for the famous producer that features a statue of the park’s namesake playing a grand piano.

Hatch Show Print

Hatch Show Print is a letterpress print shop that’s been a Nashville institution since 1879. They specialize in limited-run posters to commemorate concerts all over the world. If attending a show at the Grand Ole Opry House or the Ryman Auditorium, you can purchase a poster of theirs to take home and remember your show.

They are located inside the Country Music Hall of Fame and offer two different tours on a daily basis. The "Hatch Experience Tour" allows music fans to get an inside look at letterpress printing and how their posters are made. The "Hatch Show Print Tour" gives fans the opportunity to print their own poster. Both tours include admission to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Centennial Park

"Green was the color of the grass where I used to read at Centennial Park, " Taylor Swift sings off Folklore's "invisible string." You never know whom you might run into walking around Centennial Park, two miles west of downtown Nashville across from Vanderbilt University's campus.

The centerpiece of the park is a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. It was constructed as a temporary building for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition. After its erection, the city of Nashville loved it so much, in 1920 they decided to build a permanent Parthenon on the foundation of the temporary one for $1 million.

Boot Country

Cowboy boots are a fashion staple in Nashville, and it's only fitting to don a pair while visiting. Boot Country has a large selection and a helpful staff to help you find the perfect pair. They also carry cowboy hats to pair with them.

The price of boots can range from $100 to $1,000, and every boot fits slightly differently, so you cannot assume your normal size will be your best fit. Boots should also be bought snug as they will loosen over time.