I’ve got a $400 Southwest Airlines voucher due to being bumped off my flight last week. I’m considering Nashville for a vacation. I enjoy watching the Nashville Predators hockey team. I’d also like to see if Nashville lives up to its music reputation. I visited Austin, TX and enjoyed it, so I’m wondering if Nashville has the same reputation. I’ll assume the food and restaurant scene is good, umm because it is a big Southern city and I’m sure there are good places to eat there.
I went there to the Bluegrass Festival last September. IT IS AMAZING!! Great BBQ, the BEST musicians in bars on Music City Row (they play everything from Johnny Cash to Slayer, sometimes on upright bass and fiddle) and very friendly people.
If no festivals are in your plans, a good 3 or 4 day trip is a good time. Check out the Grand Ole Opry tour, enjoy the home brewed beers and see some shows.
The General Jackson boat cruise is fun. Includes a lunch and comedy show. The whole cruise is about 2 1/2 hours. Buy tickets at Opryland and it leaves from there.
found the website. We took the midday trip and saw the Shotgun Red comedy. We enjoyed it.
I live near there.
Don’t.
Nothing to see since Opryland closed.
Chattanooga has better museums, & a really fabulous State Aquarium. Also Ruby Falls (underground caves stay the same temperature all year,), the Incline Railway, and of course Rock City.
Chattanooga actually is even more fun in summer, with swimming, boating, the zoo, & the Duck rides.
Nashville is a pretty city, with great bars and restaurants. If you like live music, there is lots of it, and it’s good. I’ve always had a great time there.
Bosda’s mostly right. I grew up there, and I love the city, but it’s not NYC or even Savannah!
There are some great restaurants, and the Parthenon is pretty interesting, and a tour or riverboat cruise will give you a good understanding of the history of the town, but a long weekend would be all you need.
I’ll let the tourism folks tell you what they think you should see!
Best BBQ = http://www.hogheavenbbq.com/ right by the Parthenon.
Tell Andy I said hi.
Best breakfast/family cooking = http://www.lovelesscafe.com/ out of town about 10 minutes. It’s a must-go.
Have fun!
For a couple of days … sure. The morning traffic is hellish, though, so be prepared.
For a week long vacation or more? Nah. Memphis is better, or Chattanooga.
Brother, you ain’t just makin a stage joke, neither!
Morning traffic is a nutbuster.
Since nobody else has addressed this I just have to say—if you’re going to Tennessee to catch a hockey game my head’s just spinning and going Wha? (But then, I don’t know anything about hockey.)
But for music? (Not to mention the food.) Hit the big spots but then go “pub crawl.” There’s more talent in Nashville than you can shake a stick at. Everybody and his other-talented-brother are putting it out there in the hopes of being discovered. An unforgetable experience if you like country and bluegrass.
One non-musical tourist destination in Nashville is the Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s home.
I was there for a conference a little over a year ago. It was all right, but definitely not what I’d call a vacation spot. (Especially because I don’t like country music.) If you’re from Chicago and are familiar with the Museum of Science and Industry, DO NOT go to the science museum in Nashville–there is no comparison. There was a cool model railroad there, but it might have just been a temporary exhibit.
We went for a girls’ weekend to Nashville and were really disappointed. Not much to do.
I’ve been there for hockey games 3 times, though they don’t have a dedicated, walkable fan area the blocks surrounding the venue are absolute chock-a-block full of things to do that are fun. Tons to eat, imbibe, and you can listen to music from both ends of the spectrum - Country AND Western! There’s neat historic things to see as well, including Earnest Tubb’s record store w/ its unassuming little stage at the back that only every world famous C&W performer’s been on. There’s the Museum of Country Music that was fun and interesting and Drewbert would tell you to go to the Planetarium.
Please don’t shake your stick at the talent in Nashville; it’s Nashville, not Vegas, baby.
And before you think it’s nothing BUT country and western (which I hate), realize that Ke$ha (the most awesome singer in the world) comes from Nashville!