The Short Trip Nashville Itinerary: How to Explore Music City in a Day or a Weekend

Whether you have just one day or a full weekend, explore Music City for an unforgettable adventure filled with live music, legendary landmarks, and Southern hospitality 🤠. Hop between honky-tonks on Broadway, tour the iconic Ryman Auditorium, and soak up the city’s vibrant energy effortlessly.Indulge in Nashville’s famous hot chicken, wander through the Country Music Hall of Fame, and catch a rooftop sunset view 🌅🍹.

With its rich culture, history, and nightlife, Nashville is the ultimate destination for anyone ready to explore Music City and embrace its rhythmic heartbeat!

This content is taken from the upcoming book Nashville Local’s Guide for Visitors and Newbies, which you can support on Kickstarter by clicking the link above. This article may contain affiliate links, which compensate me a bit for my time at no extra cost to you.

Areas of Interest to Explore Music City

Let’s kick things off with a map highlighting the best areas in town to explore Music City during your weekend adventures! 📍✨ This map pinpoints popular attractions and hidden gems worth visiting. To make navigating easier, I’ve marked the Hop On, Hop Off Trolley 🚎 and key bus routes 🚌, perfect for a budget-friendly way to explore Music City. Keep in mind that while public transit is a great option, bus schedules may add some extra time compared to a quick Uber ride 🚗

MAP KEY

A) Lower Broad – Honky Tonks, bars, museums, and hot chicken.
B) Printer’s Alley/Arts District – Jazz, Blues, Karaoke, and Hidden Bars.
C) SoBro – Heaviest concentration of acccommodations.
D) The Gulch – Restaurants and shops.
E) Germantown/Bicentennial Park – TN State Museum, Farmer’s Market, Monell’s.
F) Marathon Village – Unique Shops, Distillery, and shows.
G) Centennial Park – Parthenon, oldest dive bar in Nashville, and hot chicken.
H) Jefferson Street (North Nashville) – Jefferson Sound Museum.
I) Belmont – Belmont Mansion, The GIG, and Frederick Hart Studio Museum.
J) 12 South – SHopping and restaurants.
K) Green Hills – Loveless cafe, greenhouse bar, and shopping.
L) Belle Meade – Belle Meade Mansion and Sperry’s Steakhouse.
M) Warner Parks/Cheekwood – Outdoor focused activities.
N) 5 Points (East Nashville) – Restaurants and bars. More chill than downtown.
O) Music Valley/Opry – Opry, Opryland Hotel, Cooters, and shopping.

I have also keyed in the trolley and a few bus routes and added in closest stops to visitor destinations.

Green: Hop On, Hop Off Trolley
Red: WeGo Route #3 (West End)
Blue: WeGo Route #17 (12 South/Green Hills)
Purple: WeGo Route #56 (Madison)
Brown: WeGo Route #34 (Opry Mills)

Explore Music City with Nashville Top 10

Now let’s talk about the top 10 things to do. I will key into where to find these on the map.

