I’ve been to Nashville, Tennessee a few times. Being just a six hour drive from Columbus, Nashville is a fairly easy road trip for a long weekend adventure. It’s made even easier because Nashville is in Central Standard Time and is therefore an hour behind Cbus. I had an amazing time there recently when I visited with my friends Sheri and Leanne over Presidents Day weekend 2023. Read on to find out my suggestions on how to spend a great weekend in Nashville, including sites to see in Nashville, as well as where to eat and drink.
A bit about Nashville
There are over 700,000 people living in Nashville, and over 2 million in the metro area. In fact, it is the fifth largest growing city in the US. it has large corporations based there, such as Dollar General. I definitely noticed the recent growth from the last time I visited over three years ago.
Johnny Cash Museum
Known as the “Capital of Country Music”, Nashville a mecca for musicians and actors hoping to be discovered (or as a home to those who already have made it), so it seemed fitting to start our weekend at the Johnny Cash museum. The museum is located in downtown Nashville, just off the Broadway strip. We got there early on Saturday, as we read it can get busy. The museum is open every day from 9am to 7pm. Tickets cost $20.95 for adults, with seniors, students and military getting a dollar off. For those aged 15 and below the cost is $16.95 and kids five and younger are free.
The Johnny Cash museum has the world’s most extensive collection of Johnny Cash memorabilia and artifacts. The museum is self-guided so you can spend as much, or as little, time there as you’d like. However, the museum is very narrow, and became quite busy when we visited.
What do see in the Johnny Cash Museum
The museum is dedicated to the life and career of the “Man in Black”. It has artifacts that date back to his childhood and throughout his career. I learned so much about Cash- for example, did you know that he was born with the name JR and didn’t choose the name John until he was forced to when he joined the military, where he worked in Morse code? The museum features clothing, instruments, letters, artwork, and hand-written lyrics by Johnny Cash, as well as pictures and memorabilia of him, his family, friends, and wives.
Despite it’s smaller size, there is so much to see in the Johnny Cash Museum. One section is dedicated to Cash’s time with Sun Records. I had the fortune of visiting Sun Records during my trip to Memphis, which you can read in my blog post. Sun Records helped recording artist such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley become known. There are several displays in the museum dedicated to them.
Another room in the museum features a wall of all of his records, and another wall of his gold and platinum records. In yet another room you can watch clips from his movies and TV show appearances. There is a stone wall taken from his former estate which was re-built by hand. In fact, that location was where the original museum was found, in Henderson, Tennessee. Here Johnny and his second wife June Cash lived for more than 30 years, but the home fell into disrepair. Then, during renovation, the home caught fire and it no longer exists. Luckily, Cash’s close friends- the Miller’s- donated their personal collection of artifacts and opened the museum in 2013.
The museum was busy, and not huge, but we really enjoyed the museum. I recommend it during your trip to Nashville!
Tennessee State Museum
Another museum we visited during our weekend in Nashville was the Tennessee State Museum. This museum combines history, art and culture all into one. It chronicles states history from the very first people who settled here through to the present day. It has some super well done exhibits with collections of historic art and artifacts, films and interactive displays. The museum occupies the second level of a beautiful building.
What to see at the Tennessee State Museum
On the first level people can visit a children’s gallery, and also for children there is an interactive guide, which I think would be great for exploring. I was a little jealous there wasn’t one for adults! I especially enjoyed the exhibit about women suffragettes, when I learned that Tennessean Harry Burns changed his tie-breaking vote at his mothers request which supported the amendment. The exhibits for World War II were also impressive. One celebrated women pilots and at another I learned that there was a secret city in Tennessee (one of the three total in the US) that helped develop the atomic bomb.
I also really enjoyed the section of the museum that celebrated artists from Tennessee. Another fabulous part of the museum talked about the many famous people and inventors who came from Tennessee. I liked seeing the outfit that Dolly Parton wore during her duet with Kenny Rogers.
The museum talks about the first inhabitants of Tennessee, the Civil War and it’s impact on the state, as well as the politicians of Tennessee. One exhibit focused on President Andrew Jackson, who I have mixed feelings about, but did remind me of the visit that I took to Northern Ireland when I saw his family‘s childhood home.
The museum is free for visitors and is open from 10-5 on Tuesday through Saturday and 1-5 on Sunday. The museum is closed on Monday. It was a nice way to spend part of a weekend in Nashville and helped me to learn more about the state history.
