Canadian's First Time In Nashville
 

I am planning my husband's 50th surprise birthday present to Nashville.
What part of the city should we stay in?
We would like to see the Grand Ol Opry, visit lots of bars with lots of fun nightlife. We probably will not be renting a car. Our ages are 46 & 49 and we like to have a good time for 4 nights. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks alot.

Staying near Opryland is a great choice.
Make sure to visit the Opryland Hotel--it's wondeful to see and it even has a boat ride inside.
Oprymills shops (this is not in Opryland itself, but very close), are wonderful. Make sure to eat at Rainforest Cafe.

I would add that, if possible, I would try and rent a car. Nashville is very spread out. If you are definatly not renting a car, you may want to try and stay at Opryland. Although a little pricy, you will be walking distance to Opryland and they have shuttles to Oprymills and you can arrange for tours of the area.

Without a car, I would probably stay downtown. Most of the bars/ nightlife are on Broadway and/or 1st avenue (both downtown). You could take a taxi to the Grand Ole Opry, and also the Music Row area (2 separate places).

Without a car, you will be pretty limited during the day. You might consider renting 1 for at least a few days to hit some of the outlying areas. Unless of course you will be sleeping all day after your bar hopping :)

The Hermitage is a really nice hotel downtown close to everything. There is also a hilton downtown that is right next to the country music hall of fame.

I would recommend the Hilton downtown as well, and use a taxi to visit Opryland. The Hilton is in a good location, very convenient to the bars and nightlife, and the hotel itself is quite nice. All the rooms are suites.

you might want to rethink not renting a car... if you want bars and nightlife you'll have to stay near 2nd ave. but if you want to see the grand ole opry you'll have to take a ride to opry mills.

The Opryland Hotel has incredible atrium spaces, but the price is high and the rooms are mediocre (IMHO). It is very spreadout and takes more than a few hours to get acclimated. BUT...I would not go to Nashville without going there to walk around and have a drink or maybe even a meal.

You did not say what time of the year you are going.

I understand the attraction of the Opryland hotel but would advise to stay elsewhere. It is overpriced for what you get. For the same money - you can find much nicer rooms and ammenities at other hotels. The rooms are pretty mediocre - you are paying for the name. I agree that if you want to really experience Nashville you need to stay near/in downtown. That is where everything is at. Opryland is away from downtown and while renting a car and driving is definately an option - Nashville downtown isnt always easy to navigate. I've lived here ten years and still get frustrated. There are a lot of one way streets and some streets are closed down completely on teh weekends. I would suggest staying downtown so you are in walking distance of the nightlife, all the restaurants, etc... and then renting a car for one day and driving to Opryland. You can then spend the day there shopping, dining, walking thru the hotel, etc...

If you have any other specific questions, let me know.

Very good advice from syclark and others above. You can also see some good hockey, depending on when your visit is. The Predators are a great team, and maybe one of your Canadian teams would be visiting. Enjoy your visit.

The Bluebird Cafe is one of my favorite music destinations. Their web site publishes a schedule in advance. You can book tickets/seats on the site. I would spend one of your nights at the Bluebird.

I agee with the previous that Nashville is not a taxi town. You should rent a car.