I recently took a trip down to Nashville for the first time ever. I fell in love.
What I expected when I went there was a huge city with a lot of skyscrapers and fast traffic, but what I found was a small city with a huge feel of a small town. How great is that?
It's almost like the best of both worlds there. It's insane because it obviously is a city, yet when you stand on Broadway you almost feel like it's a small town with A LOT of bars. I have made a list of all of the places I loved when I visited Nashville, and places I know that you all should go to when you go to Nashville.
1. Broadway
This is place where you are constantly hearing people singing, drinking, and having a great time. This street is never quiet, yet it has a small-town vibe to it. It has countless numbers of bars and restaurants that are all filled with a live band. You can't go wrong when you enter any bar on this street because you will always have amazing live entertainment!
2. Johnny Cash Museum
I don't know about you, but I have always been a huge fanatic when it comes to Johnny Cash. So this was a stop that I had to take. The Johnny Cash Museum was incredible.
It had an abundance of exhibits spreading from his album covers to June to the history of his life. It was very cool to see actual artifacts that were Johnny's and to learn a little bit more about his life.
3. Country Music Hall of Fame
If you are going to the Music City, I feel that a necessary stop would have to be the Country Music Hall of Fame. This place was incredible. They had an exhibit for every country music star that you can think of. I was lucky enough to see the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill exhibit and it was amazing seeing the timeline to their success.
One of my favorite parts about the Hall of Fame was the exhibit that walked you through 2017. It was interesting to see the clothing worn by today's country artists and to read more into their success over this past year. I highly recommend that you go to the Country Music Hall of Fame if you have any ounce of country in you.
4. 12 South
When my sister told us we needed to go to 12 South, I pictured this large street—potentially like Broadway. When we got down to that area, I was pleasantly surprised. It was a small-town street. It resembled a street from back home, it's crazy!
12 South is a place that has restaurants, shops, and murals. The places I recommend to go see when you head down to 12 South is The Flipside (they have amazing food and huge ice cream shakes), Five Daughter's Bakery (DONUTS), Draper James (Reese Witherspoon's store), and BarTaco (that is my sister's recommendation. I sadly didn't have enough time to go there).
12 South also has really cool murals. It has the famous "I believe in Nashville" mural, and also a mural that is tie-dye painted with Nashville painted across it.
5. Goo Goo's
If you step foot in Nashville, you have got to get a Goo Goo Cluster. I had never heard of them, but we went into their store and bought some. The second I tried them, I fell in love and my life will never be the same. This candy is amazing. You will be craving it until you head back to Nashville again.
6. Murals
If you really love murals, I feel that you could dedicate an entire day to finding them in Nashville. Every single one is beautiful, and it's so fun to see how you can capture a photo with each of them.
7. Germantown
This neighborhood is up-and-coming. I was lucky enough to stay close to this neighborhood, so I got the chance to explore this area while checking out some coffee shops and restaurants there. Germantown is a quiet and modern area.
It's very up-and-coming due to the vast amount of apartment buildings being built right now. It is, and will be, a neighborhood for people to check out some great authentic food and to relax. I had the chance to go to a restaurant called Monell's.
Now, Monell's has three locations, but I went to the one in Germantown. This restaurant is a must if you ever go to Nashville. It is a restaurant that serves food family style. There is no set menu—you just sit down and wait for your food to be served to you. You sit at a huge table and pass around food at the table.
It's so fun because you get to meet new people and eat as much as you want. The food is all homemade, and you will be full when you leave there.
8. Tootsies
This is a bar on Broadway. I know I wrote about bars on Broadway, but I felt that Tootsies needed its own title. First of all, Tootsies is a light purple building. Second of all, it has amazing live music, with multiple bands playing at once. Third, it has multiple levels including a rooftop bar.
It is always packed, and always a good time. It was the best live music I heard on my trip to Nashville—others may disagree, but we all probably can agree on that it's a good time at Tootsies!
9. The Gulch
The Gulch is a new area in Nashville that has a lot of shopping, restaurants, and murals. It's a more clean and modern area where you can just spend a day relaxing and looking at shops while grabbing a bite to eat!
10. Music Row
This street is a place full of houses where artists have recorded and "become famous." This is where all the magic happens. It was so interesting to me because all of these buildings were normal-looking houses, yet they had posters in their yards featuring all of the famous music artists that have had hits on the radio recently.
It featured Thomas Rhett, Russell Dickerson, Kelsea Ballerini, and so many more. It was just a really cool experience driving down the street because you knew that these people have stepped foot there before.
11. Drive around Nashville, Brentwood, Countryside, Franklin
One of my favorite memories from visiting Nashville was taking a drive through the city, the suburbs around it, and the countryside. It was very cool to see all of the different neighborhoods. What amazed me was how close the countryside was to the actual city. It is one of the many reasons why I love Nashville so much. It reminds me of my own home, yet it has the added bonus of the city.
Nashville is an incredible place with many, many things to explore and do. I highly recommend visiting. It's an amazing city that has live music, tons of history, museums, and GREAT food.
(And if you know of anyone going there soon, please tell them to pick me up some Goo Goo Clusters!!)