Bicentennial Capital Mall
After visiting the museum, take a walk around Bicentennial Capital Mall. Tennessee celebrated 200 years of being part of the United States on June 1, 1996, and this park commemorates that event. The Bicentennial Capital Mall occupies 11 acres, making it perfect for a walk during a sunny day, or during a weekend visit to Nashville.
Some of the features in the Bicentennial Capital Mall include a walkway of countries, a World War II memorial, and the Tennessee Map Plaza. At the plaza there is a map of the state engraved into the granite floor. Here, you can walk from Knoxville to Memphis in just seconds. There are fountains (representing the rivers of Tennessee) that one can play in in the summer, and are 11 planters along the Walkway of Counties that show native plant species. Continue your walk all the way from the Tennessee State Museum to the capital building.
Back by the museum, there is a courtyard with a 95 bell carillon. If you’re lucky, you will hear music playing from the bells. They play Tennessee themed songs throughout the day. Check out my video below from when I caught it.
Tennessee State Capitol
While I didn’t get the opportunity during my weekend in Nashville, the Tennessee State Museum offers guided tours of the historic State Capitol and grounds. Guided tours are Monday through Friday at 9, 10, 11, 1 & 2. Tours start at the ground floor information desk, and are free! The Tennessee State Capitol opened in 1859. On the grounds of the capital are memorials to Presidents Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson, and the tombs of President Polk and his wife. The capital serves as home to the Tennessee General assembly and houses the governors office.
Nashville Farmers’ Market
The Nashville Farmers’ Market is located just steps from the Tennessee State Museum. Founded in the early 1800s, the market provides a space to farmers and small businesses. The market includes two covered open-air sheds, a garden center, and a food hall with over 20 restaurants and shops. It is open from 8am-6pm daily, with the outdoor farm sheds being open from December to April on the weekends 10-2, and May to November Friday to Sunday from 8-4.
The Country Music Hall of Fame
Often called the” Smithsonian of Country Music” no weekend in Nashville would be complete without a stop into the Country Music Hall of Fame. CMHF has been around since 1967 and at its current location since 2001. The museum complex encompasses 350,000 ft.² of exhibition galleries, archived storage, retail stores and event spaces.
Touring the massive museum takes some time. And even if you’re not a country fan (like myself), there was a lot to see and enjoy. The museums permanent exhibition tells the story of country music from its very beginning through today. They have artifacts, photos, recordings, videos, interactive touchscreens, and- my favorite- lots of beautiful costumes.
Here I learned about Nudie Cohn, who designed decorative rhinestone covered suits, known as Nudie suits. He also became famous for his customized automobiles. One (out of the 18 he created) was featured in the museum.
Other special exhibits talk about country starts Chris Stapleton and Martina McBride. These exhibits feature artifacts and information about the artists from throughout their careers.
The Country Music Hall of Fame is open 9 to 5 every day. The museum offers a time-ticketing system, and when we were there, the museum was very busy with a very long queue. I recommend buying your ticket online before you arrive.
Taylor Swift & the rotunda at the Country Music Hall of Fame
The Taylor Swift Education Center offers a hands-on experience for visitors. There are three classrooms, a video conference area, an interactive gallery, art installations and special artifacts about Taylor Swift herself. As a Swifty, I loved this part of the museum.
Visitors to the museum can also go into the rotunda where the Country Music Hall of Fame inducted members are honored. The rotunda is large with skylights and features bronze plaques for each inducted member on the walls. Every year three new members are inducted.
Hatch show print
You could also add to your Country Music Hall of fame ticket a visit into the Hatch Show Print, which is one of America’s oldest working letterpress print shops. They have been making posters about Music City since 1879.
In addition, you can add a visit into RCA studio B, a historic recording studio (known as the birthplace for the “Nashville sound”), onto your ticket for visiting the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Grand Old Opry
While I didn’t visit during my most recent weekend in Nashville, I have visited the Grand Old Opry in the past. The Grand Old Opry offers many different types of visits. My friends and I took the backstage tour. On this tour visitors can see where music stars make history every week. One of my favorite parts of this tour was being able to go on the stage to see where the entertainers perform. Guided tours last 50 minutes and cost $39 for adults and $36 for children ages 4 to 11.
