I recently spent the weekend in Nashville on a mother-daughter trip with my Mom. I highly recommend both Nashville and planning a trip with your own Mom. Here is why.
Nashville is just a delightful town. There is so much to do and see. Yes, you need to have an affinity for country music to enjoy the experience fully, as Nashville is known as the “Country Music Capital of the World”. However, Nashville has so much to offer beyond that.
What’s nice about Nashville is that it has a mild climate with all four seasons, each of which is beautiful in its own special way. I’ve heard Fall is particularly gorgeous. The air is brisk but refreshing and the leaves are colorful and plentiful. Nashville gets some snow in the cool winter and the summer is warm. My mom and I went in March, which is spring for Nashville. The blossoming flowers in spring are so pretty and the weather is calm and nice.
Where to stay
We stayed Downtown about 5-6 blocks from Broadway, along the honky tonk highway.. The honky tonks are vibrant and a super fun atmosphere to be close to. Nearly everything in town is walkable. My mom and I are planners, so of course, we had a full itinerary ready to execute. We hit the ground running. First on our list, we hit the Franklin area (which is not walkable if you stay downtown). We had heard of its cute charm, and it didn’t disappoint. Our Uber driver dropped us off in the little main street filled with shops and restaurants. It had a sweet Western vibe to it we both adored. We spent the sunny afternoon browsing the shops and grabbing an ice cream at Kilwins. We ended our afternoon at Greys on Main—a converted old pharmacy, now a restaurant. The food was fantastic—southern comfort with a modern twist.
After dinner, we headed back to our hotel. We contemplated getting our cozies in and calling it a night. However, I had heard about Nashville Palace, which offers line dancing lessons. Since we only had a few days; we needed to make the most of it. So we hopped in an Uber and took the 15-minute drive to the Nashville Palace. We had a blast. It was packed, and an instructor walked everyone on the floor through the line dancing moves. The instruction typically takes place from 7:30 – 8:30 pm. Then they open the floor with a DJ and call out line dances. There were nearly 100 + people on the floor dancing. Kids are also able to be included since there is a backroom reserved for those over 21 who would like to drink. It’s a fun, authentic night for everyone.
What to do
The following day we walked to ‘The Gulch’, a darling little area with shops, boutique hotels, instagrammable murals, and restaurants. We feasted at Biscuit Love (I highly recommend the donuts!). We also loved walking up and down Broadway. It’s definitely a vibe. There are many options for bars and restaurants to pop into and hear budding artists. One that we enjoyed was Layla’s. It’s women-owned for 30+ years. The Grand Old Opry Tour, The Opry Hotel, and The Nashville Museum of Country Music were some other trip highlights. The highlight of our trip was going to the Blue Bird Cafe. This is a little hole-in-the-wall cafe where many famous country music artists have played and been ‘discovered.’ We went on a Monday night (usually you need to get tickets). Mondays, though, are first come, first serve. Also, it is an open mic nite. They typically have about 18 artists who play one song. The cafe is adorable and warm, with small tables intimately sprinkled and facing a humble stage. Everyone who plays must play original music and have written their own lyrics. It was such a special night to listen to heartfelt live music played by artists dying to break into the industry and share their talent. We just loved it.
We only had a few days in Nashville. I am sure we haven’t even scratched the surface of what the city has to offer. If you are interested in putting on your cowboy boots and booking a trip there, we would love to help!