Nashville with 13 year old girls.
 

I am spending 2 days with 2 teenage (13) girls this week in NAshville. Would like to show them a good girly time, lunch, shopping , manicures, a movie. Where are the best places to go ?? Would like quaint shopping, and a nice mall. Thinking of staying at the Hermitage downtown, It;s their spring break and we cannot go to Florida, but I want to treat them to a nice girly time.

For shopping you might like to try the Opryland outlet mall, a little bit of everything. It is located off Briley Parkway behind the Opryland Hotel. There are other big malls around, but this one would be closest to Hermitage. While you are there bew sure to visit Opryland Hotel's interior gardens under glass. Best yet, it is free.

For a real Nashville experience the Grand Ole Opry might be of interest, IF the girls like country music. Also the Country Music Hall of fame.

Of course The Hermitage (Andrew Jackson's home) might be a draw or the Belle Meade Mansion.

Lots of stuff to see and do in Nashville.

I think the OP is talking about the Hermitage hotel downtown, not Hermitage the suburb. I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "quaint" shopping, but I doubt Opry Mills is it - it's an outlet mall with crowds and tons of stores you'd find anywhere, along with a few outlets (Saks, Nine West). But maybe I'm wrong; there's a directory on their web site so you can see if it's what you're looking for.

I'd recommend something more along the lines of shopping in Hillsboro Village - there are a few boutiques there that are unique to Nashville and might have something the girls would like. I'd check out Posh and Pangea. The Green Hills mall is nearby; it's Nashville's most upscale mall (has Juicy Couture, Louis Vitton, Tiffany, Burberry, along with the usual Gap, Express, Banana Republic, etc). It also has a movie theater, and there's a nice nail salon (Venetian) in an adjoining strip mall. The Hill Center is also in Green Hills, and has some other good, fun stores (both chains and local). Both HV and Green Hills have some good restaurants; if you let us know your budget, we can make some good recommendations there.

Opryland is definitely a sight, as Hollydalek mentioned. The hotel itself is free but charges for parking; you can park at Opry Mills and walk over, though. What are the girls interested in, other than shopping?

The Hillsboro Village and Green Hills sounds great. We have no real budget, I plan on spoiling them . My daughter will eat just about anything so a good restaurant recommendation will be great. Thanks for your quick responses. We are staying at the Opryland Hotel at their last minute request.

I forgot to mention we will probably go to the Belmont Mansion. Thought about the Grand Ole Opry, but we just missed Carrie Underwood do I cannot interest them further. Maybe even go to the Zoo and a walk around Vanderbilt Campus.

The Opryland will be a great place to stay, although it's a bit of a drive to downtown or the Vanderbilt/Green Hills areas. But I'm sure it's worth it for the girls - the place is amazing!

Hillsboro Village is just off the Vanderbilt campus and just west of Belmont; Green Hills is a bit further south, just past I-440, but along the same road. (21st Avenue, the main road through Hillsboro Village, turns into Hillsboro Road, which is the main road through Green Hills.) If you visit Hillsboro Village, I'd just find one parking spot (on a side street, or there are a few parking lots off 21st Avenue), and walk around the rest of the time. Posh, Pangaea and Fire Finch are some fun boutiques in the area. There's also an antiques store (Charissa's) and some other shops. Sunset Grill is a nice restaurant in the area; it's on Belcourt Avenue, just off 21st past Jackson's. Cabana is right across the street. I prefer Sunset, but Cabana is trendier. Jackson's is a little more funky/casual. Of course there's the Pancake Pantry, at the corner of 21st and Belcourt. They're open for lunch and a Nashville institution. The lines shouldn't be bad on a weekday. Fido is a great coffee shop/casual restaurant further south on 21st.

In the Belmont area, PM has Asian fusion, sushi and actually has really good hamburgers, although the service has been pretty slow the few times I've eaten there. Bongo Java is a good coffee shop just down Belmont Boulevard. In the 12 South area nearby, Mafioaza's is fun and good (Italian/pizza). There's also Las Paletas, which serves Mexican popsicles that are out of this world. They're in an art deco shopping center (think pink) at the corner of Kirkwood and 12th Avenue, on the bottom floor. I think they close at six every day. There's no sign, no web site, but they are great. The flavors change every day; some are typical (strawberry, cookie dough) and some sound strange at first (hibiscus, there's a "hot chocolate" with a spicy kick). (The Las Paletas women were on "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" last year.)

In Green Hills, there's Green Hills Grille next to the mall movie theater; there are a few other restaurants around the mall (Carraba's, Cheeseburger Charley's, Maggie Moo's for ice cream). F. Scott's nearby is supposed to be very good, although I haven't been there yet. It's a little more expensive than my price range; I'm not sure if it's too "adult" for 13-year-olds to enjoy. The Hill Center is south of the mall off Hillsboro Road; it has several fun boutiques and Anthropologie, along with Whole Foods, a few fast casual restaurants (Pei Wei, Five Guys, Zoe's Kitchen, plus California Pizza Kitchen), that sort of thing. If you're over there for lunch, Provence is a Nashville chain with soup, sandwiches, etc.

Hope that helps!

We had a great time. We stayed at the Opryland Hotel, it was very nice. We shopped at Green Hills, ate at thePanera Bread Company, had ice cream at Maggie Moo's.The next day we went to the Heritage to sight see, then back to Green Hills for more shopping. Then had manicures and pedicures at the Venetian ( so fun, but felt a little rushed there). Ate dinner at Cheescake Factory and a friend of my daughter's, who moved to Nashville last year, met us for lunch. More Maggie Moo's for dessert, then back home. (We skipped dessert at the cheescake factory) Thank you all for your suggestions and we are looking forward to going back soon. NAshville is a great place.