Parthenon
The Nashville Parthenon is a full-scale replica of the ancient Parthenon when it was a pagan temple to Athena in the 5th century. It was constructed as a temporary building for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition, which also included dozens of other temporary buildings, in what is now Centennial Park.
The current Nashville Parthenon was built between 1920 and 1931 on the foundation of the temporary building. It cost about $1 million to build. Then, another restoration occurred between 1991 and 2001 and cost more than $12 million. Operated by the Nashville Parks system, the Parthenon serves as the city’s art museum. Inside there is also a large Athena Parthenos statue, plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles. Additionally, the Parthenon is a location for events. The 24-foot-tall double doors at each end of the Parthenon are one-foot thick and each weigh seven and a half tons, but were designed to be easy to swing open. Not far from the Parthenon is a statue of John W. Thomas, who helped to secure the park and also brought the Tennessee Centennial Exposition to it.
During our weekend in Nashville, we did not get a chance to visit the inside of the Parthenon, but I enjoyed seeing the exterior and reminiscing about seeing the actual Parthenon in Greece. The Parthenon is open 9-7 Monday through Thursday, 9-4:30 Friday and Saturday and 12:30-4:30 on Sunday. It costs $10 to visit for adults, and $8 for seniors and children age 4-17.
Visit Vanderbilt University
Located 1.5 miles from downtown, Vanderbilt University is a great place to stop and visit during a weekend in Nashville. It was founded in 1873 and named in honor of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school with its first one million dollar endowment. He hoped the gift and the work at the university would help to heal the sectional wounds inflicted by the Civil War. The university enrolls over 13,000 students from all over the US and over 100 countries. Vanderbilt University comprises ten schools, including a top-rated doctoral school. Notable alumnus include Vice-President Al Gore, author James Patterson, 54 current and former members of the US Congress, 8 Nobel Prize laureates and more.
Lane Motor Museum
Lane Motor Museum is an incredible automobile museum founded by Jeff and Susan Lane. It opened in October 2003 with 80 vehicles in a former Sunbeam Bakery. Today it features 150 unique cars and motorcycles and is home to the largest European collection in the U.S. My friends and I absolutely loved touring this museum during our weekend in Nashville.
At Lane Motor Museum, visitors can see vehicles from all over the world- I particularly loved seeing all the French cars. This is a working museum; the employees fix up and maintain all the vehicles so that they are in running order, and some of them are even available for purchase. Owner Jeff Lane’s grandfather owned a car dealership and his father had an auto supply store, so his love for automobiles started at a young age. He got his first car and started working on it at age 12, and that love is evident all over the museum.
What to see at Lane Motor Museum
Lane Motor Museum has vehicles that date from the early 1900s all the way up to modern day. It features a varied collection of microcars, amphibious vehicles, military vehicles, alternative fuel vehicles, prototypes, one-of-a-kind vehicles and motorcycles. Look through the slideshow below to check out some of the vehicles you can see at Lane Motor Museum.
The oldest car in the collection, a Renault 1909 and the newest, a 2014 VW XLi hybrid 
1932 Citroën Helicron 
Lane Motor Museums has the largest collection of micro cars 
1959 LARC-LX, the US military’s largest amphibious craft 
1933 Dymaxion- designed to be a 4D house 
1948 Castarede- put together from a motorcycle and a car found at a junkyard. It was very common for people to build their own cars post WWII 
Airplanes of Henri Mignet, known as flying fleas, that he made from 1920s-80s 
Some of the cars in the vault- which are arranged by color 
An iceboat vehicle- used for tours 
Jeff lane and the green car he took his driver test in, it is also the car he first started working on at the age of 12. 
1954 Deutsch-Bonnet Monomill 
The Lane Motor Museum has a large selection of Fiat’s- including this 1970 500 Mare Lusso which was designed for getting to and from the beach resorts 
1959 Tornado Typhoon
If you are visiting the Lane Motor Museum during the weekend, take the opportunity to go on a vault tour. Upstairs there are only 150 cars on display, but downstairs you can view the over 400 other cars, arranged in groups by color. The tour lasts about 45 minutes and the tour guide gives a lot of information about many of the cars. I loved this extra tour!
Lane Motor Museum is open Thursday through Monday from 10am-5, and is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Admission is $12 for adults, $8 for seniors, $3 for children aged 6-17 and free for ages 5 and under. The vault tour is an additional $10, is limited to 30 people, and is only available at 11:30 and 2 on weekends.
