Nashville Must Sees in November
Jul 2nd, 2008, 09:13 PM
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Nashville Must Sees in November
A friend of mine and I are planning a 5 day/4 night trip to Nashville in November. We are from Oregon and have never been anywhere near Nashville. It just sounded like a fun place to go. We are in our late 20's, early 30's. We love music, all kinds, but obviously not opposed to Country. We are both teachers so we would enjoy museums, history, learning types of things. I would also enjoy outdoorsy things, like hiking. I have no idea what there is to do in the area except the Opry. Please give us some ideas. Also, what area should we stay in if we don't want to have to rent a car? Is public transportation good or should we rent a car? Also, some great places to eat that are not dress up, fancy places would be great too. We definitely want to hit the night time music scene. Thanks so much. Cindy.
Jul 2nd, 2008, 10:44 PM
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Nashville is fun. There is great live music at every bar. You'll find yourself going back every night. I would recommend renting a car unless you want to stay in downtown Nashville the whole time. Five days in downtown Nashville I think is 2 to many, you should take side trips. You could go to the Jack Daniels distillery, that is fun but out of town. Even if your not a huge country music fan you will like the Country music hall of fame, it is a great museum. There is a lot of casual and nicer dining in the touristy areas, you'll have no problem finding a good place to eat. For a place off the beaten path I would recommend "Hog Heaven", just outside of the Vanderbilt campus. It's a great Memphis style BBQ joint, the epidomy of hole in the wall. Also there is a replica of the Parthanon in a park in Nashville. It is actually quite amazing even though not at full scale. Have fun.
Jul 3rd, 2008, 03:22 AM
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Blue Bird Cafe is one of my favorite music evenings. They will have a schedule of entertainment while you are there a month in advance. Tickets are modestly priced and you can purchase over the net.
If you will have a car, Mammoth Cave is about a 100 miles from Nashville, but is a unique destination worth the drive. Their web site should tell you the distance of the hikes in the cave.
If you will have a car, Mammoth Cave is about a 100 miles from Nashville, but is a unique destination worth the drive. Their web site should tell you the distance of the hikes in the cave.
Jul 3rd, 2008, 03:40 AM
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We went to Nashville a few years ago and just fell in love with the place. You have to go to Wildhorse Saloon.. we ended up with a table right by the dance floor, the food was fantastic, and we loved watching everyone dance.. and go to Grand Ole Opry Hotel.. even if you do not stay there, you havve to see this palce.. it is huge, and just amazing that you are in a hotel.. We can not wait to go back. We stayed @ a holiday Inn right out side of town, it was really a nice H.I., but we did have our own car. There was some river boat cruise / dinner type thing.. I can not remeber the name of it right now, but it was fun. and you had a chnace to see a lot of the city. Have fun!!!!!!! 
Jul 3rd, 2008, 03:59 AM
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The Country Music Hall of Fame is a very well done museum.
The Ryman Auditorium downtown is the historic home of the Opry and a must-do. The new Opry is on the outside of town and never appealed to me.
The strip of bars along Broadway have music from the afternoon on. Roberts Western World, Tootsies and The Stage are classics. Hatch Show Print and Gruhn's Guitars down there have a special place in country music history.
Stay somewhere you can walk to all these places. But you'll still probably want to rent a car.
Worth taking is the tour of RCA Studio B which you get through the Counrty Music Hall of Fame (the Studio is closer to the Vandy campus on the West side of town).
http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/studiob.aspx
Non-country music things to do include NFL and NHL games, both within walking distance of the downtown sites above.
The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson, is outside of town.
A replica of the Parthenon is located in a park near the Vandy campus: http://www.nashville.gov/parthenon/
The Ryman Auditorium downtown is the historic home of the Opry and a must-do. The new Opry is on the outside of town and never appealed to me.
The strip of bars along Broadway have music from the afternoon on. Roberts Western World, Tootsies and The Stage are classics. Hatch Show Print and Gruhn's Guitars down there have a special place in country music history.
Stay somewhere you can walk to all these places. But you'll still probably want to rent a car.
