How to Spend a Perfect Weekend in Nashville

To plan the best trip to Music City this year, start with this three-day itinerary, which is packed with new and classic attractions.
By Patricia Harrison

Whether you’re a fan of country music, Southern cuisine or American history, Nashville is the perfect place to spend a weekend exploring both quintessential sights and new attractions. Choose one of our recommended hotels from the TRAVELSAVERS Preferred Hotel Program and glean inspiration for your trip to Tennessee’s ever-evolving capital from our three-day itinerary below.

Friday

Once you arrive in Nashville, make your way to neon-lit Broadway Street to soak in the magnetic energy of the Music City. Stroll down the four-block stretch of Lower Broadway, a district lined with Western-themed shops, restaurants and honky tonks. For lunch, grab a table at Tootsies Orchid Lounge, a three-story bar, restaurant and entertainment venue. Enjoy a local Hap & Harry’s Tennessee lager and an order of the mac and cheese bites while you keep your eyes peeled for celebrities (Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton and Cher have all been spotted there). Then head to your hotel to check in.

Famous Layla's Bar in Nashville on Broadway | 4kclips - stock.adobe.com

When you’re ready to venture out, linger over a cocktail like the cotton candy–topped Negroni at Tiger Bar, a circus-themed drink den in East Nashville. City House, which serves Italian cuisine produced with Southern ingredients, is your destination for dinner. Order one of the seasonal pizzas, such as the rendition topped with sliced tomatoes, cheesy mayo, lemon, garlic and chiles. Before heading back to your home base, grab a marg for a nightcap at Cherries, where you can listen to vinyl rock and cozy up next to a fire pit.

Saturday

Start your day with an everything bagel and spicy cucumber dill smear at Benji’s Bagel and Coffee House, a New York–style bagel shop that opened in March. Then spend the afternoon exploring Nashville’s musical history. Mosey over to the Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash museums on Broadway Street to peruse exhibits on the country music legends or tour the historic Ryman Auditorium. The church-turned-performance-venue is known as the birthplace of bluegrass and the former home of the Grand Ole Opry live radio broadcast. Or view exhibits like Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues Revisited at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Huge guitars at Grand Ole Opry | 4kclips - stock.adobe.com

Grab a juicy smash burger from the Bad Luck Burger Club, a food truck with a cult following that found a permanent home at the Honeytree Meadery in early 2024. Afterward, walk off your meal while you admire the masterpieces at Frist Art Museum. When you work up an appetite again (you know you will), make your way to six-month-old Afro XYZ for African fusion specialties such as shrimp marinara with spaghetti. Your last night in Nashville calls for some live music, which you can find at classic joints such as The Station Inn or Listening Room Cafe or newer additions to the scene like Riverside Revival and Friends in Low Places.

Sunday

Start your day with a pick-me-up at Instagram-worthy Neighborlily, a community-centered flower, coffee and tea shop in Nashville’s historic Germantown district. For your final hours in town, indulge in some retail therapy at Tanger Outlets, which debuted in Nashville in fall 2023, or go to the Nashville Zoo, where the current draw is three adorable endangered Sumatran tiger cubs that were born this past October.

Where to Stay

Margaritaville Vacation Club by Wyndham Nashville
This oasis in the center of downtown Nashville offers island-inspired features such as guest rooms equipped with frozen drink makers (It’s five o’clock somewhere, right?) and a rooftop pool and sundeck. Be sure to pop into JWB Grill, the namesake eatery of Jimmy William Buffett, for comforting bites and cocktails.

Gaylord by Opryland Resort and Convention Center
While the 2,888-room Gaylord by Opryland is within walking distance of the famed Grand Ole Opry, the property is an attraction in and of itself. Guests can satisfy their appetites at 18 restaurants and five bars and lounges and enjoy access to two pools, a sauna and a waterpark.

Thompson Nashville
The Thompson Nashville brims with Southern soul and contemporary charm. The boutique property, which is situated near Broadway’s legendary honky tonks, Bridgestone Arena, and Frist Art Museum, has an indoor-outdoor rooftop bar and restaurant, an upscale coffeeshop and an eatery serving Southern cuisine.

Book these hotels, and more, using the TSA rate code in the GDS. Non-GDS users can book these hotels using tripXpress.

Banner photo: Nashville skyline