Author Topic: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN  (Read 6766 times)

cupcakes4all

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Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« on: August 26, 2014, 11:51:14 AM »
A group of friends (mid 20s, active ladies) are visiting Nash for a long weekend. We are probably going to rent something from airbnb but we are torn on if we need a car or not. It comes down to what we plan on doing. So, mustashian friend, please share some fun things to do in or around Nashville. We are up for hiking, city tours, anything. Thanks in advance!

hybrid

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #1 on: August 26, 2014, 12:57:27 PM »
I was just in Nashville and if you think you may be only be there once I would definitely put the Grand Ole Opry on my bucket list. I was there for a conference and will likely never be back. I don't regret the $62 I dropped for a ticket for a moment, and I'm not even a country music fan. The venue is actually pretty small, there isn't a bad seat in the house (seats maybe 4,000), and you will see several different acts perform two or three songs each (I saw 8 different performers, the biggest names all get three songs). Carrie Underwood happened to perform the night I was there. It's a truly historic building and worth the ticket IMO. Relatively easy to get in and out of as well.

cupcakes4all

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2014, 01:17:27 PM »
Thank you for your idea - looks like something my friends would enjoy! It's cool how the lineup isn't finalized until that week.

Gen Y Finance Journey

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #3 on: August 26, 2014, 01:40:33 PM »
Some of my coworkers went to the Grand Ole Opry as well and really enjoyed it (I was at the same conference).

I didn't spend a whole lot of time in downtown Nashville, but IMO it seems like a city where you need a car to get places. Check out the Parthenon. Yes, the Parthenon.

Gen Y Finance Journey

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #4 on: August 26, 2014, 01:50:51 PM »
If you're up for shelling out some money for a fancypants breakfast, I really liked Barista Parlor. They make the best biscuit I've ever had and their homemade poptarts are to die for. Of course I was eating there on my company's dollar, so I didn't feel the pain of paying for that $8 biscuit sandwich and $4 poptart. But they were soooooo good!

gimp

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #5 on: August 26, 2014, 01:55:11 PM »
If I remember my geography right, you can take a photo of one of the towers, and photoshop Sauron's eye into it. It looks pretty good.

hybrid

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #6 on: August 26, 2014, 01:57:06 PM »
Some of my coworkers went to the Grand Ole Opry as well and really enjoyed it (I was at the same conference).

I didn't spend a whole lot of time in downtown Nashville, but IMO it seems like a city where you need a car to get places. Check out the Parthenon. Yes, the Parthenon.

Hmmmmm, I never mentioned what conference I was at. NSA? :)  just kidding, I assume you were at ILTA at the Gaylord Opryland?

BTW, the Gaylord Opryland is quite the testament to over-the-top hotels. It is the original Gaylord hotel, others are in Dallas, Washington, and Orlando. I've been to all except Orlando. While they are all very nice and beautiful in their own ways, the Mustachian in you will be screaming about how there is no way on God's green earth you would personally spend $1000 for four days at one of these trumped up temples to consumerism. But, um, when it's on the company dime you don't really mind so much.... ;-)

Bank

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2014, 01:59:06 PM »
Commenting to follow this thread.  I am going to Nashville for the first time in the fall.  And there may be a similarly over-the-top Gaylord in the DC area.  Went to a conference there, I think.
« Last Edit: August 26, 2014, 02:01:05 PM by Bank »

millionaire-mindset

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2014, 02:16:57 PM »
BBQ, beers, and live music at Rippy's...just got back from there with some friends (late 20's) and we had a blast!

crispy

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2014, 02:45:37 PM »
I'm a resident so here's my cut-and-paste answer: :)

The Country Music Hall of Fame is fun if you are a country music fan. If you are an art lover, make sure to visit the Frist Center downtown. It's a smaller art museum, but the exhibits are usually outstanding and the building is a beautiful example of art deco architecture. It's really lovely. The Tennessee State Museum is also downtown, and it is awesome and free. There are also lots of bars and restaurants for music like the Wildhorse Saloon and Tootsie's downtown. That is honestly not my scene so I don't know much about it.  The Ryman Auditorium (the original home of the Grand Ole Opry) is also downtown.  They sometimes have shows there, but you can always do a tour. 

For events going on while you are here, you can check www.nowplayingnashville.com. It shows any type of performance from small to large in the Nashville area.

Near the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, there is the current Grand Ole Opry, the General Jackson Showboat, and Opry Mills mall (outlet mall with lots of restaurants like the Aquarium and Rainforest Café. They also have live music here often).  There are definitely lots of touristy things in this area like mini-golf.

There is a lot of history to see if you are interested in that. I love visiting The Hermitage which is the home of President An drew Jackson. It is a really cool place and extremely well preserved (my neighbor is a docent there so I get a kick out of seeing her come home in her historical garb). It is also not far from the airport area. Stone's River Battlefield is in the Murfreesboro which is about an hour away as is Franklin, which also has several large battlefields. You can also visit Belle Meade Plantation or Traveler's Rest Plantation.  Cheekwood is a historic home with a lovely botanical garden. 

On the wackier side, you can also do things like a bus tour like Nash Trash. I haven't done it, but several friends have and say it's hilarious (and not G-rated). You can also visit The Parthenon at Centennial Park because yes, Nashville has a full scale replica of The Parthenon and the Athena statue form Ancient Greece...lol!  There is also a nice, small museum attached to this.

