We are driving from Chicago to Jacksonville where we have a condo and are planning on stopping for the night in Nashville. The kids have always wanted to check it out, so we thought we'd do it for the night. I have two kids, 21 and 20, along with me and my wife.

Any suggestions on must-do things while we're there for the night? Good, fun restaurants? Bars? Things to do?

Thanks!

Do you want to do the usual things visitors are looking for? Most people will stay downtown and check out the honky-tonks on Lower Broadway (Tootsie's, Robert's, the Stage). There are some restaurants in the immediate downtown area.

If you're willing to go a little outside of downtown, you might check out Monell's restaurant in Germantown (just north of downtown) - Southern food served family style. Or if you want something a little hipper, the Gulch area just to the west of downtown has several new restaurants (Sambuca, Watermark, Whiskey Kitchen). Also in the Gulch is Station Inn, which looks like a complete dump from the outside but is THE place to hear bluegrass. There's also the Bluebird Cafe in Green Hills - that's a different vibe, though. They take the music seriously and enforce a no-loud-talking rule, so if you're looking for a hangout place, that one's probably not what you want.

The Country Music Hall of Fame is great if you have time, and if there's a show on at the Ryman, definitely consider that. It's my favorite place to see a show, and the Grand Ole Opry is held there during the winter.

I recommend the Bluebird Cafe. It's on the west end of town. The show is excellent no matter what night you visit. The web site will explain what's on the night you pass through. If it's a ticketed show, book in advance. If you elect to do this, stay at one of the West End hotels on Church St. : Marriott, Courtyard, Hampton. Restaurants nearby are J. Alexanders, Ted's Montana Grill, P.F. Changs, Flemings Steakhouse.

You can also stay at the Gaylord Opryland. Fine resort and restaurants. Entertainment at the hotel is always very good.

If you are passing through on a Saturday night, by all means attend the Grand Old Opry, a classic experience.

Thanks. It will actually be next Saturday night. We usually like to stay away from the "normal tourist" attractions and get off the beaten track, while avoiding all chain restaurants. All of the suggestions sound great

We don't have a hotel planned yet, but any suggestions for that, that are walking distance to some action would be great also.

Thanks for all of your help!

If a show at The Ryman is a possibility, then there are several good hotels...Doubletree, Sheraton, and the Marriott Courtyard (where I stayed in May). The bars on lower Broadway can be fun, but not sure if you'd consider them too "touristy." You can easily walk to them from any of the above hotels. And one of your group is under 21 so that might be a problem. The Wildhorse can be fun too. Another favorite downtown Nashville hotel is the Hampton Inn & Suites, quite close to the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum...it offers free parking (may be the only one), and is also an easy walk to lower Broadway.

I stayed at the Opryland Hotel once, but, while it's cool from an "oh, wow...look at THAT!" standpoint, I didn't think it was all that. The location (east of the river, off the interstate) could be any suburb...it just doesn't look very "Nashville-y" to me.

The Del McCoury Band will be at the Opry next week - that would be a fun show. (The Opry is actually on Friday *and* Saturday nights.) And you'll get to check out the Ryman at the same time. ryman.com

I wouldn't bother with Opryland. The hotel is back open after the flood, but the Opry itself is downtown all winter and Opry Mills mall is still closed due to legal issues with their insurance company. With just one night, I wouldn't deal with the traffic and parking to wander around the hotel, spectacular as it is.

If you want to be able to walk to things, I'd definitely stay downtown. There are the usual chains - Hampton Inn, Renaissance, Marriott, Hilton, Best Western, a few more. You can stay down there, walk to the Ryman for the Opry and then the honky-tonks if you want, and have a good time.

If you want to do anything outside the immediate downtown area, though, you'll want your car or a cab. (If you want to eat outside downtown but not mess with your car, cab fares should be really inexpensive to the Gulch, for example.)