A friend of mine called, slight panic in her voice. “I need a weekend away…will you go somewhere with me?” If you know me at all, you know this was an easy YES. Did it make my offseason travel plans a little excessive this year? Totally. But you only live once right?
So YOLO with me and discover my very comprehensive Nashville Travel Guide!
If you find it helpful, leave some love in the comments…got questions about your upcoming trip? Ask in the comments! As a travel bug, I’m so happy to help!
Why did we choose Nashville for our ladies weekend trip? Its a short two hour flight from Boston, and its a city totally built for women.
On our agenda: shopping, eating, lounging-in-style & dancing.
Our flight from Boston left at 8, landed in Nashville at 9:30 and we were at Geist for bunch at 11. Geist is THE spot for brunch in Nashville. We found it easily online (Robb Report says its one of the 13 most beautiful restaurants in America!) and it did not disappoint. From the champagne garden, to the beautiful renovated old horseshoe maker building, the space is top-notch. And the food kept up just as well…the cinnamon buns are a must.
We also discovered the cutest little shopping area called 12 South, thanks to our friendly Uber driver. The vibe reminded me a bit of Austin TX (visit that travel guide here)—modern cowboy, I’d call it. Grab coffees from Frothy Monkey and you won’t be disappointed. They have a little outdoor patio you can relax at. Also there—lots of little boutiques including Reese Witherspoon’s ultra preppy shop & White’s Mercantile, a must-hit eclectic store.
Have you ever read ‘The Tale of Two Wolves’? I hadn’t, but I found it at White’s and fell in love.
After brunch and exploring the 12 South area of Nashville, we headed to our hotel for a little rest before dinner.
I’m going to show you a couple of other options that were high on our list too, but the #1 thing I loved about Noelle–beyond the minimalist mid-century modern style and cozy hotel robes—was their water stations! Noelle provided complimentary reusable water bottles in the room, and self-serve water stations on each floor with your choice of: sparkling, chilled or ambient. AMBIENT. That’s how I drink my water anyways, and its rare that someone gets that. Noelle does.
Noelle also has a killer rooftop bar (Rare bird for great cocktails) and underground swanky restaurant (Makeready, for burgers, beers & comfort food). The burger was delish.
Broadway is the “it” spot in town, where musicians come for glory & visitors come for the Nashville experience. Dinner & a live performance at Acme Seed & Feed started the night off right. Sounds strange, but its a restaurant! It has a rooftop bar and excellent views of the river, too.
When people say theres live music playing anytime day or night, they mean it. And not just somewhere, but every where. Every single bar had non-stop live music. (Warning, if your ears are sensitive to loud noise, bring ear plugs! This feels wicked lame to say, but as someone with hearing loss, I just have to! Its one of those things most just don’t think about.)
Our favorite bar?? Dierk Bentley’s Whiskey Row! It had the best performers (including a lady fiddle-player), great vibe and comfortable space. Apparently it has Arizona locations, too.
Leave it to me to find a non-country bar before the night was over. I’m not the biggest country music fan (though its growing on me, mostly thanks to our wedding couples who love it!), so when I heard a bit of hip hop cut through that southern twang, I ran. Also meeting this lovely “as redneck southern as they come” (in her words!) lady named Debby.
I really enjoyed strolling Broadway during the day, for the music, honky-tonk shops & historic vibe. Some of the roads off Broadway, like 2nd Ave, are great too. A little quieter with charming brick buildings.
Martin’s BBQ is a must. Its insanely yummy—I recommend the Redneck Taco!
The Gulch is an area we heard about before our trip. Its new & hugely-expanding area of the city. Actually the entire city seems to be undergoing a massive growth, with cranes and construction everywhere. The Gulch has BISCUIT LOVE!!! And the giant wing mural that is everywhere on Instagram & Pinterest. But go EARLY. We drove by the day before around 2 and the line for both was INSANE. We got to Biscuit Love at 9, and had no wait…and to the mural around 10, with no wait. But when we left both, the line was around the corner already. And that was on a weekday!
The Gulch has a lot of cutie boutiques and shops/bars. The Thompson Nashville is another hotel I’d suggest looking into—with a DJ on the rooftop bar on weekends!
Warning…the Pedal Tavern! It seems like its all fun & games, but ladies, this is FOR REAL WORK. I’ve seen a few of these in both Nashville & Austin and they look painful. The slightest incline means pedaling so hard you have to stand up. #nothanks #illdrinkstandingstillplease
Winky Lux has a hidden back room filled with Photo Booth setups. Super cute store, and their signature lip balm changes pink based on your body’s PH level!
One seriously out of the way but totally scooter-able and totally worth the visit is Pinewood Social. This place is cool. Their craft cocktail selection is incredible, and all drink mixers are all made in-house. They have a retro bowling alley and fab ambiance. There’s also a cutie Crema coffee shop to grab an iced latte on the way out. Thats if you didn’t scooter there. Two hands on the scooter, ladies. Two hands.
The Westin has the most insane rooftop bar. The bar is located on the 27th floor, and has a swanky bar & outdoor cabanas with a glass pool in the middle. It’s next to Music City, which was a bit of a ride from Broadway, the Gulch, etc but totally worth the scooter ride.
I hope this Nashville Travel Guide helps with anyone looking to plan a getaway or bachelorette party! There’s more to this sweet little city than just Broadway, but its pretty spread out so its good to get familiar with the areas first. We learned a ton from our Ubers and scooters made getting around so much more fun!
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Craving a little culture while in Nashville? There’s the Country Music Museum, of course, as well as the Nashville Symphony and Tennessee State Museum. I’m so 150% not a museum person, but we had extra time so we popped over to the Tenn State Museum. Its free and gave a really great insight into the history of the state. There was also a great feature on music history with outfits from some of the greats like Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline & Johnny Cash.
Lucchese. The most epic boot store.
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