As for restaurants, we love Jack's BBQ and Demos' in the downtown area. If you like southern cooking, Monell's is awesome.  It's served family style and you are seated with strangers so be warned in case that's not your thing. The Pancake Pantry, the Bluebird Café, The Loveless Café are "famous" Nashville restaurants, but I'll be honest and say I've never tried any of them. Nashville is also famous for HOT chicken which is super spicy fried chicken. It's also not my thing, but lots of people love it (or maybe they just want an excuse to cry through lunch...lol!).

cupcakes4all

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #10 on: August 26, 2014, 03:19:15 PM »
wow! Thanks for all the ideas!

AshStash

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #11 on: August 26, 2014, 03:53:47 PM »
Great suggestions from crispy.  If you like live music, going to the Bluebird Cafe and/or the Station Inn is a lot of fun. Nashville has developed a real foodie culture in the last few years and a lot of new, exciting restaurants have opened. For famous breakfast spots, biscuits at Loveless Cafe and pancakes at Pancake Pantry are popular places prone to long lines on weekends.

In terms of hiking, Radnor Lake State is very pretty and is an easy 45 minutes to get around the whole lake. There are more trails that run up the ridges around the lake as well. If you're visiting soon while it's still summer, you can rent paddleboards and even take a Floyo class (yoga on a standup paddleboard--been in the news here lately and full disclosure, I know the instructor) from Nashville Paddle Co. on Percy Priest Lake, which is on the same side of town as the airport and Opryland.

I definitely recommend renting a car. A lot of these places are pretty spread out and the bus system isn't efficient unless you are going to/from downtown (and even then buses don't necessarily run that often to the places you want to go).

GrowingAMustache

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #12 on: August 26, 2014, 04:42:30 PM »
I really enjoy the Nashville Zoo!

Rube

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #13 on: August 26, 2014, 08:59:52 PM »
Wow I'm jealous. I'm probably flying in sometime this fall for the sole purpose of heading to Bowling Green and touring the Corvette factory and museum. The only time I've been was when one of our friends got married, the wives stayed back to decorate while the 3 husbands that were there went downtown and did CMHOF. I thought it was a little weak myself despite a loose association with the industry. We walked past the notable bars and ended up at the Hard Rock of all places. Then we went back.

cupcakes4all

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #14 on: August 26, 2014, 10:16:38 PM »
Haha thanks for the honest feed back Rube.

freki

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #15 on: August 27, 2014, 03:45:26 AM »
Thing about the Opry is to really try to get to it when it's at the Ryman downtown.  I've been to each twice and Opryland is, well, over the top.  Go either way, but I'd put the Ryman first if you have a choice when you're there.

Never been to the Bluebird but have heard nothing but good things.

I was down in June and one of my colleagues took us to a blues bar in Printer's Alley, which was cool.  It's not far from Broadway, which is where most of the music bars are.

http://www.theprintersalley.com/

My company is HQ'ed down there, I can ask some of the locals if you like.

crispy

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #16 on: August 27, 2014, 06:56:59 AM »
Wow I'm jealous. I'm probably flying in sometime this fall for the sole purpose of heading to Bowling Green and touring the Corvette factory and museum. The only time I've been was when one of our friends got married, the wives stayed back to decorate while the 3 husbands that were there went downtown and did CMHOF. I thought it was a little weak myself despite a loose association with the industry. We walked past the notable bars and ended up at the Hard Rock of all places. Then we went back.

The only time I have been to the CMHOF is when it was free.  It's interesting for a country music fan, but way overpriced for the average if you aren't that into country music.  The Corvette museum is pretty cool.  The admission price is pretty low, too.  I haven't toured the factory yet, but it looks like a fun thing to do.  I really want to visit the museum again because I haven't been back since the sinkhole happened. That was just insane!

Gen Y Finance Journey

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #17 on: August 27, 2014, 02:21:58 PM »
Some of my coworkers went to the Grand Ole Opry as well and really enjoyed it (I was at the same conference).

I didn't spend a whole lot of time in downtown Nashville, but IMO it seems like a city where you need a car to get places. Check out the Parthenon. Yes, the Parthenon.

Hmmmmm, I never mentioned what conference I was at. NSA? :)  just kidding, I assume you were at ILTA at the Gaylord Opryland?

BTW, the Gaylord Opryland is quite the testament to over-the-top hotels. It is the original Gaylord hotel, others are in Dallas, Washington, and Orlando. I've been to all except Orlando. While they are all very nice and beautiful in their own ways, the Mustachian in you will be screaming about how there is no way on God's green earth you would personally spend $1000 for four days at one of these trumped up temples to consumerism. But, um, when it's on the company dime you don't really mind so much.... ;-)

I think we had this same conversation a year or two ago, so I remembered that you go to ILTA. :)

ABC123

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Re: Fun things to do in Nashville, TN
« Reply #18 on: August 27, 2014, 08:48:33 PM »
As a Nashvillian, I would sadly have to say that a car is a must have if you are going to be doing much. Our public transit is pretty much nonexistent.  But there are lots of fun things to do here. Hope you have a great trip!