Worth taking is the tour of RCA Studio B which you get through the Counrty Music Hall of Fame (the Studio is closer to the Vandy campus on the West side of town).
http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/studiob.aspx
Non-country music things to do include NFL and NHL games, both within walking distance of the downtown sites above.
The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson, is outside of town.
A replica of the Parthenon is located in a park near the Vandy campus: http://www.nashville.gov/parthenon/
Jul 3rd, 2008, 04:03 AM
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BTW, casey, their website claims that the Parthenon IS full scale.
Nashville's got a lot of Road Food picks:
http://splendidtable.publicradio.org...ex.shtml#south
Nashville's got a lot of Road Food picks:
http://splendidtable.publicradio.org...ex.shtml#south
Jul 3rd, 2008, 04:34 AM
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Recommend a tour of Belmont house on the campus and also Belle Meade estate. There is a great local place to eat near Belle Meade - Loveless Cafe - w/ the best southern comfort food. Oh, for some of those biscuits! Spent the day at the Hermitage, dinner at a local catfish chain - Uncle ??? - where I didn't know I liked catfish until I ate here!- and then headed to the Grand Ole Opry show. You can spend most of the day at the Country Museum Hall of Fame, visit the Ryman Auditorium and have bbq downtown. Enjoy!
Jul 3rd, 2008, 05:29 AM
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cbmsmath,
You probably do want to rent a car; there are lots of great side trips and things within the city that would be easier with a car. For an "outdoorsy" experience, I would recommend the Warner Parks, two huge beautiful public parks within the city limits that have lovely hiking trails, equestrian trails and a terrific Nature Center. If you google Friends of Warner Parks you'll find their website with maps, etc. We spend every Thanksgiving in Nashville and an Autumn hike in the park is part of our family's ritual.
Another side trip you may be interested in is Franklin, Tennessee about 1 hour or so south of Nashville. The civil war Battle of Franklin took place there and there are some interesting ante-bellum homes to tour and a quaint downtown with good restaurants and shopping.
I would recommend staying by Vanderbilt or in the Green Hills area.
For music, I second the Bluebird Cafe, it's truly world class and don't forget the Station Inn, in the hot new area called "The Gulch" (the Station Inn has been around forever, but new cool restaurants have sprouted up around it.). They have a website with their calendar, too. Have fun!
You probably do want to rent a car; there are lots of great side trips and things within the city that would be easier with a car. For an "outdoorsy" experience, I would recommend the Warner Parks, two huge beautiful public parks within the city limits that have lovely hiking trails, equestrian trails and a terrific Nature Center. If you google Friends of Warner Parks you'll find their website with maps, etc. We spend every Thanksgiving in Nashville and an Autumn hike in the park is part of our family's ritual.
Another side trip you may be interested in is Franklin, Tennessee about 1 hour or so south of Nashville. The civil war Battle of Franklin took place there and there are some interesting ante-bellum homes to tour and a quaint downtown with good restaurants and shopping.
I would recommend staying by Vanderbilt or in the Green Hills area.
For music, I second the Bluebird Cafe, it's truly world class and don't forget the Station Inn, in the hot new area called "The Gulch" (the Station Inn has been around forever, but new cool restaurants have sprouted up around it.). They have a website with their calendar, too. Have fun!
Jul 12th, 2008, 01:05 PM
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First, you certainly need a car.
I will second the recommendation of Franklin, TN. With the amount of time you have, if you are interested in history, you can go a little further south of Franklin as well. Drive down US Highway 31 from Nashville (start this off of I-65 at the Brentwood / Old Hickory Blvd exit) - you will pass many beautiful old Antebellum mansions (unfortunately now being surrounded by McMansions). In Franklin, be sure to go to the Carnton Mansion and Confederate Cemetery - it is in a beautiful setting just outside of town. This is the mansion the Confederates used as a hospital after their huge casualites during the battle. If you drive as far south as Columbia (another 25-30 miles), there are many more mansions and sites, including James K Polk's house. You can also visit Stones River battlefield about 20 miles southeast of Nashville.
