Nashville/Franklin TN trip

[Bethislucy]

My cousin is turning 40 in July and we are going to take a long weekend trip to Nashville/Franklin. I was wondering if anyone could tell us some of the best places to visit, a good area to book a hotel etc. It's been about 15 years since I've been to Nashville and it's grown a lot. We are hoping someone we know will be at the Ryman, Crosspoint church & few local restaurants we don't have anything else major on our list.

 

[MIGrandma]

The last place we stayed was the Doubletree on 4th Street, I think it was a 4-block walk to Broadway. There is a parking garage across the street too. We loved it being so close to Broadway that we could walk there and back. Always enjoy several of the honkytonks, especially Layla’s and Crazy Horse. Lots of restaurants to choose from, and other attractions right in that area. One of our favorite places to stop at for a couple of nights anytime we are headed to Florida for vacation. Last time we were there we took the back stage tour of the Roman, that was nice.

Edited to add, we also took the tour of Fontanel, which is the former home of Barbara Mandrell. Gorgeous huge log home, our tour guide was Stephen Whitson and he was fantastic. Nice restaurant right there too.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Eat at Stan’s in Columbia.

 

[mandy200587]

When in July are you thinking because that makes a difference with hotel prices. There’s a ton of new hotels going up as we speak in Nashville. Franklin may be a bit cheaper to stay at.

As far as activities the hall of fame is a must do. Johnny cash and George Jones museum. Eat at the diner on 4th

 

[dclpluto]

Just seen a commercial for Gaylord Opryland. Looks amazing

 

[mmouse37]

Gaylord Opryland is an awesome looking hotel. Our first time to Nashville we stayed across the street from the Gaylord at a Hyatt. We did tour the Opryland and it was gorgeous. Our next few times to Nashville we stayed with family on Hillsboro Ave down the street from the Bluebird Café (famous small venue where many artists got their start). My DD lived in Nashville for several years so we went often. All the places mentioned are great. Last summer we went back to Nashville for a friend's birthday party and we stayed at the Westin Downtown which is just two blocks from Broadway. Really nice hotel. Some of our favorite restaurants are Monell's in Germantown, Martin's BBQ and this restaurant in Franklin that I forget the name of!!

We also saw Amy Grant (with a visit from Vince Gill) at the theatre in Franklin and really enjoyed the show. Franklin is very small so you can easily walk the main street in short amount of time. Off the main drag in the surrounding area are many antique shops which are fun to browse.

My DD's MIL owns the store Two Old Hippies in the Gulch area of Nashville. Cool store to browse around in.

MJ

 

[EllNat11]

Depending on how long you're visiting, if anyone enjoys whiskey, we made the drive out to the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, it wasn't a bad drive, and we really enjoyed it (the tastings didn't hurt!) We enjoyed the Ryman and the "new" Grand Ole Opry as well. We rented a house in East Nashville and it worked well for us, we found Nashville to be a really drive-able city (full disclosure - we went in January, not exactly peak tourist season!)

 

[asta]

Opryland is a pretty hotel but it is removed from a lot of the things like restaurants and honkytonks that make up lower Broad in Nashville. Opryland has just opened a water park for hotel guests only so that might make a stay there a better option. If it were me and I did not care about cost, I would stay at one of the downtown hotels. You would be close to lots of entertainment with no driving. My favorites would be the Omni, downtown Hilton, the J W Marriott or the Westin.

I hope someone you like will be at the Ryman. It is a great music venue. There are several new bars/restaurants that have just opened downtown. My daughters love Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge. It has a couple of roof top outside bars and other inside bars on several different levels. We have never eaten at the restaurant in the bottom but it has one with typical bar type food. Blake Shelton’s Ole Red restaurant and bar is across the street. The menu looks a little better there but it stays so busy that we haven’t had a chance to try it yet. Florida Georgia Line has a new restaurant in the area that is fairly good. My old favorite is Acme Feed and Seed at the beginning of Lower Broad. I prefer all of these to the more traditional honkytonks. I think I like that they are newer and not as sticky.

There are so many really good restaurants that I don’t know where to start. It might be easier to pick where your staying and then decide if you want to drive to other areas to eat.