1. Explore the honkytonks on Lower Broad (A) – There are more than 30 honkytonks on Lower Broad with another handful of bars without music. If you include Lower Broad, Printer’s Alley, and the side streets just off Lower Broad, you get close to double that number. Of these, 18 are “star bars” and carry the names, merchandise, and menu items of your favorite country stars.
2. Take in a museum (A, E, G, and L)- Area (A): The Country Music Hall of Fame (CMHoF) is the prime spot for many, but we also have the Johnny Cash Museum, the National Museum of African American Music, the Musicians Hall of Fame, and the Frist Museum downtown. Tennessee State Museum sits in area (E), next to the Farmer’s Market. On west Jefferson (H), you will find the Jefferson Sound Museum, which is curated by owner Lorenzo Washington (tours on weekends or by appointment). Finally, we have area (M), which is Cheekwood Gardens, which also has an art museum in the mansion.
3. Take is a Show (K & O) – The Opry House is located in Music Valley (O) near the Opryland Hotel. This one gets dicey in a single day, but it can be done if you plan to do the rest first, then go over and see a show, then hit Lower Broad after. Bluebird (K) is another icon, if you can get tickets. This will take up your night, so a one-day trip will be a choice between the Bluebird and the Opry.
4. Eat Nashville Style. The following are the 4 types of experiences you should focus on and where to get it.
   1. Nashville Hot Chicken – There are quite a few places to eat this iconic dish, but we will focus on 3 that will fit our itinerary: Prince’s, Hattie B’s,and Red’s. Hattie B’s is in the lower level of the 5th & Broad complex (A), with Prince’s upstairs in Assembly Hall. Red’s is located near the park (G) and a great option if you also want to picnic in the park or visit Springwater, Nashville’s oldest (dive) bar. You can also find Brave Idiot near 5 Points (N) if you are mural hunting.
   2. Meat & Three (D) – Arnold’s is the main spot in this vein and located in the Lower Gulch.
   3. Oldest Restaurant (B)- Varallo’s just outside the arcade on 4th Ave N. This is straight up Banker’s Alley from Skull’s Rainbow Room.
   4. Iconic Breakfast Joint (C) – Pancake Pantry wins on this one and there are locations in downtown and Hillsboro Village.
   5. Family Style Southern (E) – Monell’s in Germantown serves it this way. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner … and always plenty of fried chicken. Come as strangers, leave as friends, as you will be sat with others if you cannot fill the table. But this is part of the fun. Can you pass the mashed potatoes, please?
5. Visit the Parthenon (G) – Nashville is known as the Athens of the south and there is a full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Centennial Park west of downtown and midtown.
6. Learn about Tennessee and Nashville history (E)- For this, I will steer you to the free Tennessee State Museum, which is next to the Farmer’s Market and Bicentennial Park. There is also a Fort Nashboro replica on the river at Church/Gay and 1st Ave N.
7. Visit a historic mansion (I, L, M) – There are a number of historic homes, from the antebellum mansions of Belmont (I), Belle Meade (L), and Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage to the early 20th century Cheekwood (M) Mansion. For this article, I am going to focus on Belmont, as it is the closest to downtown.
8. Do a distillery tour – Jacks Daniel’s is the best known in the state, but also 1.5 hours from downtown Nashville, without traffic. Big Machine does tours downtown (A) and Nashville Barrel Company is just east of the city. Both Nelson’s Green Brier and Corsair run tours in Marathon Village (F), which is north of midtown.
9. See Nashville’s Murals – Nashville is known for its murals, which vary from murals featuring wings to famous musicians to an iconic set of wings. Wings are in the Gulch (D) and there are some clusters around downtown (A & B) as well as 12 South (J) and
10. Do some shopping – For many visitors, this is getting cowboy boots and hats, so I will center the article around that.

The bad news is you will be hard pressed to complete everything on the list in one day and even stretched to do it in two. The good news is you can get most of it in if you use the tools available to you.

Iteneraries

This section lays out some sample itineraries. I have provided a Google sheet you can copy to set up your own hand-tailored itinerary. I will be going through how to use this sheet to plan out your trip. Feel free to adjust based on the things you most want to see.

Planning out your trip

First, we have to look at the items on the list and their hours, as you have limited time for certain types of activities. I am going to assume you are downtown for the itineraries I have created, as it fits the 80/20 rule (at least 80% of you will be staying downtown). The following table has links for tickets, where available, and the Bold/Italic items should be booked ahead and have a time booked to be safe, while the Bold should be purchased ahead (for CMHoF, a requirement for Studio B). Italicized items are ticketed, but must be purchased on site. I have an average time spent at each place, but you have to decide if you want a longer visit than the times in the range. The items with a single time

