Nashville

[Rosie]

Looking at taking a little vacay to Nashville in next couple weeks. Any must things to see and do? Last time there was 40 years ago. Wife says we are taking the car this time. Thanks

[J.Mencalice]

If I visit Nashville again, I am gonna make it a point to go here:
Music is an important source of joy and relaxation in my life.  I'll very much enjoy this place.

From Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum
"The Musicians Hall of Fame is a premiere Nashville attraction and the one and only museum in the world that honors the talented musicians who actually played on the greatest recordings of all time. We not only have instruments and other memorabilia from musical legends, but we have interactive areas where you can play like a rock star! The Musicians Hall of Fame also can host events, such as corporate events, wedding receptions, birthday parties, musical events, award shows, and more. We are located in the Historic Nashville Municipal Auditorium. Come see what you’ve heard!"

https://www.trolleytours.com/nashville/musicians-hall-of-fame

[f6john]

They used to have a riverboat ride with dinner and a show. I haven’t been to Nashville except for doctors visits for a good number of years. I enjoyed the show more than the meal as I remember but a nice way to spend an evening, if they are still doing it.

[Moonshot_1]

When we were there a few years back we took a tour of Nashville. The websites below have tours listed.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g55229-Activities-Nashville_Davidson_County_Tennessee.html

https://www.viator.com/Nashville-tourism/d799-r2491260412-s42552441/3

I don't see the tours we took listed. The ones we took picked us up at the hotel.

But there do seem to be some interesting tours available.

When we were there we used Uber a lot.

[Rams]

I drive through Nashville a lot.   While I have nothing against Nashville, my goal is to always get through it (and any other larger city) any time other than rush hour.    So, my opinion isn't worth much but, if that was my travel destination, I'd try to hit the Grand Ole Opry at least one evening.   There's also a huge aquarium there I'm told is worth going through.    I'm not real big on visiting population centers, I'd rather go ride or even drive through the open spaces, mountain, valleys and open plains of any country environment.

Rams

[Moonshot_1]

The Symphony Center https://www.nashvillesymphony.org/ is pretty nice. Right downtown. Number of events scheduled. Some with the symphony and some not.

We saw Chris Botti (trumpet player) and his quartet play with the Nashville symphony there about 4 years ago.

Great venue and great symphony.

If there is any interest in this it is worth going to.

[da prez]

The original Grand Old Opera.  The new one is great. Last time we were there , the Everly brothers did a show. You have to look for the info.

         da prez

[J.Mencalice]

If you are hockey fans, the Predators' season has begun.

Ate a good meal at Skull's Rainbow Room in Printers Alley.

[signart]

The last time I went to the Opry at the Ryman, was a treat from my daughter, who put the wife & I up in a fancy hotel. She picked us up in an uber that dropped us off downtown within walking distance to Ryman and I bought dinner before the show. Been there a few times, so I know the doors don't open till shortly before the show, maybe 30 min. or so.
We knocked around downtown and peek in some of the honky-tonks and listen to the aspiring singers & live bands, the head over to the Ryman to get in line and pick up tickets for or reserved seats.

This time I look ahead and we've got metal detectors waiting for us to pass through.
I start to panic a little, cause you can bet I'm carrying a heater in downtown Nashville and so I'm thinking
I'm gonna have to sit out the show while the fam goes in. Since we arrived in an uber and no tranportation, and not gonna ditch the gun under a bush, I look around and spot a large package in a security uniform. I just go ahead and tell him that I have tickets, and I'm packin'.
He pointed over to a smallish elderly security standing by a guard shack type building, said I should check with him. I went over an explained to him the situation while the girls held the place in line.
He ask me for ID, then went over to a small safe, opened it up. Said "lay your gun in there and lay you ID on top of it. It will be there when you get back."
We had a great time at the show and stopped at the shack, told the little guy my name and picked up
the little Ruger LCP on the way back to downtown.   

[bassman]

Are you staying in the city, outskirts or Opyland?  Parking in the city can be pricey and a challenge to find at times even at most hotels; staying in the outskirts you can usually use hotel shuttles to get back and forth for a fee.  Driving can be "interesting" in the city at times (mostly at night) and the freeways drive me nuts almost all the time - can never seem to get my sense of direction right.  Staying at Opryland can be pricey.

You can get get a list of the top 10 sights to see online; take a tour of the city and surroundings; tour of the "stars" homes by bus.

The honkey tonks have live music pretty much all day and night with usually great musicians/music.  Kid Rock has a bar in town and probably the loudest one in the city.  John Rich has a new place also along with a couple of other celebrities joints.  The old standby like Tootsies is neat but can be packed at certain times (several cool stories associated with this place as it shares an alley with the Ryman).  Jack's BBQ is purported to be good - I enjoyed it but I've had better elsewhere.  

Tours of the Ryman are interesting - seeing the dressing rooms, going backstage and wandering the areas.  As mentioned above, the Musicians Hall of Fame is a good choice also.  A show at Opryland is fun depending on who is performing.  One of things I've found is that no matter where you go to see entertainment be it the big venues or smaller bars there  is always a chance of seeing a well-know star who might just pop in to do a couple of tunes.

If you like musical instruments, a visit to Gruhn's Guitars is a must and you will probably need a car to get there.   Again, never can tell who may show up.  One "story" I heard was of a young man plucking on a Martin guitar in Gruhn's and a guy sat down next to him and asked if he could play along with the kid.  Kid said sure and they proceeded to play a little with the stranger offering some tips and advice.  The stranger turned out to be Brad Paisley who just happed to be in the store.  Vince Gill is known to frequent the store at times also also.

If you like to see new up and coming talent (writers and performers) check out the Bluebird Cafe.. Limited seating (90 seats) and usually two shows per night with no reservations so the lines to get in can be a challenge.  Vince Gill showed up one night and sat at a table next to the stage while his daughter performed some of her material.  He didn't perform - just a regular audience member.

Personally I would avoid all the drink wagons that pedal around the city.  Usually filled with girls having bachelorette parties and getting trashed.
You can pretty much walk to the majority of the sights in the main part of the city - Broadway, 2nd, 3rd, 4th streets etc

I would avoid the city during country awards times or when the major sports teams are playing based on past experience - HUGE crowds.

I guess most of it depends on your personal tastes and what you like to do and see on vacation.

Enjoy !

[Moonshot_1]

+1 on bassman's recommendation on singer/songwriters.

http://nashvilleguru.com/30574/nashvilles-best-open-mic-songwriters-nights

We went to the Commodore Grille. They have a songwriter/openmic format. It is at the Holiday Inn in Vanderbilt just west outside of downtown. We met a performer and his parents at the hotel we were staying at while at breakfast and they invited us to the show.

Very entertaining and wonderful venue.

We did find the honkytonks down on Broadway to be entertaining but the crowds and wait times can be challenging.

Unless you're familiar with driving in Nashville, and I'm not, Uber is your friend in Nashville.