My favorite places to take visitors to Nashville, Part 1

I love it when people ask me for advice on where to visit when they come to Nashville. I love showing off my city!! My aunt recently emailed me asking for advice for a friend on where to visit while in Nashville, and I thought, “It’s high time I posted a blog series about my favorite places to take visitors!”

Live musicWhen you come to Music City, its pretty much a given you’re going to find music. Austin may be “The Live Music Capitol” but Nashville has its own share of live music venues!

You truly have a lot of options of where you can go for live music in Nashville. I would personally advise sticking to Broadway, 2nd Avenue and Printer’s Alley. (These three are also know as “The District.”)

Broadway features your more “public view” of Nashville. This is the strip you’ll see on all your TV specials about/from Nashville. You’ll find the world famous Tootsies on Broadway, for one. The Stage, Legends, Second Fiddle and Crossroads are my personal “go to” bars if I am on Broadway. (But everyone has their own preference!) Margaritaville recently opened on Broadway as well.

During the day, pop into Hatch Show Prints, where you can find all those classic Nashville concert posters being made. And take a moment to check out Gruhn Guitars as well as the new Opry Originals Shop.

Second Avenue’s biggest feature, to me, is the Wildhorse Saloon. There are several other music venues and restaurants along second, and they are all worth checking out! But if you remember when there was the cable station TNN and the show The Wildhorse Saloon Dance Show, you might want to pop in and check it out yourself. Maybe learn a line dance or two.

Printer's AlleyPrinter’s Alley is my home away from home. You’ll hear people say “oh its dangerous” and there’s a Nude Karaoke sign that tends to run people off thinking “oh its just a bunch of strip joints.” No, no, no, no, no! The Alley is one of the tightest knit group of friends and regulars you’ll find in Nashville. It’s also full of a deep and rich history.  Two karaoke venues, two live music venues and an English pub are what you’ll find when you enter the Alley, with my personal favorite place being the Fiddle & Steel Guitar Bar. Definitely check out Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Club as well, though. Many amazing artists have played there and continue to play there today.

While you’re downtown, there are several more places you’ll want to visit.

Top of the list will be the Ryman Auditorium. Located just behind the bars on Broadway, it could be easy to miss as you navigate traffic. (No really! I know its there, and I’ve blasted right past it without even a glance!) The mother church of country music is a place you just want to visit. So much history! And there are shows there regularly, so check to see if there isn’t one showing that you might want to attend! I saw Merle Haggard there a couple years ago and it was AAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaamazing.

You also absolutely must visit The Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum. Block out a period of time, and take the tour. I live here. I’ve been twice. And I am planning to go again soon. It’s truly that cool of a place to visit.

Finally, if you want a cool “I visited Nashville” photo, go on over the to Shelby Street Bridge. It’s the best place to get a shot with the skyline behind you…

Me and my husband in 2007 on the bridge.

To be continued…

Upcoming segments: Parks, Music Valley, Outlying areas (“Other”), Restaurants

Weekly Winners (April 22 – 28)

Started by the lovely Lotus, Weekly Winners is a fun little thing bloggers do to showcase some of their favorite photos from the previous week.

Visit Lotus’ site and check out her various entries, and find other participants. See some amazing photos brought to you by bloggers around the world. Leave a little love when you do — its like food for the soul!

 

Photos taken using my Droid Razr or a Sony DSLR A230.
View all of my photos on my Flickr stream.

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Life is slowly going back to normal. I’m still trying to get back into the blogging rhythm, but it’ll come to me. I actually had two posts this week instead of barely having one, though!

Yeah, the irony of the last one isn’t lost on me. Ah well. On to the photos.

166: Lighting
Mall Lighting

167: Liquor up
Liquor up

168: Bikeway
Bikeway

Pink Clover
Sea of pink

169: Pink Clover
Pink Clover

170: Electric Guitar
Turn it up

Strings
New strings

161: Printer's Alley
Printer's Alley

Relaxing cats
Relaxing

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