Howdy Nash
Howdy Nash
The local's guide to Music City. Broadway honky tonks, world-class music venues, museums, parks, and the day trips worth the drive.
Nashville packs more into 4 square miles than most cities fit into 40. Honky tonks line Lower Broadway. World-class museums sit two blocks away. Centennial Park hides a full-scale replica of the Parthenon. And a 30-minute drive in any direction lands you in horse country, whiskey country, or the Civil War back roads of Franklin.
This is the local's guide to what to do in Nashville. Skip the bus tour. Skip the boot store everyone goes to. Use this list to build a weekend that feels like the real city, not a TikTok montage. Pair it with the free Howdy Nash planner to coordinate the group.
Broadway between 1st and 5th is the strip you see in every Nashville photo. Five blocks of three-story bars stacked with live country bands playing from 10am to 3am. No cover charges, no tickets, walk in. Tip the bands in the jar.
For a full breakdown of every Broadway bar, the schedules, and the cover-band celebrity spots like Luke's 32 Bridge and FGL House, see the honky tonk guide.
Broadway is the front door. The serious music sits in the venues a mile or two from there.
The longest-running radio show in American history. Every Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday at the Opry House (2804 Opryland Drive). Two-hour show, 7 or 8 acts, mix of legends and current stars. Tickets run $40 to $120. Book 4 to 6 weeks ahead for Saturday shows. From November through January the Opry moves downtown to the Ryman.
The Mother Church of Country Music. 116 5th Avenue North, two blocks off Broadway. Touring artists across every genre play here. The bench-seating, stained-glass setup is one of the best-sounding rooms in the world. Daytime self-guided tours run $25.
4104 Hillsboro Pike, in a strip mall in Green Hills. The songwriters' room where you sit 4 feet from people who wrote your favorite songs. Reservations open Monday at noon for the following week. Set an alarm or join the Monday open mic line.
Indie venues for rock, Americana, and emerging acts. Exit/In on Elliston Place has been around since 1971. The Basement East in East Nashville books national touring acts in a 400-seat room.
222 Rep. John Lewis Way South. Two floors, every Hall of Fame member, Elvis's gold Cadillac, Johnny Cash's guitars, and rotating exhibits. Plan 2 to 3 hours. $30 adult admission, $42 for the platinum ticket that adds Hatch Show Print and RCA Studio B tours.
119 3rd Avenue South, one block off Broadway. Small, focused, packed with artifacts from Cash's family. $24 admission, plan an hour. Combo tickets pair with the Patsy Cline Museum upstairs.
510 Broadway. The only museum in the country dedicated to the influence of African Americans across every musical genre. Interactive, immersive, built in 2021. $25 admission, plan 90 minutes.
1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd, next to Bicentennial Mall. Free admission. The full state history from prehistoric times to present. Two hours to cover it well.
2500 West End Avenue. The full-scale Parthenon replica anchors the park. Inside is an art museum and a 42-foot Athena statue covered in gold leaf. The pond, walking trails, and band shell sit around it. Free entry to the park, $10 for the Parthenon interior.
1160 Otter Creek Road, 15 minutes south of downtown. 1,300 acres of forest around an old reservoir. Six miles of trails. Sunrise hikes turn up deer, owls, and herons. Free, no reservations, parking lots fill on weekends by 10am.
1200 Forrest Park Drive. A 55-acre former estate turned botanical garden and art museum. Seasonal exhibits include Cheekwood in Bloom (March-April), Cheekwood Harvest (Sept-Oct), and Holiday LIGHTS (Nov-Jan). $25 adult admission, plan a half day.
50 Vaughn Road. 3,180 acres of rolling hills in the southwest corner of Davidson County. Trails range from a 1-mile loop to an 11.2-mile vertical climb. The dawn view from Luke Lea Heights is the best free view in Nashville.
Sightseeing, food, music, and nightlife tours with local guides. Free cancellation on most bookings.
Compare Nashville hotel prices across booking sites. Free cancellation on most rooms.
Howdy Nash is the free travel app for Nashville. Share live location with friends, track who paid for what, and ask the AI concierge any Nashville question with one tap.
The dish Nashville invented. Prince's started it in the 1930s. Hattie B's made it famous. Pepperfire, Bolton's, and Party Fowl run their own variants. See the hot chicken guide for the full breakdown.
Nashville sits at the crossroads of Memphis, Kansas City, and Carolina styles. Top picks: Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint (multiple locations), Edley's Bar-B-Que (12 South and East), Peg Leg Porker (The Gulch), and Jack's Bar-B-Que (Broadway, fast lunch).
Southern lunch tradition. Pick one meat and three sides from a steam table. Arnold's Country Kitchen (closed Sundays), Monell's (Germantown, family-style), and Swett's (North Nashville) are the classics.
Historic Main Street with boutiques, the Franklin Theatre, and a town square that has not changed since 1799. Carnton Plantation tells the Battle of Franklin story. The Factory at Franklin houses local shops and restaurants. Plan a half day.
A tiny village on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Puckett's Grocery for lunch. Country Boy Restaurant for breakfast. Antique shops, art galleries, and the kind of porch you sit on for 3 hours. Justin Timberlake and Holly Williams live nearby.
The Jack Daniel's Distillery sits in a dry county. Tours range from a free walkaround to a $50 single-barrel experience. The town square has 5 restaurants and a hardware store. Lunch at Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House is family-style and books out 2 months ahead.
The country legend's homestead in Hurricane Mills. Cabin tours, a coal miner's daughter museum, and 18,000 acres of land. Worth the drive for the country music history.
The longest cave system in the world. Tours range from 75 minutes (Frozen Niagara) to 6 hours (Wild Cave Tour with crawling and climbing). Book through nps.gov.
Cherry blossoms at Centennial Park, Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival (March), Nashville Film Festival (April), and Iroquois Steeplechase (May). Weather is best in April and May.
CMA Fest (first week of June), Independence Day on Broadway, Music City Hot Chicken Festival (July 4), and free Centennial Park concerts. Bring sunscreen and accept the humidity.
Americana Fest (September), Pilgrimage Music Festival in Franklin (September), Tennessee Renaissance Festival (May-June and select fall dates), Cheekwood Harvest with scarecrows and pumpkins (Sept-Oct). Best month overall is October.
Opryland Hotel's ICE! exhibit, Cheekwood Holiday LIGHTS, Music Note Drop on New Year's Eve, and indoor honky tonks year-round. Lower hotel rates from January 5 to February 15.
Howdy Nash is free, no signup, no ads. Built for visitors who want the local's view of Music City.
3-Day Itinerary · Best Honky Tonks · Hot Chicken Guide · Neighborhoods Guide · Best Photo Spots · Live Music Tonight · Breweries · Coffee Shops · BBQ · Dive Bars · Music Venues · Happy Hour · Parks · Shopping · Food Halls · Farmers Markets · Hiking Trails · Vegan & Vegetarian · Date Night · Museums · The Gulch · Why 'Music City'? · 1-Day Itinerary