Well, I did it. I stepped outside my comfort zone in a BIG way and I couldn’t be more grateful that I did. My husband and I took a well-deserved, long-awaited vacation and trip to Nashville, Tennessee and it was EXACTLY what we needed.
Why it took us so long to take our trip to Nashville
As a mom, going on vacation can be far from easy. We have responsibilities and commitments that we struggle to put on hold. We have anxieties about the time away and handing over our control to someone else. Lastly, we struggle to make time for ourselves and time for our partners in the process, often putting our needs on the back burner second to that of our children.
After almost six years of refusing to take a vacation without my children in tow, I knew it was time. Not only did I crave the self-care time, but so did the relationship of my husband and I. Often crossing paths in the busy everyday life of parental and career duties, we longed for the time for uninterrupted connection.
So off to Nashville it was! After asking some incredible social media mamas about their getaway suggestions, Nashville came highly recommended… so we decided to take our first solo vacation as parents to The Music City.
Vowing to give the trip our everything (we always opt to see a new city in its entirety), we explored as much of Nashville as we could fit into a full 4 day, 4 night vacation. My tips, tricks, recommendations and reviews for planning the perfect trip to Nashville can all be found below, broken down per category.
To note, this post is rather lengthly, but my hope is to provide you with the most thorough breakdown for planning your trip to Nashville!
A special thank you to Drury Hotel for helping to sponsor this post. Also, to Nashville Music City for providing the opportunity to enjoy so many of these locations below, during our trip to Nashville. As always, all opinions on locations visited are 100% my own.Â
Travel
Unable to get a direct flight from a location near us, we opted to forgo the long layover and take an 8.5 hour road trip to Nashville. While this may sound horrifying to some (and at first to me), it honestly was one of my favorite parts of the trip. 8.5 hours of uninterrupted time (each way) to talk, listen to music, listen to podcasts, stop at restaurants, etc. I THOROUGHLY enjoyed the travel time and bonding with my husband during our trip to Nashville.
Lodging
With multiple lodging locations in the area, the selection process can be a bit overwhelming. From hotels, to airbnbs, and more… the possibilities are endless. However, I would hands down recommend staying where we did at the Drury Plaza Hotel in Downtown Nashville during your trip to Nashville and let me tell you why.
- LOCATION. You know the saying, “location, location, location”. Well, you will definitely want to listen to this when it comes to selecting your lodging. With 90% of your time (or ours at least) spent downtown checking out the museums, restaurants, bars, shops, entertainment, etc., the last thing you will want is a long hike or car ride back to your lodging. The Drury was a 4 minute walk from Broadway and housed the most ideal location.
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- FREE BREAKFAST. Every single morning, the Drury provided a HUGE and FREE breakfast. From waffles, pancakes, eggs, cereal bar, etc., there was no limit to the amount of trips you could make to the buffet. My husband and I cashed in on this awesome perk each day before heading out to explore.
. - FREE HAPPY HOUR. Not only was breakfast amazing and free, but so was the Happy Hour! For 1.5 hours every night they have an open bar where you can cash in on three FREE drinks, and enjoy endless trips to their snacks (also FREE!). Think nachos, salad bar, chili, hotdogs, pasta, etc. You could easily count it as your dinner and pre-drinks prior to heading out for the night.
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- SURROUNDINGS. This point may sound a bit obvious, but as a personal clean freak, it is worth mentioning. The Drury Hotel was kept immaculate. The rooms were flawless (and beautiful), the lobby didn’t have so much as a piece of dirt, and the overall feel was incredibly cozy. Furthermore, the staff were all beyond courteous and helpful. We ordered pizza two nights upon returning to our hotel and the pizza was ready within 5 minutes of ordering!
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- ADDITIONAL. Additional perks included an indoor/outdoor pool (which we never even had time to enjoy, nor could we appreciate the outdoor portion in February), an incredible workout room (which my husband took advantage of daily), incredible views, free wifi and more!