Place	Time Spent	Hours
Trolley		9 AM – 4PM; As long as you are on the trolley at 4 PM, you are good
Monell’s	:45-1:00	Breakfast: 8 AM-3 PM; Dinner (T-Sa): 5 PM – 8:30 PM
Pancake Pantry	:30-1:00	6 AM – 2 PM (3PM Hillsboro Village location)
TN State Museum	1:00 – 2:00	Su: 1-5 PM; M: closed; T-Sa: 10 AM-5 PM
Farmer’s Market	:15 – 1:00	8 AM – 8 PM
Country Music Hall of Fame – COMBO Ticket – Includes studio B/Hatch Print	1:00 – 3:00	9AM – 5PM
Studio B not available without CMHoF – COMBO Ticket – Includes CMHoF, Hatch Print	1:00	10:30 AM – 2:30 PM
Hatch Print – COMBO Ticket – Includes CMHoF, Studio B	1:00	9AM – 5:30 PM
Centennial Park		Dawn to Dusk
Parthenon	:30-:45	M/W: 9AM-7PM; T,Su: 1-4:30PM; Th-Sa: 9AM-4:30PM
Red’s Hot Chicken		We-Th: 11AM – 3PM; Fr & Su: 11AM – 4PM (Sat til 6 PM)
Marathon Village	:30-1:00	10 AM – 5 PM
Nelson’s Green Brier	1:00	Tours 11 AM – 6 PM
Corsair	1:00	Tours 1 PM – 5 PM (except Monday)
Belmont Mansion	:45 – 1:15	Tours 10 AM – 3:30 PM (11 Am on Sunday)
The Gallery of Iconic Guitars (THe GIG)	:30-1:00	Su: 1 PM – 4:30 Mon, Th-Sa: 10 AM – 4:30 PM
Frederick Hart Studio Museum	:30 – 1:00	Su: 1 PM – 4:30 Mon, Th-Sa: 10 AM – 4:30 PM
Honky Tonks		Vary, but generally 11 AM – 3 AM
Lower Broad Stores		Generally 10 AM – 9 or 10 PM
Johnny Cash Museum	:45 – 2:00	9 AM – 7 PM
Bluebird Cafe		Tickets: T-Th: 1 week ahead at 8 AM CST Fr-Su: Monday that week at 8 AM CST

* If you purchase tickets for either Studio B or Hatch Print, consider the combo of the CMHoF and other venue, as it is the best deal and gives you the most rounded experience.

In my Trip Planner, I’ve included a sample pasteboard to help explore Music City with ease. A Bluebird night isn’t listed, as tickets determine the schedule. The first worksheet has the pasteboard fully set up but no calendar entries, assuming a Fri-Sun or Sat-Sun visit—not necessarily the most realistic, but offering better Opry options. Below, you can see an image of the blank sheet.

Items in Bold are things you will have to schedule at specific times.

Before You Explore Music City

As indicated in the table in the last section, there are a few things you should get before you explore Music City. I’ve compiled a list of essential items, along with notes on which are nearly impossible to buy afterward. “Consider” items can be skipped unless visiting during peak times, while “Buy and book” essentials are likely to sell out or require extra reservations to fit your itinerary

• Nashville Hop On, Hop Off Trolley (consider buying)- This will be your primary means of getting around to places outside of downtown, with the exception of the Opry and any side jaunts. During the busiest times, this can sell out.
  
  I have included Jack Daniel as a third day in the final version. Get Tickets here. This tour will consume about 7 hours total, as Lynchburg is about 1.5 hours away (3 hours), the tour is 90 minutes and you have 90 minutes downtown to grab lunch and shop. There is an additional hour built in for buffer.
  
