Why there's no place on earth quite like Nashville

Helen Gibson dons her Stetson and makes for Tennessee’s headline act
1/8
Helen Gibson29 June 2017

Here's everything you need to know about spending a weekend in Nashville, from the best places to stay to the hottest cocktails to drink.

Where to stay

Opposite The Country Music Hall of Fame is the Hilton, a 10-floor hotel that keeps you central enough to walk everywhere (rooms from £204, hilton.com). All the staff are born and raised in Nashville or not far off — there’s nothing they don’t know about the city (fun fact: Little Richard lives on the ninth floor and can often be seen coming in and out in his black Cadillac). If you’re looking for something more boutique, check in to the Hutton (rooms from £176, huttonhotel.com), a short walk out from downtown, but a welcome break from the madness of Broadway.

Where to eat

Tennessee is famous for its BBQ, and if you want the best, head to Jack’s in Lower Broadway. Order a ‘plate’ (BBQ meat served with two ‘vegetables’ — think mac’n’cheese and corn), take a seat and watch the cowboys go by. For traditional fried chicken, waffles and moonshine there is no other place to go than The Loveless Cafe. It’s a short drive outside of the city and you’ll find it serving good ol’ southern fare to bikers, cowboys and tourists alike.

Moonshine and biscuits at the Loveless Cafe

Where to drink

Honky tonks — the city’s trademark dive bars immortalised in songs by everyone from Hank Williams to the Stones — are the best places to drink. Head to Nashville’s Lower Broadway for the best: the strip is full of famous neon signs advertising boots, beer and BBQ, but most importantly some of the best live music venues in the world. Legends Corner, Robert’s Western World and Tootsies Orchid Lounge are steeped in country music history, with names such as Willie Nelson a regular at the latter in the 1960s.

Robert's Western World
Alamy Stock Photo

Where to shop

Journey to east Nashville and you’ll find off-beat bars, cool coffee shops (Barista Parlor) and interesting boutiques, like Goodbuy Girls for the best selection of cowgirl boots and handmade clothing. If you still haven’t had enough music during your stay in Nashville, pay a visit to Fond Object Records for all your vinyl needs and Fanny’s House of Music to invest in a new Gibson guitar.

Alamy Stock Photo

What to see

Nashville is the birthplace of country music. Your first stop has to be The Country Music Hall of Fame to peruse memorabilia, from Elvis’ gold-plated Cadillac to Johnny Cash’s boots and Dolly Parton’s handwritten lyrics to ‘Jolene’. But for a more in-depth look at the Man in Black, visit the Johnny Cash Museum (below), which takes you from his early years through to his death in Nashville in 2003. Another Nashville institution is Hatch Show Print: opened in 1879, it specialises in woodblock printing and has defined the style of showbiz posters in the city. Take a tour of the print rooms and you’ll learn the history of printing, the Hatch Show tradition and even be able to make a print or two of your own.

Just your type: Hatch Show Print

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in