summervacation

My husband and I will be in Nashville from July 2-9th. We would love suggestions for places to see, things to do, great restaurants to try etc... we prefer to eat at local places, no chains. We are looking for a good burger place and good place for ice cream. We also love pizza, barbecue, and good southern food!

Any suggestions for the 4th of July. We do want to see the fireworks and attend any local events that might be going on in that area.

We are interested in seeing The Grand Old Opry, perhaps taking a tour, The Bluebird Cafe and other places like it, checking out the music scene, we like pop,rock, R&B, country, jazz, just about everything ! I did come upon Franklin, its looks like a charming place, so we will be going there. Any other places we should check out while there? We also love the outdoors.

Thank You so much for any ideas. Greatly appreciated

jent103

The biggest 4th of July event in town will be the one downtown, which actually spans two days.

http://www.visitmusiccity.com/july4th

For restaurants, what is your budget?

Burgers - try Burger Up (12 South), Burger Republic (the Gulch), or the Pharmacy (East Nashville). The Pharmacy has the best ambiance, but the others are probably more convenient and I prefer their burgers (though that's a debated topic!). Fido, a restaurant/coffee shop in Hillsboro Village, also has a great burger.

Ice cream - there are three Jeni's shops (East Nashville, 12 South, Hillsboro Village), as well as local place the Pied Piper Creamery in East Nashville. Not ice cream, but Las Paletas Mexican popsicles are amazing. Their shop is in 12 South across from Sevier Park.

Pizza - I think the best in town is DeSano, close to Music Row on 17th. There's a place in the farmer's market I've heard good things about (I believe it's Bella Nashville).

Barbecue - my favorite is Martin's. There's a branch on Belmont Boulevard, and there should be one opening up in SoBro (just south of downtown) soon, I'm not sure when. Jack's is convenient if you're tourist-ing downtown.

Southern food - try Arnold's (currently in Green Hills while their 8th Avenue location is being renovated) or Monell's. Or the Loveless, if you're in the mood for a drive out of town.

Make reservations for the Bluebird now - thanks to publicity from the TV show, it can be hard to get into.

BetsyinKY

Nashville is starting to become a favorite place to visit for us, too. Jent103 has given you some good food recs and I'll piggyback on and second the rec for The Pharmacy and for Martin's, although a word of advice on Martin's. We were at the Belmont location at 6:30pm on a Tuesday night and there was a line out the door. By the time we got to the counter to order, they were sold out of pulled pork, ribs, and chicken! We ended up with brisket and turkey, which were good, but not our first choices. I would definitely go early! Another BBQ place we've enjoyed is Peg Leg Porker. We also love Hattie B's for hot chicken. Two favorites from our spring break trip in April are Biscuit Love (oh my gosh, try the bonuts!) and Five Daughters Bakery, which has ridiculous doughnuts!

abram

The backstage tour of the GOO was great; book in advance, as it sells out.
The Hermitage was interesting if you like history.
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is excellent.
We liked the Frist Art Museum.

jent103

Oh, and I forgot Bobbie's Dairy Dip for ice cream! The oldest local spot of them all. They have a downtown location and one on Charlotte Pike (west side).

Betsy, that's wild about Martin's! I've never had that happen, but it's so popular I guess it's bound to sometimes. And those Five Daughters doughnuts are completely ridiculous!

BetsyinKY

Jent, when we walked in, I pointed to a sign in the window that said "11am-9pm or until we run out of food!" We jokingly wondered if that ever happened and then we were about 8 people from ordering when a guy came out from the back and started working down the line telling everyone that they were out or almost out of certain items. The guy in front of us was from NJ and I thought he was going to cry when they said they were out of ribs! They cook everything fresh that day, so it's not like they have a stash of frozen stuff they can nuke, so I understand it and I would go back because what we had was good, but I would definitely go earlier!

And it's a good thing that Five Daughters is a 4.5 hour drive away from me or I would weigh five tons!

BetsyinKY

Oh, and I will say we ate at the downtown Puckett's Grocery. I was completely prepared to dislike it, because it seemed touristy, but the food was actually good and they have live music. Food was BBQ/Southern. I had the piggy mac in the skillet and it was quite tasty. Also, if you are there on a weekend, we really like brunch at Tavern. My husband swears they have the best burger ever and we've eaten quite a few of the "best burgers" around the South, so that is high praise from him!

rward16

For pizza, My boyfriend and I love eating at Nashville Pizza. It is simple and good. The people are nice. Nashville is just overall a great place to be for visiting like The Country Music of Hall of Fame and Museum, The Grand Ole Opry, and just more exciting places.

summervacation

Thank You everyone for all of your suggestions. They are greatly appreciated

summervacation

we would love to go to the Bluebird on July 5th which is our 31st wedding anniversary, but I just checked the website and it is sold out. What are the chances of us being able to get seats if we just show up and stand in line? Has anyone ever done this? Thank you for any tips or suggestions.