Exploring Broadway
Broadway is a major thoroughfare in the downtown area in Nashville, Tennessee. Lower Broadway in particular is the entertainment district renowned for honky-tonk bars with live country music. Additionally, the street has shops, restaurants, tourist attractions, and a few hotels. Broadway is where you go when you are ready to PARTY! On the weekends, it’s the mecca for bachelor and bachelorette parties. There are dozens of bars, many of which are multiple stories, showcasing singers and bands on all the levels. It was packed the Saturday afternoon that we visited. We checked out Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, but that was the only taste of Broadway we needed.
Where to eat & drink in Nashville
Husk
Husk was recommended to me by some friends. This restaurant is located in Rutledge Hill, which is just a few blocks south of Broadway. This restaurant cooks Southern food, but elevated. We came for brunch (making sure to get a reservation in advance) and really enjoyed Chef Ben Norton’s creations. Using food that is local to the area, my friends and I all REALLY enjoyed our meal in this former mansion. The mushroom and grits is still on my mind weeks later.
Emmy Squared
Another friend recommendation was Emmy Squared Pizza. I can’t have gluten, so pizza isn’t usually my first choice of food, but I am super glad I tried this restaurant. Emmy Squared first opened in Brooklyn in 2016 (though I missed it during my recent trip to Bushwick, Brooklyn) and now has 18 locations including several in Nashville, like the one in The Gulch area. Their Detroit-style pizza has thick, yummy crust, including the gluten free version. They has tons of great topping options, some that are vegan. I loved the pizza so much and I would love to eat there again.
Culture Co.
Another restaurant that we made sure to get reservations for in advance was Culture & Co. Located in L + L Market, Culture & Co specializes in cheese and charcuterie, some of my favorite things. The thing that makes it even better is the food comes to customers sitting at the bar via conveyor belt! How it works- there are over 15 different plates (some just cheese, some side dishes, but many of them pairings of cheese and small bites) that go around the belt. In time, diners take the glass domed plates that have a metal number, which are listed also on the menu. There are some gluten-free items, organic wine and other beverages, and the cheese comes with complimentary bread sticks. We really enjoyed our time there!
L & L Market and Bold Patriot Brewery
The L & L Market is a market with dining and shopping in a historic building. It was built in 1929 and was a hosiery manufacturer. It was empty for several years until 1996 when it was bought to be a restaurant equipment company. In 2019 businesses started coming to the building, which was converted into market, and now you can eat (like at the aforementioned Culture & Co), shop, practice yoga, get a haircut, or enjoy a beer at the Bold Patriot Brewery.
Bold Patriot Brewery was found in Southern California, but moved to Tennessee in 2019. The brewery has created over 50 brews, check their website to see what they have on tap.
Bearded Iris
Bearded Iris Brewery has two locations in Nashville, and we visited the one down the street from L & L Market in Sylvan Supply. They specialize in IPAs, DIPAs, and pale ales, though the Sylvan Supply location has more experimental, small-batch offerings, as well as food. They are open every day from noon to 10 pm, or 11 pm on Friday and Saturday.
Fat Bottom Brewing
Fat Bottom Brewing first opened in 2021 and was the first brewery in East Nashville. But they grew so fast they needed more space and moved into a 33,000 sq ft building four years later. In this large facility they brew the beers and offer tours. They also have a restaurant, a beer garden and large patio with games and corn hole. They are open 7 days a week from 10:30/11am until 9/10pm.
Southern Grist
My favorite of all the breweries we visited in Nashville was Southern Grist. They had tons of offerings, and lots of fun, creative beers. I really enjoyed their sours, and they are constantly experimenting and trying new things. They also have a line of non-alcoholic beers. They have 3 locations, so make sure you visit one of them during your weekend in Nashville.
Where to stay in Nashville
We found the cutest airbnb for our weekend stay in Nashville. In the beautiful Hillsboro West End area (which is near Vanderbilt), this was the home that Hank Williams Sr. and Ray Price lived in in 1952. Beautifully decorated with thoughtful touches, including a record player and board games, this was a fabulous option when you are visiting Nashville.
Thanks for reading my blog about my weekend in Nashville. We had such a fabulous time, and we were able to get in so many wonderful things to do. If you have any suggestions for a future return to Nashville, or ideas for other road trip adventures, make sure to comment below. Catch you soon!
-Catching Katie
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