Attractions
Below I will share both our favorite attractions/the ones we visited; as well as the ones that we didn’t have time for during our trip to Nashville but had on our list as well.
Our Favorite Attractions
Packing as much as we could into the time we were there, we prioritized the attractions to our interests. That said, there remained MANY that we didn’t even have a chance to explore. You can find them here.
Our favorites included:
- Best of Nashville City Tour on Double Decker Bus
- This awesome tour by Gray Line takes you around the city to share history, point out buildings to visit, and to learn the inside scoop of Nashville. I’d recommend scheduling this for early on in your trip so that you know of additional places to explore. The tour runs every 2 hours from 10am-4pm and lasts about 1 hour. The cost is $24.95/person. If you find yourself in Nashville during the colder months then make sure and bring appropriate clothing, as I recommend sitting on top for ultimate views and photos.
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- This awesome tour by Gray Line takes you around the city to share history, point out buildings to visit, and to learn the inside scoop of Nashville. I’d recommend scheduling this for early on in your trip so that you know of additional places to explore. The tour runs every 2 hours from 10am-4pm and lasts about 1 hour. The cost is $24.95/person. If you find yourself in Nashville during the colder months then make sure and bring appropriate clothing, as I recommend sitting on top for ultimate views and photos.
- Country Music Hall of Fame
- I feel like you can’t go to Nashville without first exploring the Country Music Hall of Fame. Jam packed with memorabilia, you will have an incredible walk through the history of country music. The museum is open 9am-5pm and costs $26/person.
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- I feel like you can’t go to Nashville without first exploring the Country Music Hall of Fame. Jam packed with memorabilia, you will have an incredible walk through the history of country music. The museum is open 9am-5pm and costs $26/person.
- Hatch Show Print tours
- There is a strong chance that every music poster you see in Nashville (and MANY around the country) are printed at the Hatch Show Print facility. This facility is now located within the Country Music Hall of Fame and provides a tour complete with history and the ability to print your own poster. I throughly enjoyed this experience. Tours run a few times a day and cost $46/person for BOTH the Hatch Show and general admission into the Country Music Hall of Fame. I’d recommend buying the tickets for this tour immediately upon arriving to make sure they don’t fill up.
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- There is a strong chance that every music poster you see in Nashville (and MANY around the country) are printed at the Hatch Show Print facility. This facility is now located within the Country Music Hall of Fame and provides a tour complete with history and the ability to print your own poster. I throughly enjoyed this experience. Tours run a few times a day and cost $46/person for BOTH the Hatch Show and general admission into the Country Music Hall of Fame. I’d recommend buying the tickets for this tour immediately upon arriving to make sure they don’t fill up.
- Grand Ole Opry Backstage Tours
- Another staple of heading to Nashville is seeing the Grand Ole Opry, where the top performers in Country Music have all performed. While you can pay for general admission to the Grand Ole Opry, I would HIGHLY recommend upgrading to the backstage tour. This guided tour is incredible. Not only does it show you the backstage dressing rooms, mailboxes, etc., but it also starts you off with the most incredible movie that provides history to the venue unlike anything you would see walking around on your own. Tours run every 30 minutes starting at 9:30am. If staying downtown, you will need to drive or Uber/Lyft to this location. It is about a 20 minute drive. Make sure to check the schedule, because you can even catch a live show while in town.
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- Another staple of heading to Nashville is seeing the Grand Ole Opry, where the top performers in Country Music have all performed. While you can pay for general admission to the Grand Ole Opry, I would HIGHLY recommend upgrading to the backstage tour. This guided tour is incredible. Not only does it show you the backstage dressing rooms, mailboxes, etc., but it also starts you off with the most incredible movie that provides history to the venue unlike anything you would see walking around on your own. Tours run every 30 minutes starting at 9:30am. If staying downtown, you will need to drive or Uber/Lyft to this location. It is about a 20 minute drive. Make sure to check the schedule, because you can even catch a live show while in town.