 

[Southernmiss]

We were in Nashville over 4th of July for one day. We ate at the Crazy Horse and had a package deal to tour the Ryman, Grand Ole Opry and then toured Johnny Cash museum. We are not country music fans, but really enjoyed those as our dads listened to country music when we were young, so we were familiar with it all.

Neat to see which modern stars have been at the Grand Ole Opry.

The Gaylord Hotel is beautiful at Christmas and the little boat ride is a nice little treat.

Will be touring Belle Meade plantation tomorrow. We're heading to visit mil now who lives an hour south of Nashville.

ETA- We toured the Parthenon and Belle Mead plantation today.

Really enjoyed both. We only had about 45 minutes to tour the Parthenon. Needed double that. Really neat to se the statue of Athena inside. And enjoyed the paintings.

Belle Mead plantation was only 30 minutes from the Parthenon. We toured for abt 2.5 hours. A really enjoyable afternoon and the interpreters were great at telling the story of the plantation and answering questions. Enjoyed wine tasting at the end. And brought home a souvenir.

At at Sam's place-good food and popular-crowded.

 

[Bethislucy]

When in July are you thinking because that makes a difference with hotel prices. There’s a ton of new hotels going up as we speak in Nashville. Franklin may be a bit cheaper to stay at.

As far as activities the hall of fame is a must do. Johnny cash and George Jones museum. Eat at the diner on 4th

It will be the end of July like the 20-23.

 

[Wishing on a star]

If we make a trip to Nashville to see Downtown / Music Row... Which of those bars/restaurants (honkey-tonks) should we check out, eat, etc???
We will be at Nashville to see Derek Hough at the Grand Old Opy. I might see if I can find a way to get a good rate at the Gaylord Opryland. They should have a shuttle over to Music Row, but I have no idea how that works or how much it costs?

PS: The Gaylord is, indeed, a beautiful hotel. But, just be aware that it is huge, impersonal, and everything is super expensive, because, as mentioned, guests there are considered kind of a captive audience. We have never had good guest service there.

Also, in July, with the hotel being huge atriums... it can be HOT!!!!

 

[asta]

If we make a trip to Nashville to see Downtown / Music Row... Which of those bars/restaurants (honkey-tonks) should we check out, eat, etc???
We will be at Nashville to see Derek Hough at the Grand Old Opy. I might see if I can find a way to get a good rate at the Gaylord Opryland. They should have a shuttle over to Music Row, but I have no idea how that works or how much it costs?

PS: The Gaylord is, indeed, a beautiful hotel. But, just be aware that it is huge, impersonal, and everything is super expensive, because, as mentioned, guests there are considered kind of a captive audience. We have never had good guest service there.

Also, in July, with the hotel being huge atriums... it can be HOT!!!!

For tradition you might want to check out Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge first. It can be very crowded so be prepared. From there I would go down the street to 32 Bridge, Luke Bryan’s new bar. This seems like one of the better new bars. There are many others - Nudie’s, Alan Jackson’s Good Time bar, Rippey’s, Honky Tonk Central, Blake Shelton’s Ole Red, Fla-Ga Line, Jason Aldean’s and Acme Feed & Seed (one of my favorites because it has more room). These bars are all on a four block stretch of Broadway so it is easy to pop in and out of these as you go down the street.

Eating downtown- The Southern Steak and Oyster is always popular; I like the fried catfish at Acme Feed & Seed; the menu looks good at Ole Red but we haven’t been able to get in there yet; Etch is good but more expensive and more formal; The Palm is good for steaks.

 

[amberpi]

The first question is are you going to explore Nashville as a country music fan, or do you want to explore all the "new Nashville" kinda things like Austin? I hate country music, and have literally never been to any of country music places discussed here nor a single honkytonk on Broadway (I avoid at all costs unless I have business downtown) and I'm a Nashville native, although I've pinged around and always end up back here. If you love country music, we love your tourist dollars, but there is much more to Nashville than country music. (I say this with my own personal bias showing quite a lot, I know.)

