Hittin' The Honky Tonks | Travel Tales

See what I did, my recommendations, and how I rank Nashville

To see 10 things to know before going to Nashville here, or 20 things to do here. ​

Wednesday, June 17th, 2020
Weather 81/63
Distance 2 miles

We arrived late in the afternoon and quickly checked into our airbnb before heading to The Stillery to get some moonshine and hot chicken. The restaurant is slightly off Broadway, which is the main street in downtown Nashville, and the first thing you notice is the live music coming from all the different bars.

There is a pizza under all the arugla..

After dinner we walked up and down Broadway to check things out before stopping by Bailey's for live music.

Thursday, June 18, 2020
Weather 84/65
Distance 3.9

​We started the morning, as we do on most vacations, by going to Frothy Monkey, which was one of the few coffee shops in downtown. We then took the coffee over to the Cumberland River to enjoy the view.  ​

We had been on the road for a bit so we went to Hill Urban Market to pick up some groceries and did some laundry. 

After our clothes were sufficiently clean we went back to Jason Aldean's Bar to enjoy the rooftop view. There was no reason why we choose this one in particular other than hoping to just get a rooftop view and this fit our need. It was okay and I'm sure would be comparable to any of them. ​​

We then walked by the Johnny Cash Museum, went into the Goo Goo Shop before cruisin' by the Country Music Walk of Fame and Country Music Hall of Fame. 

If you are wondering what the Goo Goo Shop is, well it's home to the Goo Goo Cluster which was invented in 1912 and was the first combination candy bar which has peanuts, caramel, marshmallow and coated in milk chocolate in the city. ​

We ended by walking around the Pedestrian Bridge which doesn't allow cars to go on and provides a cool view of the downtown.  After we headed back home to get ready for the night!

View from the bridge.

Trying to get a different sense of the city we headed to Midtown to check out some of the bars in that area. We started at Patterson House which is a speakeasy that sits under a real fancy restaurant. You’ll need a seat to get in but you’ll enjoy snacks and custom crafted cocktails. ​​

Patterson House

Patterson House

Patterson House

We then walked by Winners, Losers, Red Door Saloon as well. ​

Winners

Red Door Saloon

Friday, June 19th, 2020
Weather: 91/66
Distance: 9.2

After our trip to New Orleans we were on a biscuit kick and trying them out whenever we could and headed to Milk & Honey for coffee and biscuits. Around the corner is an Instagram famous mural that people were lining up to take pictures of.

Milk & Honey

We then walked through Music Row, Vanderbilt, before going to Centennial Park to see the Parthenon. ​

We then walked over to Five Daughters Bakery which is best known for their 100-layer donut–the combination of a donut and croissant is rolled in sugar, filled with cream, and glazed.  We then wanted to try some real Nashville Hot Chicken and went to Hattie B's. It is claimed to be one of the best places along with Prince's and it didn't disappoint. 

The line was crazy to order so we just placed a pick up order online, went over to the Tavern for a drink and hung out. Both were great! ​

5 Daughters Bakery

Hattie B's

Tavern

We ended the night by get a meat and 3 which is another common thing you’ll see listed and it is just a serving of a meat of your choice with 3 sides at Puckett's. We made sure to reserve a table for when there was live music and went over to Broadway afterwards of course. ​

Puckett's

Saturday, June 20th, 2020
Weather: 92 /68
​Distance: 5.1

We started by going to Crema Roasters for coffee which was good a decent walk along the Cumberland River. We then went to the State Capital home for a bit before going to Legendairy Milkshake Bar. ​

Crema Roasters

Given the name this is just what you'd expect, a legendary shake which is a mason jar filled with deliciousness! Needing to walk some of that off we walked back through Broadway. ​

We ended the night by going to the Listening Room Cafe which was a more intimate setting with song writers you may know or who have written songs on the radio. The quality of the singers were better than what we had seen anywhere else. Over Broadway a bit we grabbed some cocktails and enjoyed them down by the river. ​

The Listening Room Cafe

Sunday, June 21st, 2020
Weather: 91 /68
​Distance: 1

​We had a mid morning flight out and stopped by Another Broken Egg for breakfast which was a standard diner but was nearby in downtown. ​

Nashville Nugget

Things To Do: 7/10
While in Nashville there is quite a bit to do but it is all generally targeted to the bar and music scene.  There are parks to go  or you can rent a car and try to go hiking in the mountains or walk in the woods but a lot of the city is centered around Broadway. Which isn't a bad thing but at times it just felt we were going from bar to bar catching the next live performer looking for something to do. If you are into live music and country music history this place is great! With the artifacts that can be found in museums around town and all the intimate settings to listen to great performers and song writers you'll have a blast. I was just looking for more diversity. 

Food: 7/10
The food, coffee, and drinks were all pretty good. Some places stood out like Hattie B's, Patterson House, and Legendairy but for the most part nothing felt unique. This is also someone who lives in the United States and has access to very similar food.

Getting Around: 4/10
If you are staying downtown you can easily get anywhere you need on Broadway and you can can even get to the Parthenon if you want to make the hour walk but there isn't any get public transportation.

Overall: 7/10
Nashville is known as Music City and for great reason! As you walk up and down Broadway you'll be engulfed with the sound of live music as you pass by all the honky tonks. If you are looking for a more intimate setting to see singers and song writers and get the behind the scenes look at some of the songs they wrote you have that opportunity. I didn't feel there was much to do other than that but we also didn't have a car which made it a bit more of a challenge. There were some places where the food was great and others were your standard bar food and I had no complaints. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Nashville thought the live music was some of the best I've heard. I was just left wishing there was a little more to do. 

Non-Obvious Nashville Recommendations:

1. Plan ahead and look to try and get a good time slot of places with live music to make sure you see someone good!
2. Legendairy Milkshake Bar is an obvious must do, just look at that picture. 
3. The further you get away from Broadway the more mellow and relaxed the vibe of the bar/restaurant is. Midtown is a great alternative if you are looking to not get so rowdy. 

What to Bring

See what I bring on all my trips here!

​If you are interested in getting travel insurance I recommend TravelInsurance.com. They are considered one of best in the industry, you can easily compare coverages and get the right one for you.

Tours

​​**This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of my links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you and allows me to keep the lights on around here. All thoughts and opinions are my own. ​​​​​​

​​