- Gaylord Opryland
- Gaylord Opryland is a resort and convention center that is basically its own little city. It has 9 amazing acres of indoor gardens, cascading waterfalls, and even an indoor river that you can take a boat ride on! There are shops, restaurants, and even an attached water park. It truly is an unbelievable sight and one definitely worth seeing. It is about a 10 minute walk from the Grand Ole Opry, so we piggybacked this on to our tour above. I would recommend parking in the Opry Mills shopping center and walking, or you pay close to $30 to park and enter the Gaylord Opryland on its grounds. There is no general cost of admission.
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- Gaylord Opryland is a resort and convention center that is basically its own little city. It has 9 amazing acres of indoor gardens, cascading waterfalls, and even an indoor river that you can take a boat ride on! There are shops, restaurants, and even an attached water park. It truly is an unbelievable sight and one definitely worth seeing. It is about a 10 minute walk from the Grand Ole Opry, so we piggybacked this on to our tour above. I would recommend parking in the Opry Mills shopping center and walking, or you pay close to $30 to park and enter the Gaylord Opryland on its grounds. There is no general cost of admission.
- Madame Tussauds Nashville
- This incredible wax museum allows you to capture photos with some of the most famous musical icons (in wax form that is ;)). In fact, they are so lifelike that we took a picture with Taylor Swift (my daughters’ icon) and texted it to them. They thought we met her for real and we were instantly upgraded to the coolest parents on the planet (don’t worry, we eventually told them the truth ;)). General admission is $24, but if you book tickets online you can get $5 off a ticket.
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- This incredible wax museum allows you to capture photos with some of the most famous musical icons (in wax form that is ;)). In fact, they are so lifelike that we took a picture with Taylor Swift (my daughters’ icon) and texted it to them. They thought we met her for real and we were instantly upgraded to the coolest parents on the planet (don’t worry, we eventually told them the truth ;)). General admission is $24, but if you book tickets online you can get $5 off a ticket.
- Ryman Auditorium
- This is another incredible musical venue you will want to tour while in Nashville. Prior to The Grand Ole Opry moving locations, it was once housed here. This one is right downtown and within walking distance to Broadway (the main street downtown). The Ryman has tours from 9am-4pm and just like the Grand Ole Opry you can opt to do a self-tour or a backstage tour. For this one we decided to do the self-tour and felt it was sufficient (though of course we don’t have the comparison). That said, I would highly recommend NOT skipping the movie at the start or you will be a bit confused. Self-guided tickets will run you $24.95/person and backstage tours are $34.95/person. Similar to the Grand Ole Opry, you can catch a live show while in town.
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- This is another incredible musical venue you will want to tour while in Nashville. Prior to The Grand Ole Opry moving locations, it was once housed here. This one is right downtown and within walking distance to Broadway (the main street downtown). The Ryman has tours from 9am-4pm and just like the Grand Ole Opry you can opt to do a self-tour or a backstage tour. For this one we decided to do the self-tour and felt it was sufficient (though of course we don’t have the comparison). That said, I would highly recommend NOT skipping the movie at the start or you will be a bit confused. Self-guided tickets will run you $24.95/person and backstage tours are $34.95/person. Similar to the Grand Ole Opry, you can catch a live show while in town.
- The Listening Room Cafe
- This was an incredible experience and one of my favorites. You purchase tickets ahead of time for a show that is either at brunch, lunch, or dinner (we did a dinner show). You sit down, dine/drink, and enjoy the show. The artists are super talented and you truly can listen to incredible music. There is a $15/person minimum to spend when there and tickets cost anywhere from $10-25 (I believe).
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- This was an incredible experience and one of my favorites. You purchase tickets ahead of time for a show that is either at brunch, lunch, or dinner (we did a dinner show). You sit down, dine/drink, and enjoy the show. The artists are super talented and you truly can listen to incredible music. There is a $15/person minimum to spend when there and tickets cost anywhere from $10-25 (I believe).
