Planning on making a trip to or through Tennessee and want to make a stop in Nashville? We recently found ourselves in nearby Shelbyville for a family wedding but wanted to experience the state capital while we were so close. Read on to find out how we spent a few hours maximizing our time before heading over to the rehearsal dinner.

Make A Plan

Photo of downtown Nashville taken from the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge.

When trying to maximize your time in a place you will need a strong plan.

How long will you be there?
Is there something specific you want to see or do? Somewhere specific you want to eat?
Can you reserve anything ahead of time?

To help us with this, we first came up with our timeframe. We knew when we would arrive and when we would need to leave. That left us about 6 hours in Nashville. We had never been before and didn’t really have a sense of what would be best to see (there is SO much) so we did a little research.

Some great sites to help get you thinking about what you want to do are:

Pinterest
TripAdvisor
Viator
Groupon

Even a google search of “things to do in Nashville” will bring all of this up for you. Some of the most popular things are:

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum (read on because we actually chose this as one of our activities).
Ryman Auditorium (again continue reading because we also chose to visit this location).
Grand Ole Opry
Walk down Broadway and check out all of the Honkey Tonks (you will see some that we drove past during our tour). This felt a lot like Vegas! Tootsies Orchid Lounge is one of the most famous.
The Parthenon
Johnny Cash Museum
The Bluebird Cafe
Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park
Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum

Photo of the Nissan Stadium and the Ghost Ballet art installation.

Viator Tour

After partnering with my relatives who were meeting us there, we decided that the best way to see the most of the city was to do a “Discover Nashville City Tour” that also included entrance to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Ryman. Here are the details about the tour.

There were two-time options per day (a morning and an afternoon) we choose the afternoon which started at 1:30 and lasted 3.5 hours.
It cost us $103.53 per person.
The tour included the cost of our entry to the Ryman and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum but did not include gratuities.
- Tickets for the self-guided tour of the Ryman started at $35.80 per person, and tickets for the self-guided tour of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum started at $29.95 per person. So just those two things would cost $65.75.
It was in an air-conditioned bus that sat about 20 people, and about 15 were on our tour.
While on the bus the guide narrated the history and facts about all of the landmarks and sites all around us.
We were able to cancel all the way up to 24 hours of our reservation time for a full refund.

viator tours

Arrival/Parking

We set off that morning with our GPS anticipating our arrival at 10:45am. Once we arrived, we quickly realized we were in the heart of the city and that parking would be a challenge. You see parking garages tucked into the skyscrapers and you see the occasional lot. But keep a sharp eye out because they can sneak up on you in the traffic.

We ended up finding a garage about a block away from the tour meetup spot and decided that we should park there. We had passed it so we had to circle back, but then we found a space and used the QR code to pay for parking for the timeframe we would be in the city. Just know that you will pay anywhere from $10-$30 for parking. We paid $27.

After we parked we wanted to make sure we knew where our tour meet up place was, so we walked over to the address listed in our email from Viator to check in.

This is the building where we checked in for our tour.

Once we checked in, we decided to wander around while we waited for my relatives to arrive. We also knew we would want to grab a bite to eat before the tour, so we started to scope out some restaurants.

Restaurants

There are SO many places to eat in Nashville! There will be something for everyone. We chose for convenience because we only had an hour before our tour and this lovely establishment happened to be right on the corner where we met up, but here is a list of some of the places our tour guide recommended:

The Stillery-The tour guide and the gentleman who checked us in both recommended this restaurant.
The Hampton Social-where we ate. We sat on the second floor and had a beautiful view. Recommend the fish and chips and the smash burger.
Puckett’s Restaurant
Assembly Food Hall
Hattie B’s Hot Chicken-proceed with caution. This is a super popular one, but they have a chicken made with ghost peppers called “shut the cluck up”.

Again, a good google search or look on Open Table can give some other recommendations, and any guide or concierge will also give some great suggestions. I would always try to book a reservation, when possible, but we walked in at about 12:15 on a Friday and got sat right away with a table of four.

Let the tour begin!

On the bus and ready to go! I am joined by Matt, and my Aunt Joan and her daughter Kayla.

At 1:20pm we stood outside of our bus anxiously waiting for our driver to start checking us in. We all boarded the bus and immediately began seeing sights, starting with the Cumberland River (which we were right up against), the Nissan Stadium (home of the Tennessee Titans), the broken roller coaster artwork “Ghost Ballet” by Alice Aycock, and the Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge.

