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Visiting Nashville, Tennessee
Visiting Nashville Tennessee
Visiting Nashville Tennessee, the home to so many exciting places, starting with Music Row and the Mecca is definitely the center of all things musical. Nashville, as most people know, is home to country music, but within Nashville’s thriving music metropolis exists record labels, recording studios, and radio stations. If it has to do with music, you will find it here, and not just country music, but also gospel and contemporary Christian music are represented.
Music City
Other notable music attractions are the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. The distinctive nickname of Music City was earned back in the 1800s, so dubbed for the sheer numbers of songwriters and music publishers. The first world tour by a group of singers from Fisk University, the Fisk Jubilee Singers, was launched from Nashville, making the city officially a global music hub, but it was the Queen of England who first uttered the words “Music City” during a performance by the Jubilee Singers and the name stuck.
The historic Ryman Auditorium is the originator of the radio show on WSM called the Grand Ole Opry and now, 85 years later it is still going strong. Nashville is also known as the “Songwriting Capital of the World,” and songwriters around the world come here to pursue their music.
Once a niche market, country music has broken out of the mold and shown that country music can have a very wide appeal thanks, in part, to CMT and GAC, two cable channels that have spread country music, both to the lovers of traditional country music (aka country and western), and to new converts, far and wide. Country music put Nashville on the map and now attracts all manner of musical genres including pop, rock, bluegrass, and jazz, to name a few. Nashville is home to the music itself and 365 days a year you can hear that music being played in one of the city’s 130 music venues.
Events in Nashville
April in Nashville finds the Nashville Film Festival in full swing with hundreds of independent films being screened and also offers a screenplay competition. In June, there is the very popular CMA Music Festival bringing together fans and artists for a four-day opportunity to meet, greet, and an autograph sessions.
The Fourth of July is a big deal in Nashville. Let Freedom Sing is an event with music, and a street festival and a spectacular fireworks display to cap off the night. There’s Oktoberfest in Germantown, the Southern Festival of Books in October, and, of course, the CMA awards in November. There are museums and historical attractions, state parks, the Jack Daniels Distillery, the Nashville Famer’s Market, art galleries, and the Upper Room Chapel and Museum.
The First Saturday Art Crawl features free wine and lots of amazing art and periphery to The Rymer Gallery featuring some wonderful contemporary art pieces. The historic Grand Ole Opry is a must see for country music fans.
Dining in Nashville
Lazzaroli Pasta, a local Italian grocery, has the best pasta and tiramisu, and the Carl Van Vechten Gallery at Frisk University features works by the best-known European and American Artists like Pablo Picasso and Georgia O’Keeffe. Check out our post Dining Scene in Nashville, Tennessee for more great eats in music city.
Boots in Music City
Some out-of-the-way shopping can be found at Peter Nappi in Germantown, a manufacturer of Italian boots. The showroom also includes vintage furniture and purses. Antique Archaeology, which is the Nashville counterpart of American Pickers, has tons of cool stuff to see and is located near The Bang Candy Company and Corsair Distillery. Lucchese Boots is a must-see shop if you are in the market for custom cowboy boots.
Where to shop & what to do
Residents of Nashville enjoy a whole other world outside of tourist attractions and know where to find the best Nashville has to offer out of the limelight. Nashville residents love to shop for vintage items and frequent the likes of Two Old Hippies for vintage clothes, Grimey’s New & Preloved Music for vintage records, and dozens of vintage shops around the city.
Lockeland Table and Holland House are not on the tourist maps, but follow the hometown crowd over the 12South for some great eats. Another local hot spot is City House in Germantown with a relaxed atmosphere and locally sourced foods.
One great thing about vacationing in Nashville is being able to take advantage of discounted show and event tickets by purchasing a package at the hotel that will include lodging fees with tickets to local attractions for one price for a better bargain than they would be separately. Nashville is an exciting city right at the heart of music and great places to see and things to do. Make certain to that you plan in visiting Nashville Tennessee soon!
We were hosted on the Adventures by Disney Nashville Long Weekend trip. This is one post in a series of posts. For further details and more information on specific places we visited, please see:
Adventures by Disney Nashville Long Weekend
The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee
The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee
Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center
Dining Scene in Nashville, Tennessee
Hatch Show Print in Nashville, Tennessee
RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee
Visiting nashville is on my wish-list. I grew up on country music so there’s a lot of places i’d like to tour in the city.
Nashville is such a fun city. There is so much to see and do here. I’d love to take the whole family on a vacation and check out some of the attractions here!
I would love to visit Nashville!! What a fun place to go and see things, I know my family would love to visit the area!
Nashville is on my bucket list. It’s such a fun place to go and explore.
I would love to visit Nashville one day. It’s definitely on my bucket list.
What an awesome trip! You must of had so much fun – and your pictures are great!
I have family out that way and still have not visited. This really makes me want to head out there now. Looks like so much fun!
Don’t you just love Nashville?! We spent the weekend there a couple of months ago and loved it. We can’t wait to go back and explore some more.
This sounds like a great trip indeed. I would love to go to The Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville for sure. My grandfather loved Johnny Cash and would always listen to his tapes. Thanks for sharing your experience.
That sounds like so much fun. I have never been to Nashville before. I’ve always wanted to go though. It always sounded like they had tons of great music and lots to do.
I haven’t been to Nashville since I was a kid. I think my husband would love it because of the big music scene.
I am actually going to Nashville this weekend and can’t wait to go back and read the rest of this series!! Can’t wait to go!!!
I haven’t been to Nashville in years and didn’t realize there were so many cool things to do there. We’ll definitely need to take a long weekend and get up there.
I would really love to go to Nashville and explore. It looks beautiful and it seems like there’s lots of things to do in there.
I live not too far from Nashville, I have driven through it but never really visited. I would love to check these places out!
I’ve been wanting to take a trip to Nashville for years but can never seem to fit it into my schedule. I would love to go to the Carl Van Vechten Gallery to see all the artwork.
This looks so amazing! Never been there before and wasn’t planning on visiting anytime soon until I read this post. 😛
Sounds like an amazing trip! I’ve never been to Nashville before!
My best friend loved her trip there. She said it was so beautiful and the people were so nice. Looks like a great time.
I think that Nashville is such a cool, culturally rich, city that has so much to offer to everyone. I am so excited to visit Nashville next year with my family. Your post made me even more excited!
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