- Bluebird Cafe
- Similar to The Listening Room above, this is another music venue where some of the most famous country music singers were discovered. The only downside, they sell out FAST… like SUPER FAST! Tickets for the night we wanted to attend went live at 8am one week prior. We went on at 8:01am, waited in a virtual line, and when it was our turn 10 minutes later we were told they were sold out. So, we didn’t get to go. Had we been able to attend, we would have gone to both Bluebird Cafe AND The Listening Room.
- Nashville Murals
- I would highly recommend exploring the beautiful murals of Nashville and cashing in on awesome photo opportunities. For this you’ll want to look into a tour or driving as they are throughout the city. We explored only a few, but they were well worth the trip. You can find all the locations here.
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- I would highly recommend exploring the beautiful murals of Nashville and cashing in on awesome photo opportunities. For this you’ll want to look into a tour or driving as they are throughout the city. We explored only a few, but they were well worth the trip. You can find all the locations here.
Additional Attractions
These are the attractions we didn’t have time for, but would have opted to see.
- Johnny Cash Museum
- If you love Johnny Cash, then you will likely want to check this one out. Located right downtown you can easily walk to this museum. Tickets are $20.95/person and the museum is open 9am-7pm, 7 days a week.
- Patsy Cline Museum
- If you love Patsy Cline, you will likely want to check out this museum and collection of her most prized possessions. Located right downtown (by the Johnny Cash museum). Tickets are $18.95/person and the museum is open 9am-7pm, 7 days a week.
- Belle Meade Plantation
- This plantation provides a tour of the Harding family’s Belle Meade. Here you can learn about life and living conditions for the enslaved people on what was one of the largest slave-holding plantations in Nashville. Tickets are $24/person and the whole tour takes about 45 minutes. This too will require you to get transportation away from downtown.
- Jack Daniel’s Distillery Bus Tour
- This tour sounded awesome, but required about an entire day of our trip that we didn’t want to part with. A tour bus is provided in the $99/person fee to a distillery 1.5 hours away from downtown. Here you will tour the distillery, sample the whiskey, and explore downtown Lynchburg where you can eat lunch!
- The Ville Tours Pub Crawl
- If you’d rather engage in more of a pub crawl than a self-exploratory method of the downtown bars, then this is perfect. For $69/person you receive the tour, samples of food and beverages.
- Third Coast Comedy Club
- No shows were available when we were in town, but had then been, we would have gone. If you love comedy, this looks like the place to see. With fun improv shows, standup, sketch, etc. you can check out their individual shows and prices.
- Downtown Sporting Club
- If you ever wanted to throw axes in a cool setting, here is the chance. While we checked out the bar, we failed to have the time do engage in the axe throwing. This is located right downtown Nashville and also offers other fun games.
- Marathon Village
- We never made it here, but I wish we would have. This trendy location is where shopping, restaurants, and breweries are housed in an old car manufacturing building. If you also wanted to check out the official shop of ‘American Pickers’ this is where you’ll want to go.
- Printers Alley
- Here you will find karaoke, dancing, bars, and fun nightlife. We never ventured over here because there was so much to see on Broadway and its intersecting streets!
Dining
There are ENDLESS restaurants to dine at in Nashville. While we would have loved to try them all, we did as many as we could and I’ll share my favorites below.
- Luigi’s City Pizza
- Being the pizza junkies that we are, we had to try out a pizza place. Luigi’s did not disappoint. With a location right near Broadway, we adored their ‘Nashville Hot Chicken Pizza’.
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- Being the pizza junkies that we are, we had to try out a pizza place. Luigi’s did not disappoint. With a location right near Broadway, we adored their ‘Nashville Hot Chicken Pizza’.
- Ole Red
- This place is in honor of Blake Shelton and it is incredible. Huge stage for live music. Awesome views and food.
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- This place is in honor of Blake Shelton and it is incredible. Huge stage for live music. Awesome views and food.