We then turned left onto Broadway, or as they call it, the “Honkey Tonk Highway”. The guide explained that a Honkey Tonk was a place where you can go to hear live music anytime. And we could hear live music pouring out of every establishment that we passed by!

We started with the old ACME Feed and Seed in the left that was now converted into four floors of food and fun, and the Hard Rock Cafe immediately on the right. He called out so many different Honkey Tonks owned by so many country music legends that I could not take notes fast enough. I heard Garth Brooks, Hank Williams Jr, Kid Rock, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, Eric Church, and so many more. They are all free to get into and most have a rooftop bar.

Even at 1:30pm the streets were absolutely packed with people, and the bars looked like they were filled to the rafters. We saw countless bachelorette parties, birthday groups, cowboy hats, rhinestones, denim everything’s, and custom matching t-shirts. It truly felt like the Vegas of the east coast.

The Ryman

The first stop on our tour was just a right turn off Broadway onto 5th Avenue. The Ryman or the Mother Church of Country Music is a beautiful Auditorium that was built in 1892 (then the Union Gospel Tabernacle) and has been a place for revivals, home to the Grand Ole Opry, the stage for concerts, shows, and great speakers, and has also served as a recording space for many famous artists albums.

Here are a few things to know before your visit (taken from www.ryman.com):

Service animals are welcome.
An ATM is located in the Lobby.
Oversized bags and weapons are prohibited, and all guests are subject to a security screening. Please visit ryman.com/security for more information.
During Self-Guided tours of the Ryman, cameras are allowed. Cameras, however, are not permitted at anytime during the Backstage Tour.
Prohibited items include weapons, oversized bags, backpacks, outside food and beverage, cans, bottles, alcohol, drugs, laser pens, masks, laptops, musical instruments, video cameras, monopods, tripods, audio recording devices (unless special permission is granted and/or “taper” tickets are offered to the ticket buyer) and cameras with telephoto or zoom lenses. Tennessee state law prohibits smoking at the Ryman and federal law prohibits ignition of an open flame in a National Historic Landmark.

Some of the names you may recognize who have graced the famous stage are:

Harry Houdini 1924
Charlie Chaplin, Bob Hope, with Doris Day 1949
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
Elvis 1954
Johnny Cash 1956
Hellen Keller 1913 (this was the first event to sell out)

Our bus driver pulled us right up to the entrance and passed out our pre paid for tickets. He instructed us to go in and up to the second floor to begin our self guided tour and gave us an hour to enjoy the venue.

Upon entry, our tickets were scanned and we were directed upstairs and into a room to view a holographic film (produced by Walt Disney Pictures) to learn about the history of the Ryman. There were seats for about 60 people on wooden benches and no photos or videos were allowed in this room. The film features an original song performed by Darius Rucker, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers (and they just might make an appearance).

The main staircase in the lobby of the Ryman.

From there, we were instructed to explore the building. There were many cases with artifacts, costumes, and interesting pieces of history to investigate. It was easy to navigate through the rooms and to know where to go. Right outside where we viewed our video there were restrooms as well as a huge timeline along the wall and an Elvis exhibition tucked away in a room. Elvis only performed at the Ryman once, on Oct. 2, 1954 alongside lead guitarist Scotty Moore and double bass player Bill Black.

Once through this portion, you actually walked into the auditorium, and they had all of the sound equipment out, as well as more costumes and artifacts on display.

Once through the auditorium, there was a hallway that highlighted the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artists that had played at the Ryman. There were some interactive displays here in addition to the costumes and artifacts.

At the end of the hallway, just before going downstairs to the next part of the tour, they had this machine that you could utilize to take a customized selfie. You would walk up, select a background, and then email yourself the photo. It was a fun, free souvenir.

Once you finished your selfie, the tour continued down a staircase. The staircase led you back to the first floor and into the main auditorium. Not only did you get to walk all around the entire first floor and see what the view of the stage would be like from every seat, but they also let you walk up to the edge of the stage and the company took a complementary photo for you. It was a really unique experience to actually stand on the edge of the stage at the Ryman in front of a microphone and have your photograph taken. I may have closed my eyes just for a second and imagined myself in some fabulous boots, a hat, and a skintight outfit and channeled my inner Dolly.

One of the other things that stood out for me on the lower level was the original oak pews. The pews on the main floor are the original from 1895 (see a photo below)!

At the end of the tour, you can find your free photo in the gift shop. They actually print out two copies and hand them over to you to take home and enjoy.

Our professional photo taken by the photographer at the Ryman.

