We’re halfway through our two-week road trip through the South and missing Nashville so much. It was both our first time there and we can see why everyone raves about it. We had so much fun and barely scratched the surface of all the recommendations you guys sent over for us – honestly would have to be there for at least a month to tackle our seemingly endless hit list. Since we couldn’t bring you guys along on IG to a ton of spots, I wanted to get my Nashville Travel Guide up ASAP! A few of you messaged me saying you were heading to Nashville soon, so I want to give you all the info we learned.
NASHVILLE TRAVEL GUIDE
TRAVEL
We flew into Nashville BNA which is just right outside the city.
Since our trip involved so many cities that were close enough together, we opted to turn this into a road trip vs flying everywhere. Renting a car from the airport made our trip into town effortless; we landed around 10pm and were able to get a car from Alamo (one of the few rental companies open until midnight at BNA).
Driving into the city was super easy, the only thing that threw us were the one way streets and insane crowds near our hotel. Other than that traffic was non existent!
ACCOMODATIONS
Before flying in we were debating the Airbnb route or hotel. After a few Airbnb logistics fell through and our saved properties kept getting booked up, we decided the hotel option was best.
HotelTonight or Expedia are the two ways we book hotels. For this trip we opted for HotelTonight so that we could get closer to Level 4, which bumps your 10% off to 15% off; prices were similar on both sites so it really didn’t matter which one we went with.
WHERE WE WENT:
We ended up staying at the Noelle Hotel right in downtown Nashville. It’s located right next to the Dream Hotel and the Bobby Hotel, among a handful of others I’m sure, so you can’t go wrong with any of them!
The hotel was SO cute – gave me Ace Hotel vibes in a way, and felt very boutique-y even though it was 12 floors tall. Our room was moderately sized, and on level 10 so it wasn’t too loud at night. Keep in mind if you are in that area, you are in the thick of the action. We didn’t exactly know where we were ending up when booking because neither of us have ever been, but we knew we wanted the downtown experience at least once. That’s exactly what we got!
Only downside of the hotel were the valet wasn’t super efficient (made us late for reservations so just keep that in mind if you’re heading out on a time crunch) and the coffee shop wasn’t operating on weekends. Which is really no big deal, I was just bummed because it looked good and I wanted to try it before we left!
Otherwise the hotel is immaculate – you have a lobby bar, rooftop bar, downstairs restaurant, and speakeasy to choose from. Plus it’s right next to the Dream & Bobby hotels which boast amazing rooftops as well.
Also – the bathrooms are STUNNING & they have full-length mirrors in the room. Both something I appreciate in hotels 🙂
RECOMMENDATIONS
If you do NOT want the rowdy downtown Nashville experience, we were told to look in these neighborhoods for Airbnbs:
Neighborhoods:
12South
The Gulch
East Nashville
If you’re looking for a completely different vibe, look into Franklin TN! My college bestie lives there and we had a great time in their cute downtown area.
Hotels:
Thompson Hotel (amazing rooftop)
Noelle
The Germantown Inn
The Hermitage
Bobby Hotel
The Dream Hotel
COFFEE
There were SO many coffee shop’s on the map and I wish I could hit them all, but just another excuse to go back for an extended time!
WHERE WE WENT:
Frothy Monkey – this came HIGHLY recommended; there are a handful of locations so you can absolutely find one near you. I got the Rosemary Vanilla Latte and it was *immaculate*
Elixr Coffee – Located in the 5th and Broadway outdoor shopping center; cute aesthetic ( no almond milk offered )
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Barista Parlor
FOOD
WHERE WE WENT:
Cafe Roze – breakfast bowl was SO GOOD
Food truck for Gyros next to Bootlegger Inn bar; random, but it was too crowded everywhere we wanted to eat and these Gyros were amazing
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Proper & Bagel – amazing bagels
Two Ten Jack – sushi + ramen, get the garlic noodles
Peg Leg Porker – BBQ
Butcher & Bee – brunch, try the whipped feta; “juice” you can add your alcohol of choice too (Gin with Orange/Apple/Ginger)
Milk & Honey – Brunch
Etch
Chef and I – make reservations to sit at the bar
Fido – breakfast; avocado toast & unique coffee
Five Daughters Bakery – amazing donuts
5th and Taylor – Dinner
Hattie B’s – fried chicken
Adele’s – Dinner
White Limozeen – Dolly Parton’s rooftop restaurant
Barcelona Wine Bar
Pinewood Social
Old Glory Bar – East Side
Tailgate Brewery locations
Hearts Cafe – east
Liberty Common – Brunch
Thompson Hotel rooftop
Patterson House – speakeasy vibes
Rolf & Daughter – pasta
City House – pizza
Husk – southern food
Barista Parlour – The Gulch or Germantown
@cheesegal’s shop
Giest – Germantown; great atmosphere & food
Bourbon Steak – views & great steak / cocktails
Belle Meade – food + wine paring
Henrietta Reds – seafood
Sunda
Hampton Social
St. Anej
Stillery – amazing Philly cheesesteak pizza
The Mockingbird – brunch
Bartaco – 12 South
Jeni’s Ice Cream
Blue Bird
Biscuit Love
Acme feed & Seed
Vandyke Bed & Breakfast – retro green decor, fun for drinks
BARS
WHERE WE WENT:
Black Rabbit
Bootleggers Inn – there was no line and upstairs was nearly empty; we got a one-on-one experience with the band and the music was amazing.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Listening Room – go to songwriters night!
Kid Rock
Tootsies
Attaboy – speakeasy vibe
Pearl Diver – cute bar
House of Cards – speakeasy in Johnny Cash museum
Urban Cowboy – drinks
Kung Fu Saloon
Dive Motel – cute bar & pool
Belcourt Taps
Rare Bird – rooftop bar
LA Jackson – rooftop bar
Tin Roof Bar
Nudies
FGL House
Jason Aldean’s
Honky Tonk Central
Pins – fun for day drinking
SHOPPING
Alexis + Bolt
Imogene
Willie
White Mercantile – 12 South
12 South – walk the street for cute shops
We clearly did not do a great job hitting your recommended spots, but I can’t wait to go back with this elaborate list to reference. PRO TIP: make reservations and PLAN your to-do list. We are not always great about planning ahead, and because of that we really couldn’t get in to any of the spots we had hoped to hit. Especially for lunch & dinner. But now we know!
Nashville truly is a gem and I see why it is so well loved. If you have more recommendations that I missed, drop them in the comments below!
For more travel guides, check out my travel section.
WHAT I PACKED / WORE IN NASHVILLE