• Country Music Hall of Fame (buy and book – Studio B and Hatch Print; don’t have to buy CMHoF now, but the combo saves money, so it is the wisest option) – I recommend getting the full package, which includes the CMHoF, Studio B Tour, and Hatch Show Print. You will also want to book timeslots for the last two before you leave as time slots fill up.
• Distillery Tickets (consider buying and booking) – This is less risky, but can sell out – Nelson’s Green Brier can get very popular and throw off your schedule, esp. if you are doing an aggressive “get everything in” type of day or weekend. Other distilleries are generally easier to get to. I am not including Jack Daniel in this post, as it will consume your day – although you can still find tickets here, if you have more time.
• Bluebird (Buy) – The Bluebird is nearly impossible to get tickets. They go on sale Monday morning for weekend shows and can sell out in seconds. Local’s Tip: If it sells out instantly, keep trying for about 1/2 hour, as people will put tickets in their basket and not complete the transaction; tickets then go back on sale.
• Mural Tour (Buy) – If you are set on murals, a tour is a nice way to get them in. There are a few options to choose from, each with its own set of pros.
  • Photowalk Tour – This tour includes a photographer to get snaps of your trip. This one centers on 12 South, where you will find about 1 dozen murals. You will have to get transportation to the Draper James store in 12 South. You can get to the What Lifts You or wings mural in the Gulch after, before hitting Lower Broad.
  • Golf Cart Tours: There are two tours available here. The first one is focused more on people that like to grab shots for social media and called Murals of Nashville Instagram Tour. The second is very similar, but the guides are a bit less rushed and give more on the history: this is the Colorful Nashville – A Mural Exploration Tour. Both run an hour and a half to 2 hours.
  • Murals and Booze – There are two tours of this type. Each picks up at the Omni in SoBro and lasts 3 hours. You will hit various areas of town known for murals, although the tour will vary based on guide preferences and the traffic patterns of the day. At the end, you get some sweets and a drink. You can choose from Mimosas and Murals or Murals & Margaritas.

Explore Music City: Trolley Day

Here is one example of using the trolley. Feel free to use the Google Sheet and adjust for your own preferences. I have lunch at Red’s Hot Chicken, near the park, and you can either picnic or eat at Springwater next door and have a beer and chicken in a dive bar.

On this day, the only item that absolutely has to be cemented in place is Nelson’s Green Brier. A few notes on how you might alter this:

1. If you prefer more history, you can schedule Nelson’s later in the day and spend more time in the TN State Museum. You might have to drop the Belmont Mansion.
2. If you are already going to Belle Meade Mansion or the Hermitage, you might want to drop Belmont Mansion, as well.
3. Another option at Belmont is the Gallery of Iconic Guitars (GIG) and the Frederick Hart Studio Museum.

NOTE: The trolley tells you some history, so with this option, you might miss some of the naration. If this is important, you might skip Monell’s or do it another day. This is your vacation.

Explore Music City: Trolley Day, Alternative

I am shifting emphasis in this one to getting the full trolley experience, starting from downtown and ending there. As you bought your tickets online, this is not an issue. This one starts at the Pancake Pantry, on 3rd Ave S instead of Monell’s. I also have Assembly Hall, which gives you the ability to grab some Nashville Hot Chicken – either Hattie B’s downstairs, or Prince’s (the OG) in Assembly Hall. Note that I switch lunch to Nelson’s Green Brier, which is the best restaurant in Marathon Village – there is also a deli if you don’t want a sit down dinner of this sort.

Explore Music City: CMHoF Day, no Opry (Sun)

This will work with either of the above trolley days, although you will not get the Opry show in. It is a decent option if you are going to fly out of Nashville late Sunday, as well

Explore Music City: CMHoF Day, with Opry (Fri)

Note that you can switch the Opry day to Saturday by adding after you finish the trolley with this one.

Example 2 day Itinerary

Here is a two day Sat-Sun itinerary that includes the Opry, as well as all of the main things on the trolley.

Summary

Grab a copy of the itinerary google sheet and play with it. The method is simple:

• Green – travel
• Orange – meals
• Blue – Accommodation
• Purple – Entertainment

Do in this order:

1. Get the things you want to do in a list. You can italicize the “must do” items.
2. Bold any that require setting a specific time. In this example, this would be distillery tours, Studio B, Hatch Print, Opry Tour, and the Grand Ole Opry. I did mention the Bluebird and that would also have a set date and time
3. Drag the fixed items which you get tickets for on the board. These are the things that can’t move.
4. Add some buffer around the events. The amount of buffer depends on how far you travel. I would leave 1/2 hour for the Bluebird, but if you are staying downtown, 15 minutes of buffer is plenty, just in case you are running late (meals, etc.) You don’t want to be late for a ticketed event.
5. Add in other events. Remember to include travel time between and add buffer as required.
6. Always leave time for things like shopping and visiting honkytonks.

Have fun in Nashville and hope this helps inspire you to plan out your trip to explore Music CIty.

Peace and Grace,