Once you finish walking around the auditorium (there are some costumes and artifacts along the back wall), there are some statues and costumes in the main lobby along with some restrooms. We had looked at everything in detail, so we decided to head outside to the gift shop.

Just outside the main entrance is the gift shop. You can find everything from shot glasses, to shirts, to hats, to posters. Don’t forget to stop by to pick up your free photos.

There are also some great photo ops at the main entrance of the auditorium. There is a life-sized statue of Little Jamie Dickens, as well as a statue of Captain Ryman.

Once we finished our shopping, we headed back to the bus and settled in for the next part of the tour.

ryman auditorium website

The Driving Tour

We spent the next 45 minutes or so riding around downtown Nashville while our guide pointed out some of the most popular destinations and most interesting places to visit. We started with a mural on 5th avenue with a collection of country music singers on it. It used to have Taylor Swift on it, but when she transitioned to pop, he painted Brad Paisley in her place.

Next on the left we passed by the 505 building where 1100 square foot condos sell for $10 million dollars. After that we crossed over Printers ally where artists like the Supremes upset to preform back in the 40’s. Then on the right we saw the Arcade which was the first shopping center in Nashville and is now a popular place for restaurants and art galleries.

We continued on to see many other things before circling back towards Broadway.

We passed by Mary of the Seven Sorrows Church-the oldest church in Nashville.

We passed the local news station, where Oprah got her start!

The guide was so good about telling you where to look and sharing what was coming up so that you had time to adjust and take photos if you wanted to. He also asked for questions and was very knowledgeable about history and pop culture. It was nice to see a mix of history and the art and music that makes the city such an iconic place for tourists to visit.

The Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum

Where our driver parked outside the Museum.

The last stop on our tour before returning back to our meeting point was the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum. The price of the tour included entry, so our driver pulled us right up to the front of the building, passed out our tickets, instructed us where to go inside, and gave us about an hour and a half inside to discover all of the treasures.

Here are a few things to know (taken from www.countrymusichalloffame.org):

Personal items larger than 16 x 17 x 8 will not be permitted in the Museum and cannot be checked in for storage at the Museum. The Museum reserves the right to inspect any parcel, container, or bag brought into the premises. Security guards may conduct random bag checks when you arrive.
You are welcome to take non-flash photographs in the Museum and during most Museum programs as long as they are for private, noncommercial use only. However, flash photography, selfie sticks, and tripods are prohibited.
No food or drink is allowed inside the Museum galleries. Bottled water is permitted in a sealable container.
No weapons allowed. This includes guns, pepper spray, tasers, stun guns, knives, and other sharp objects.
Children under the age of 13 must be accompanied by an adult.
Smoking, including electronic smoking, is not permitted in the Museum or on its grounds.
Service animals are welcome.
The Museum is wheelchair accessible and there are even a few courtesy wheelchairs available at a first come, first serve basis.

A large mural right in the main lobby of the Museum.

We went inside, had our tickets scanned, and went up the elevators to the third floor where the self guided tour starts. It was similar to the Ryman in that there were a lot of costumes and artifacts on display. Each included a plaque to share the items history. There were some artists that had large areas all to themselves, or there were specific eras that featured artists of that time. There were even interactive aspects along the way for adults and children. There were also digital platforms that you could interact with throughout the displays. There were also several areas with bathrooms on every floor. The third floor was probably my favorite because they had one of Elvis’s cars on display which was incredible. Imagine that he was sitting right there!

Image taken from www.countrymusichalloffame.org

We loved looking for things from our favorite artists as we strolled along. And also enjoyed looking at the wall of records. The website recommends blocking out between 1.5-2.5 hours when planning your visit. There are so many things to see, and you can get lost in all of the details of the exhibits.

The second floor was very similar to the first floor with displays, some videos, and lots of costumes.

The bottom floor had a gift shop and a little cafe and seating area.

country music hall of fame website

Once we finished exploring, we realized that we had about an hour before the bus was due to pick us up, and we had seen all the costumes and artifacts that we could take in for one day. We decided to walk the two blocks back to the parking garage and depart from the glitz and glam of Nashville.

Overall, we really enjoyed getting to see the sights and explore all of the rich history that the city had to offer. It is clear that there is something in Nashville for everyone. Although it is an extremely popular destination for celebrations, if you are looking for a fun get away, there is plenty to do that does not involve a shot glass and a Honkey Tonk if that is not your scene. Thanks so much for reading. Happy travels!

Have you ever been to Nashville? What are some of your favorite things to do and restaurants to indulge in? Leave some details in the comments.

How to spend half a day in Nashville, Tennessee