I just wrapped up a weekend in Nashville and wanted to share the details with you! It’s such a fun city, you will definitely not be bored. I went with a friend for the Taylor Swift concert, but we were in the minority as it seemed the entire city was filled with bachelor and bachelorette parties! (But being a two-some was pretty amazing when it came to getting a table!)
To Stay:
We stayed at the 21c Museum Hotel and loved it! The hotel is an art museum, so it’s super modern and interesting. It was walking distance to everything downtown and right across the river from Nissan Stadium, so we could get to and from the concert on foot. The room was spacious, the bathroom top-notch, the hotel bar chic, and the employees super friendly. Highly recommend!
To Shop:
Let’s be honest, this is the good stuff! We covered two areas with great shopping: 12 South and The Gulch. 12 South has some amazing boutiques (Emerson | Grace was my favorite!) and is home to Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James. Draper James is worth a visit, but be warned it is always packed full of people! The side of the building has the famous blue and white stripe wall, and across the street is the “I believe in Nashville” mural. Great photo ops, but you’ll probably wait in line. Next up: The Gulch. Again, lots of great boutiques and a giant Urban Outfitters. There you will also find Kristin Cavallari’s Uncommon James, as seen on my current tv obsession, Very Cavallari. The shop is a little out of the way, but has adorable jewelry and home goods, along with a very cozy couch if you’ve been shopping too long! The Gulch is also home to the famous angel wing mural by Kelsey Montague Art. Be prepared to wait in line! We saw about 100 people there on a Sunday. (But we actually stopped by late on a Friday before our dinner reservation and only had to wait for a few people!)
To Eat:
I don’t care if it’s morning, noon or night, you must get yourself to one of the Five Daughters Bakery locations! We went in East Nashville and 12 South, and East Nashville was far less crowded but 12 South was more charming. Their 100 layer donuts are a version of the “cronut” and SOOOOOO delicious! Standout restaurants include Saint Anejo in the Gulch for yummy margs and Mexican. Beware the Diablo Queso – it’s made with ghost peppers and while delicious, not for the faint of heart! This is also clearly a hotspot – they don’t take reservations so be ready to wait. We loved Josephine in 12 South for brunch. Start with the cinnamon sugar donuts and thank me later! (Yes, there were a lot of donuts consumed!) We also did a bluegrass brunch at The Sutler in Melrose. Get the bottomless mimosa and you can sit and listen to the music without them hustling you out. We also enjoyed lunch at Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row on Broadway. This place is HUGE and we went because it boasted the tallest rooftop bar on Broadway. But the roof is truly a bar more than a place to eat, so we settled in on the second floor and enjoyed our lunch and glasses of rose with great live music. And almost everything I listed had their take on Nashville’s specialty of hot chicken!
To Do:
See live music! We went for Taylor and with front row tickets it was beyond amazing. You can also see nightly acts at the Ryman and the Grand Ole Opry. Otherwise, music plays everywhere all day long! Broadway is the epicenter and lots of fun, albeit touristy. We spent an afternoon at Tootsie’s and the music was so good that we could’ve stayed there all night! The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is nearby and worth a visit. Don’t be dismayed when you start and they cover people so old you’ve never heard of them, LOL. It moves into recent decades and is pretty interesting. And if you’re like me and love Taylor, they have the Taylor Swift Education Center for all things T.Swift. Finally, if you are in a big group you can certainly take one of the (seemingly hundreds of) open-air party buses blasting music and driving around the city while you drink. I swear I saw more than I could count!
Enjoy! And if you’re planning a trip, feel free to email me with an specific questions!
Momming In Manolos 