Your Guide to Nashville in a Day

If there’s one US city that’s been on my bucket list to travel to since I was a kid, it’s Nashville, Tennessee. Maybe it’s because I was Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana-obsessed growing up, but I’ve been wanting to visit Nashville for forever and I finally, and might I say very spontaneously, made that happen! While I only visited the city for a day, I feel like I was able to hit some, if not most, of the popular spots, and wanted to round up some of the best things to see and do in Nashville if you’re there for only a short period of time.

The night before my fiance and I left for our trip to Lexington, Kentucky, I was packing my suitcase, and as I was going through my closet to find shirts to pack, I came across one of my Brandy Melville Nashville crop tops and I had a bit of an a-ha moment and thought to myself, “how far is the drive to Nashville from Lexington anyway”. Turns out it’s only a three-hour drive so I was like, why not! I packed the crop top and it was set that we’d make a day trip to Nashville.

Let’s dive right in!

Things to do in Nashville, TN:

Country Music Museum & Hall of Fame
Honky Tonk Central (Located on Lower Broadway)
Nashville Farmer’s Market
State Capital
Cumberland Park

Country Music Museum & Hall of Fame

If you’re not already familiar, Nashville is music city and basically country music HQ, so checking out the Country Music Museum & Hall of Fame is a must! It may be the millennial in me, but I was surprised at the selection of singers represented in the museum. I honestly had not heard of many of them since it was a very different generation, and was expecting more Carrie Underwood, Kacie Musgraves, and that kind of vibe, but don’t get me wrong, it was still very cool to see. The Chris Stapleton exhibit was impressive, and the inner Swiftie in me was thriving because there was so much Taylor Swift throughout the museum, not to mention a whole education center dedicated to her. Seeing all of the Elvis records was very cool too!

Honky Tonk Central (Located on Lower Broadway)

I’d honestly consider Nashville to be the Scottsdale of the South because walking through Honky Tonk Central was a party, mind you this was at 11 in the morning on a Monday and is also bachelorette party HQ. It’s such a fun vibe! If you don’t like country music, it’ll eventually grow on you just by hanging out at the bars and shops that fill this whole street.

I’d consider downtown Nashville historic and a bit older with the style of buildings compared to other cities I’ve visited across the country, however, Honky Tonk Central is definitely the place to be downtown, and it’s also super close to some nice shopping as well.

Nashville Farmer’s Market

I’m a farmers market girly so I of course had to stop by the one in Nashville and check it out. While the market is open daily, I’d say it’s definitely better to go on a weekend compared to a weekday, as most are. We unfortunately were there on a Monday so there weren’t a ton of vendors there for the day. But they had a great selection of food so I’d say it’s a great place to grab lunch and hang out! There’s a park right across the street that’s perfect for a little picnic.

State Capital

I’m laughing because I literally forgot Nashville was the capital of Tennessee but it was a nice surprise! I love State Capital buildings because I think they’re so pretty and so cool to look at, so if you’re into that kind of thing, I’d recommend walking through the main plaza! It makes a great spot to take photos too.

Cumberland Park

If you’re looking for a good spot to check out the Nashville city skyline, this is the place to be! Cumberland Park is located right across the river from downtown and is right next to Nissan Stadium where the Tennessee Titans play. I love parks by the water so this was a great place to hang out, get some sun, and take in the city views!

Shops & Restaurants

Rippy’s
Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row
Boot Barn

There are an endless amount of live music bars and restaurants to choose from in Honky Tonk Central but we went to Rippy’s for lunch and then over to Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row afterward and I loved both! My fiancè is a Dierks Bentley fan so naturally we had to go to his bar and it was such a fun vibe! The live music was great!

If you forgot to pack your cowboy boots on your Nashville trip, don’t worry because there are so many shops in the greater Nashville area that sell them! We stopped at Boot Barn in Honky Tonk Central and the selection of cowboy boots absolutely blew my mind. They’re on the pricey side but you get what you pay for and the quality is so good! Josh was *this* close to going home with a pair. Boot Barn also has some cute country western clothes to build your outfit!