As far as hiking, check out Radnor Lake, which is in Nashville, south of Vanderbilt off of Granny White Pike, it is a secluded area with good paths.
One more - you can drive down the Natchez Trace Parkway from west Nashville, which is a pretty drive, with several places to hike along the way.
http://www.radnorlake.org/welcome.html
http://www.carnton.org/
I will second the recommendation of Franklin, TN. With the amount of time you have, if you are interested in history, you can go a little further south of Franklin as well. Drive down US Highway 31 from Nashville (start this off of I-65 at the Brentwood / Old Hickory Blvd exit) - you will pass many beautiful old Antebellum mansions (unfortunately now being surrounded by McMansions). In Franklin, be sure to go to the Carnton Mansion and Confederate Cemetery - it is in a beautiful setting just outside of town. This is the mansion the Confederates used as a hospital after their huge casualites during the battle. If you drive as far south as Columbia (another 25-30 miles), there are many more mansions and sites, including James K Polk's house. You can also visit Stones River battlefield about 20 miles southeast of Nashville.
As far as hiking, check out Radnor Lake, which is in Nashville, south of Vanderbilt off of Granny White Pike, it is a secluded area with good paths.
One more - you can drive down the Natchez Trace Parkway from west Nashville, which is a pretty drive, with several places to hike along the way.
http://www.radnorlake.org/welcome.html
http://www.carnton.org/
Jul 12th, 2008, 09:54 PM
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We stayed at the Renassiance downtown and liked it alot. We loved a BBQ place that was around the corner and next door to Toots saloon. The place was called Jack's. I second the visiting of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Hermitage Museum. Also visit the New Grand Old Opry and Ryman Auditorium.
Jul 13th, 2008, 03:02 PM
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The Frist Museum is fun - great giftshop and cafe. They usually have temporary exhibits so not sure what will be on but the building itself is gorgeous.
Look online and see if there is anything going on at the Ryman. Great theatre and a million times better than the Opry IMHO.
Great food at Bricktop's and Midtown Cafe and Tayst.
If you like to shop, Green Hills Mall has lots of upscale shops like Tiffany's and a nice bookstore Davis-Kidd which has a wonderful restaurant called Bronte's which people never seem to talk about but is always good.
Look online and see if there is anything going on at the Ryman. Great theatre and a million times better than the Opry IMHO.
Great food at Bricktop's and Midtown Cafe and Tayst.
If you like to shop, Green Hills Mall has lots of upscale shops like Tiffany's and a nice bookstore Davis-Kidd which has a wonderful restaurant called Bronte's which people never seem to talk about but is always good.
Aug 28th, 2008, 10:50 PM
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I second the Renassiance/Marriott in downtown. Walking distance for the Ryman Auditorium, Country Music Hall of Fame and a little bit of late night Honky Tonk'n! A car will take you straight up Broadway and West End (Vanderbilt University area) that has lots of great eateries. Bluebird Cafe or 3rd and Lindsley are great little clubs.
If your budget allows, move on over to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel which is a destination in itself. But still withing walking distance of the NEW Grand Old Opry House and the huge mall across the lot.
Check the Opry website and see you might be playing on Tues/Sat/Sun nights.
If you're looking to squeeze in a REALLY long day, head out before daylight and take the 4 hour drive to the Smokey Mountains and hike a couple hours in the Nat'l Park. Get a taste of the area and then make relaxing drive back to Nashville for a quick nap and then hit the nightlife.
Just be careful with the driving..Nashville has some crazy off/on ramps.
If your budget allows, move on over to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel which is a destination in itself. But still withing walking distance of the NEW Grand Old Opry House and the huge mall across the lot.
Check the Opry website and see you might be playing on Tues/Sat/Sun nights.
If you're looking to squeeze in a REALLY long day, head out before daylight and take the 4 hour drive to the Smokey Mountains and hike a couple hours in the Nat'l Park. Get a taste of the area and then make relaxing drive back to Nashville for a quick nap and then hit the nightlife.
Just be careful with the driving..Nashville has some crazy off/on ramps.