Word of advice, those stupid pedal tavern things are SERIOUSLY pissing people in Nashville off - I've heard of petitions to get them banned, but I haven't seen them myself so maybe that's just FB rantings because they muck up already terrible traffic. People throw stuff at them and yell bad things. Just an FYI, I can't imagine it's a fun experience anymore (of course, you could have no issues too, its not like a mob is sitting around to heckle folks) with that and the fact that downtown Nashville is quite hilly in spots. I wouldn't want to have a few beers and then have to pedal around.

Gaylord is a fantastic place and really unique, if you don't stay there you might consider visiting. If you want to stay close to downtown the Hermitage Hotel is another Nashville icon.

Whatever you want, Nashville probably has, but our art museum depends heavily on traveling installations, so that kinda sucks. If you like Indie music, Nashville has a thriving scene in that regard too.

 

[asta]

Word of advice, those stupid pedal tavern things are SERIOUSLY pissing people in Nashville off - I've heard of petitions to get them banned, but I haven't seen them myself so maybe that's just FB rantings because they muck up already terrible traffic. People throw stuff at them and yell bad things. Just an FYI, I can't imagine it's a fun experience anymore (of course, you could have no issues too, its not like a mob is sitting around to heckle folks) with that and the fact that downtown Nashville is quite hilly in spots. I wouldn't want to have a few beers and then have to pedal around.

I am not downtown enough to get annoyed by the pedal taverns but they are only part of the picture. There are also party barges, tractors pulling trailers full of tourists and just about any vehicle they can make open air. I think they are kind of funny and would never think of throwing anything. The people on them look like they are having fun. I could be wrong but I think those pedal taverns look like they have some sort of power motor that helps with the hills.

Personally, as a long time Nashvillian, I don’t mind the tourists who visit here for a short while nearly as much as all of the people who are moving here to stay. That is changing our area much more than the tourists.

 

[amberpi]

I am not downtown enough to get annoyed by the pedal taverns but they are only part of the picture. There are also party barges, tractors pulling trailers full of tourists and just about any vehicle they can make open air. I think they are kind of funny and would never think of throwing anything. The people on them look like they are having fun. I could be wrong but I think those pedal taverns look like they have some sort of power motor that helps with the hills.

Personally, as a long time Nashvillian, I don’t mind the tourists who visit here for a short while nearly as much as all of the people who are moving here to stay. That is changing our area much more than the tourists.

I should have been more inclusive because you're exactly right. My DH works downtown and says those things are just looking for trouble with people yelling and throwing water bottles and stuff. I have lots of friends who work there or in the Gulch and go through downtown to get over the river and they have feelings.

It certainly is a different place than 20 years ago or even 10. Remember when East Nashville was regentrifying and affordable or when 65 to Brentwood was decent traffic? How funny is that now? I don't know how people can afford to keep moving to the area with the ever increasing housing prices. I really don't.

 

[mandy200587]

I am not downtown enough to get annoyed by the pedal taverns but they are only part of the picture. There are also party barges, tractors pulling trailers full of tourists and just about any vehicle they can make open air. I think they are kind of funny and would never think of throwing anything. The people on them look like they are having fun. I could be wrong but I think those pedal taverns look like they have some sort of power motor that helps with the hills.

Personally, as a long time Nashvillian, I don’t mind the tourists who visit here for a short while nearly as much as all of the people who are moving here to stay. That is changing our area much more than the tourists.

lord yes and i think there's a boat one too i've seen around town.


I haven't been to broadway since Big Bang/Paradise Park closed. Luke's is suppose to be good. I know Martin's is always busy and if you can get there early on Saturday's, they have a strawberry cake that's suppose to be really good...i haven't had it yet.

 

[amberpi]

lord yes and i think there's a boat one too i've seen around town.

You mean the duck boats? Too bad we didn't have them during the flood, right?

 

[mandy200587]

You mean the duck boats? Too bad we didn't have them during the flood, right?

Maybe, i know i've seen some drunk people on a makeshift boat cruising downtown. right???? we could of used them then

 

[amberpi]

Maybe, i know i've seen some drunk people on a makeshift boat cruising downtown. right???? we could of used them then

While the flood doesn't seem so long ago, Nashville was much less cool then.

 

[mandy200587]

While the flood doesn't seem so long ago, Nashville was much less cool then.

It really was, i could park at the library garage for five bucks back then