Nashville? (The city, not the TV show)

My wife and daughter are going to visit Belmont in Nashville, TN in November. Anybody have good knowledge of this city and things to do? They'll only be there a couple of days, but would love to catch some of the country music stops like the CM Hall of Fame.

TIA


C

Nashville is a beautiful city, especially in the fall when the leaves change color.

I can recommend the Country Music Hall of Fame. I'm not that into country music, but really enjoyed the history and exhibits.

In the heart of the city is Centennial Park, which has a full-size replica of the Parthenon.

For a taste of the old south, you should check out The Hermitage, home of Andrew Jackson, or the Belle Meade Mansion.

Those would be on my "must-do" list.

The main attraction of downtown Nashville is the plethora of honky-tonk country-western bars, eateries, and music venues. If Campion's wife/daughter are seeking loud music accompanied by alcoholic drink, . . . and perhaps an evening with an attractive stranger it can be found downtown.

One can snap an excellent photo of the Batman Building from the vicinity of the Tennessee Titans LP Field.



Nashtrash Tours offers 90-minute bus tours through downtown Nashville hosted by the Jugg Sisters and billed as "a one-of-a-kind country musical-comedy extravaganza." [This is an adults-only comedy show, so kids under age 15 are not allowed.]

The Grand Old Opry is performing at the downtown Ryman Auditorium throughout November.

The Vanderbilt University Commodores Football Team hosts the University of Kentucky on 16 November and Wake Forest on 30 November.

The Tennessee Titans NFL team hosts the Jacksonville Jaguars on 10 November and the Indianapolis Colts on 14 November. One can walk on bridges across the Cumberland River from downtown directly to the Stadium. Or, if one chooses one may arrive at the game via the Mississippi Queen cruise boat on the Cumberland River departing from/returning to the Opryland Mills Mall parking lot. However, the pre-game onboard luncheon buffet is lacking in refinement, taste, quantity, and quality.

TripAdvisor presents a pretty good list of Nashville attractions with reader reviews likely far superior to DonDiego's opinions.

You can run into country music stars just about anywhere in Nashville, happens to me all the time (even at Walmart). Opryland Hotel is beautiful and worth the trip up there. Hall of Fame is a must, we actually have a couple of different ones. Titans games are sold out, so don't plan on that...they will probably loose anyway. A very sepecial spot is the Blue Bird Cafe. Thats where the up and comers get found. Another fav of locals is the Loveless Motel for real southern cooking (and TN gifts). Tickets for the Grand Old Opry are usually available too. Lower Broad is honkey tonk heaven with lots of street musicians (also can be found at the airport) and Printers Alley has some great restaurants.
The area around Belmont/Vanderbilt has lots of places to eat and hang out with the college crowd.
November is a great time to visit, the weather has been beautiful the last few years in Nov. (high temp in the upper 60's to upper 70's).

There are some good suggestions here, but, of course, it really depends on what your wife & daughter are interested in.

We have been to Nashville a couple of times (for TN Titan versus AZ Cardinals football and as a side trip from somewhere else). I really enjoy visiting the city, so we make it a point to spend some time there while traveling I-40.

My favorite is The Grand Ole Opry. I love going there because you are assured you will see a 'big-name' (at least on Friday & Saturday nights) country star along with the old-timers there (Little Jimmy Dickens, etc.) Each performer is allowed to perform 2 songs...that's it. No matter how famous or 'not-famous' they are. I also love that they allow you to walk down the aisle and take a photo during the performance! (I get so tired of "no photography" allowed at all other venues) We've been there for Darius Tucker's debut performance and once for The Charlie Daniels Band when they had a surprise visit by Alan Jackson! The bad thing about winter, is that their site shows performances for November-January are at the old historic Ryman Auditorium instead of the Grand Ole Opry building. Don't know why....

Also, walking through the Gaylord Opryland Resort should be considered...it is an absolutely gorgeous, huge hotel and may even have some Holiday decor by then. Don't know if it still is, but it used to be one of the largest hotels in America. Worth a visit.

Also...about 75 miles south of Nashville is Lynchburg, TN, where they make Jack Daniels whiskey. They also give free tours at the site. We took the tour once and it was awesome! DonDiego ended up buying some fancy whiskey....Single Barrel malt and Black Label. (I really enjoy touring factories/plants and seeing how things are made....fascinating! Another favorite tour was the Harley-Davidson plant outside of Kansas City...fantastic!)

So...between all of the suggestions given here, your family should be well-entertained.

Thank you all. Great to hear these ideas.

My wife and daughter are both country fans, so the CM Museum, Studio B, and Grand Old Opry are definitely on the list.

If *I* were going I'd probably try to get tickets for that NFL game, but they probably won't.

C

Hi Campion,

I live here in the Nashville area, and recommend a walk downtown along Broadway, with a stop at Country Music Hall of Fame. Belmont is growing like crazy with some brand new buildings. The school has an excellent academic reputation and class sizes are not humongous like some of the larger universities. Going to college in Nashville would be good for your daughter, as she would enjoy the city life and cultural activities, as well as what Belmont offers.

Ray

Thanks Rayrat. She's really into music......just released a CD, actually. We got the physical CD's in our hands a couple days ago, and it will take about another month before it's available on iTunes. Kind of like Taylor Swift, but without as much country twang. It was a great project for her. She's going to be applying to Belmont and submitting her songs as part of her portfolio. They have many majors related to music, and I'm really hoping she not only gets in but gets a decent amount of money.

Thanks again

Campion, she would be in the right place at Belmont, that's for sure. Tell her congrats on the CD! I have a Master's music degree myself, but if I could go back in time, I would recommend pursuing a Music Business degree, and Belmont offers a great program. Good luck to her and her parents!

Thanks Rayrat. I do music for a living myself. Mostly church stuff.....choir directing, singing and playing freelance stuff like weddings and funerals. Also have a band on the side that plays occasional, high-paying gigs. :-) Glad that she has taken up the family baton of music. She is definitely interested in their music program, specifically the songwriting.

Cheers!