My family recently embarked on a five-day trip to Nashville, Tennessee. Our trip was dual-purposed- our girls are competitive dancers and their national competition this year was in Nashville. The second reason is that we love Tennessee and had never been to Nashville before.

We worked it out to be able to stay a few extra days and check off some bucket list items. We weren’t able to do everything we wanted to to do (Nashville is EXPENSIVE), but we still did a lot. There are things you should consider when you plan your trip.

Choose a hotel within walking distance to downtown

Parking is costly in Nashville too, so we parked in the parking deck near our hotel and did  didn’t move the car again until time to leave for home. I think it cost us $30 per day to park there. Luckily, our hotel wasn’t a long walk from downtown, so we visited attractions within walking distance. 

Consider buying a shuttle pass for attractions outside of walking distance

We did not have a ton of free time, so we did not do this on this particular trip. The Grand Ole Opry and the Madame Trusseau’s Wax Museum were about a 20 minute drive from our hotel, so we did not go there, as it was too far to walk. There are a number of hop on/hop off trolley shuttles in the Nashville area, all of which visit several notable attractions.

You can buy a pass for one day or multiple days, and while the pass isn’t necessarily cheap, it’s less stressful than driving in Nashville and cheaper than paying to park in multiple lots.

Broadway after dark

Nashville can be a bit…wild, especially Broadway, which is the main thoroughfare in Nashville. This is where thee majority of restaurants, honky-tonks and bars are located. We walked up and down  Broadway with our children during the day, but I would not recommend doing so after dark. The official unspoken rule is “no children on Broadway after 9,” although I can honestly say that you shouldn’t have your kids downtown after dark. Things just get too wild and too crowded.

We did have a fantastic time walking up and down Broadway and finding some honky-tonks owned by our favorite musicians. We ate at Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa, Blake Shelton’s Ole Red, and Morgan Wallen’s This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen.

We spotted many others owned by several other musicians as well. We also wandered into Fifth and Broadway, which is a shopping center with a food hall.

We toured the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and saw many pieces of memorabilia from our favorite musicians.

Our absolute favorite attraction we visited was the Ryman Auditorium.

The Ryman tour is amazing- it’s inexpensive, and you get to learn the rich history of the building, which is the original location of the Grand Ole Opry. It’s a beautiful place and it houses some of country’s biggest stars’ memorabilia. One of Porter Wagoner’s suits is there, as well as Dolly Parton’s dress and Charlie Pride’s boots. Other artists of other genres are represented too. Someday I’d love to see a show there.

Nashville is a lot of fun, and you can find things to do, if you plan ahead. I can’t wait to go back sometime.