Taylor Swift’s Favorite Place in the World is Nashville City in Tennessee. Top 15 Place to visit in Nashville.
Nashville Tennessee is a big city with a lot of charm and I’ve spent many weekends there over the last year. Here are some of my favorite spots first up no trip to Nashville is complete without visiting. The honky tonks on lower Broadway live music is what most people come to Nashville for.
You can do that by visiting one of the famous concert halls or just heading down to Broadway. Any night of the week to find dozens of bars with musicians covering all of your favorite songs. It’s a blast just to walk up and down the street see all the neon signs and just pop in and out of bars until you find a band that fits your taste. It can definitely get rowdy on the weekends in the summer but it’s an experience you need to have in the city.
Number two is the Ryman Auditorium.
The Ryman Auditorium is a building that has played an important part in Nashville’s history built in 1892. The building was originally a church that attracted many of the city’s inhabitants over the years. It was reinvented as a music hall but it still has the original pew seating in tact. You can go on a self-guided tour here and explore the area yourself or you can go to a concert while in the city to really experience it.
Number three is the Country Music Hall of Fame
The Country Music Hall of Fame country music is everywhere in Nashville so of course it would make sense to find the Country Music Hall of Fame here as well the museum is gigantic and if you’re a country fan you can easily spend a few hours here. There were exhibits there ranging from country’s Fulk roots to popular bands like Little Big Town and Zac Brown Band even though I don’t love country music myself it is still a lot of fun to explore. Be sure to also head outside across the street, where they have the country Walk of Fame featuring stars from many of the best country artists.
Number four is Hatch show print
Hatch show print located inside the Country Music Hall of Fame hatch show print has been making letterpress posters for almost a century to this day. You can still see the process happening in their shop. Take a tour to learn more about it and shop some of the popular designs in their store. Had a blast walking around and checking out all the different posters they’ve made during their story to history and it’s fun to still see this art being used today.
Number five is the Johnny Cash Museum
Johnny Cash Museum since Nashville prides itself on its country music history it’s no surprise that Johnny Cash would have a strong influence on the area. The Johnny Cash museum is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions. The small museum is expensive but it has a lot of stuff to see. I’ve been twice and I enjoyed it each time as I’ve always been a fan of Johnny Cash and his music. You can easily spend an hour or so here as there’s a lot of information to read videos to watch music to listen to and other things to see in the museum.
Number six is at the Gugu shop
The Gugu shop since its creation in Nashville in 1912 googoo clusters, which is a candy made of caramel marshmallow peanuts and milk chocolate. Has been a fan favorite for over a hundred years you can visit their shop in downtown. Which is right across the street from the Johnny Cash Museum and has all sorts of Gugu related things to see and eat if you’re there during the right time. You can even pay to take a chocolate class and make your own cluster as well.
Seven is the John Seigenthaler pedestrian bridge
Seigenthaler pedestrian bridge right in the middle of downtown Nashville. This pedestrian bridge is a great spot for a good view of the city skyline. The bridge is only open to pedestrians and not to cars so you can walk bike or even scooter across it. There’s pay buy the ride scooters all around the city and it can be a great way to experience this bridge get a little activity and see some great views of downtown Nashville.
Number eight is Pinewood social
Pinewood social is the popular attraction for 20-somethings in Nashville but it’s a fun place to visit for all ages with its restaurant bar coffee shop and bowling alley. I haven’t actually bowled there myself as I usually opt for the coffee shop or bar. I’m sure it’s a blast plus the outdoor area has a bunch of attractions like bocce ball and Airstream and a pool for the warm summer days.
Number nine is Bicentennial mall
Bicentennial mall is a large open space area in Nashville. That’s popular for walking and has a few different memorials to see. It’s also the part that leads up to the Tennessee State Capitol building which is small but it’s fun to go inside as well. On the other end of the park is the Tennessee Museum and this free spot has some really well put together exhibits that are great for the whole family plus if you’re here during lunch or just looking for an ice cream break you can check out Number ten.
Number 10 is the Farmers Market
Nashville Farmers Market located right off Bicentennial Park a stone’s throw from the Capitol building. Nashville’s farmers market is the city’s entry into the popular food court type establishment seen all over the United States like in New York and Los Angeles. There are lots of great places to grab food coffee or dessert with Jenny’s ice cream being my personal favorite stop in the market. For the rest of these recommendations were moving outside of downtown Nashville to the surrounding areas.
Number 11 is to visit all of the different murals in Nashville
Nashville has a huge art scene with murals popping up weekly around the city. Last I heard there were close to a hundred and many of the famous ones show up often on social media. If you’re looking for a fun way to spend a few hours and you have a car check out one of the online blog post about the murals and go find a few for yourself.
Number 12 is the Parthenon
The Parthenon built in the late 1800s for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition this building is something you would not expect to see in Nashville. This replica of the famous Greek building has been meticulously recreated and is part of a large park. On the west side of the city when it is open the inside also has a small art gallery on the bottom floor and a massive 42 foot statue of the Greek goddess Athena. On the second floor the statue was added in the 90s and is said to be one of the largest indoor statues in the United States.
Number 13 is Belle Meade
Belle Meade is an old plantation from the mid-1800s which is now part of a compound that you can tour and includes a lot of Nashville history from this time period. The grounds have the mansion itself an old homesteading house a place where they processed milk at the original slave quarters and a mausoleum. There are two tours you can go on one that goes inside the mansion and another that looks at the plight of african-american workers during this time period. Plus all tours and even the grounds only ticket come with free wine tasting which is a fun added bonus.
Number 14 is a visit to Chico
Chico at estates chickweed Estates is south of Nashville and includes the grounds of an old beautiful 30,000 square foot mansion. It was opened as a museum in 1916 the museum can be toured but there was only one floor open when we were there. The grounds have been turned into a botanical garden with lots of blooms throughout the year. There’s a small section with multiple miniature trains that go along wooden track that I really enjoy seeing as well.
Number 15 is to take a hike at Radnor Lake State Park.
If you’re looking to get outdoors while in Nashville then check out Radner Lake State Park, about 20 minutes south of the city the park has dozens of miles of hiking trails with the most popular being the trail that takes you on a loop around the lake and the parking lot. Its not that big so go early during the summer weekends if you want to get a spot lastly be prepared to see wildlife here as I’ve seen deers and turkeys all over the property.
Number 16 is to visit the Grand Old Opry
The Grand Old Opry is another famous building the houses some of Nashville’s biggest concerts and most famous stars. It’s a good 20 minutes outside of downtown but this concert hall has tours that you can take to learn about the history and to see the backstage area If you don’t have time for a concert. I really enjoyed learning more about this place as its history is certainly unique with its members and the auditorium is beautiful to tour.
South of Nashville
My last and final recommendation is south of Nashville and that’s to go tour Jack Daniel’s distillery. If you have a car and you like whiskey then Jack Daniels is definitely worth the trip. While you’re in Nashville there are tour buses that will even take you from the heart of Nashville. If you don’t have your own car jack daniels is of course a massive operation it’s a lot of fun to see the process including how they burn pallets for charcoal and where they get their water for the famous whiskey. Plus depending on the ticket you get at the end you get to try a bunch of different types of whiskey which is always a plus and there’s a store with all sorts of memorabilia that you can take home.
Thanks so much for your in Nashville with me hopefully you guys found some new spots to check out in the city next time you’re here.