- The Lookout
- We didn’t end up eating/drinking here as it was so cold and we couldn’t enjoy the outdoor view/eating area, but it comes highly recommended and is above Ole Red.
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- We didn’t end up eating/drinking here as it was so cold and we couldn’t enjoy the outdoor view/eating area, but it comes highly recommended and is above Ole Red.
- Rock Bottom Brewery
- Also on Broadway, this is a nice sit down location with a great menu.
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- Also on Broadway, this is a nice sit down location with a great menu.
- Hattie B’s Hot Chicken
- This place came highly recommended to us and it did NOT disappoint. If you love chicken, this is the place for you. We had to drive 10 minutes, pay $5 to park in a nearby ramp, and run in the pouring rain for this chicken. And let me tell you, it was SO worth it! We opted to take it to go given the small seating area and ate it back at our hotel. It was incredible!
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- This place came highly recommended to us and it did NOT disappoint. If you love chicken, this is the place for you. We had to drive 10 minutes, pay $5 to park in a nearby ramp, and run in the pouring rain for this chicken. And let me tell you, it was SO worth it! We opted to take it to go given the small seating area and ate it back at our hotel. It was incredible!
- Acme Feed and Seed
- This was a very fun location to eat. You order at the front or bar, and then the food is delivered to you. You sit and listen to music and enjoy the fun surroundings. We loved the food here.
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- This was a very fun location to eat. You order at the front or bar, and then the food is delivered to you. You sit and listen to music and enjoy the fun surroundings. We loved the food here.
- Another Broken Egg Cafe
- We rarely ate breakfast out thanks to our FREE breakfast buffet at our hotel (see above), but when we opted to go for a large brunch… this place did not disappoint. An incredible menu with amazing food within walking distance from downtown.
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- We rarely ate breakfast out thanks to our FREE breakfast buffet at our hotel (see above), but when we opted to go for a large brunch… this place did not disappoint. An incredible menu with amazing food within walking distance from downtown.
Bars
It may not surprise you that bars are plentiful in Nashville. What also shouldn’t surprise you is that LIVE music is playing at ALL of them on multiple floors (sometimes 3-4 bands in one bar). It is amazing! With SO many places/bars to recommend… below are just a few that we frequented often and loved.
- Nudie’s Honky Tonk
- This was a bar we found ourselves coming back to and definitely one of our favorites. The live music was amazing. The atmosphere very cool. Not to mention the incredible burlesque show on the second floor. Highly recommend checking them out.
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- This was a bar we found ourselves coming back to and definitely one of our favorites. The live music was amazing. The atmosphere very cool. Not to mention the incredible burlesque show on the second floor. Highly recommend checking them out.
- Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row
- This is another bar we frequented a few times. Great music and awesome bar to sit and listen for an extended period of time.
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- This is another bar we frequented a few times. Great music and awesome bar to sit and listen for an extended period of time.
- Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk and Steakhouse
- If you are interested in more rock than country, you’ll want to check out this place. We went here once and had a ton of fun changing up the type of music.
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- If you are interested in more rock than country, you’ll want to check out this place. We went here once and had a ton of fun changing up the type of music.
- Tootsies Orchid Lounge
- This place is simply iconic and came highly recommended. I’m so glad we checked it out and loved adding our names to the walls. With multiple floors and bars, we listened to endless live music.
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- This place is simply iconic and came highly recommended. I’m so glad we checked it out and loved adding our names to the walls. With multiple floors and bars, we listened to endless live music.
So there you have it. A complete breakdown of our much needed and appreciated trip to Nashville. If you are a mama and find yourself reading this post and debating taking your own vacation, let me be the first (or perhaps the 100th ;)) person to tell you to just DO IT! Your children will be just fine while you are away, your obligations can wait, and you owe it to yourself to have the vacation you deserve! Take that trip to Nashville… you WON’T regret it!
Please be sure to come back and let me know your FAVORITE part of Nashville!
