Why Nashville Is Actually a Great Solo Trip (if You Know Where To Go)

National Museum of African American Music

Yes, it’s on Broadway, which means you’ll have to briefly brave the crowds to get there. It’s worth it. The museum opens with a sweeping 15-minute film tracing African American music from its roots in Africa through to the present day, and the museum itself follows that arc chronologically: indigenous African music, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and beyond.

What makes it exceptional is how interactive it is throughout. You can mix your own track, participate in a rap battle, join a dance-off, and sit at listening stations to put on headphones and hear the music of each era for yourself. Your admission ticket comes with an RFID wristband you can scan to save any music you want to take home with you. Plan to spend at least three hours here.

Centennial Park

A lovely place to decompress between meals or activities. The park is anchored by a full-size replica of the Greek Parthenon, which is as surreal and delightful as it sounds, and the ponds are populated with Canada geese and ducks. Bring nothing, sit on the grass or on the steps of the Parthenon, and just be for a while.

Wander East Nashville

Across the river, East Nashville has a completely different energy from downtown: creative, local, a little eclectic. The Five Points intersection is the neighborhood’s hub, ringed by bars, coffee shops, and independent restaurants. Nearby, the Fatherland District is a charming open-air mini-mall of local boutiques and shops worth poking around. It’s also where you’ll find Bad Idea (see below), so you can make an evening of it.

Wander 12 South

Several blocks of boutiques, coffee shops, and restaurants in one of Nashville’s most walkable and photogenic neighborhoods. The jewelry stores in particular are worth a browse. After a big brunch at The Butter Milk Ranch (see below), a long walk through 12 South is exactly the right way to spend the rest of the morning.

Burdlife

Speaking of 12 South jewelry: while wandering the neighborhood, I stumbled onto the most charming piercing and jewelry studio, decorated in green and pink with a gorgeous display of dainty ear jewelry. I ended up getting my cartilage double-pierced on a whim, and it was a completely approachable experience since they only do ear piercings. The jewelry pieces are beautiful and delicate.

A few things to know: piercings usually run $30 each, but on Wednesdays they’re free. Make a reservation if you’re coming on a Wednesday. I came on a Tuesday and paid full price with zero regrets.

Live music (without the Broadway chaos)

You can catch live music on Broadway any night of the week, but if you’d rather skip the crowds, the Hotel Indigo downtown has a bar called the Countrypolitan with live singer-songwriter performances nightly from 6–10 p.m. It’s a much more low-key, intimate way to get your Nashville live music fix.

Bad Idea

Bad Idea is at its heart a wine bar, just one that happens to serve outstanding food. The space alone is worth the visit: it’s housed in a converted church, with soaring ceilings and a sense of grandeur that’s been layered over with modern Art Deco decor, a huge wraparound bar, and plush booths and banquettes. The wraparound bar makes it ideal for solo dining.

The menu is creative small plates. Highlights on my visit included a mascarpone polenta with parmesan sabayon riffing on bacon and eggs, and a country pork pâté that arrived simply but beautifully with raisin chutney, sharp mustard, and a mountain of toasted baguette. Three small plates plus dessert (banana pudding trifle) made for a very hearty meal. The wine program is particularly solo-diner-friendly: every glass can be ordered as a half-pour at exactly half-price, with no markup. For someone who wanted to work through several different wines over dinner, this was a pleasant surprise.

Kisser

A casual Japanese breakfast and lunch spot (they close at 3 p.m.) that used to be nearly impossible to get into. It’s still hard to get into, but they now take reservations, so make one.

The grilled onigiri are exceptional: pressed and grilled on all sides until the rice is crispy on the outside and tender within. Most appetizers come in portions of two or three pieces, but when I asked my server for recommendations, she let me in on an off-menu option: as a solo diner, I could order just one piece of any appetizer at the proportionate price (a third of the price for something that comes in three, half for something that comes in two). That meant I got to try the onigiri, inari, and beef tartare alongside my entree (a wonderfully light miso clam ramen) without overordering or overspending. It’s not advertised, but worth asking about. If I lived in Nashville, this restaurant would be in my regular rotation.

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken

You cannot go to Nashville without getting hot chicken, and Hattie B’s remains the standard. They’ve expanded to multiple locations around the city, which means the days of impossible waits are largely behind us, but the quality has stayed consistent.

The spice levels run from “Southern” (no heat) up through “Shut the Cluck Up” (actually dangerous). I made the mistake of starting at “Hot,” finding it manageable, and going back for “Damn Hot” (yes, I went twice in three days). The inside meat was the most tender and moist of any fried chicken I’ve ever had (the bone literally slid out of the leg quarter)—I know this because the interior was all I could eat once the heat of the Damn Hot overwhelmed me. Learn from my experience and work your way up the spice ladder slowly and cautiously.

They also sell merchandise. If you are worried that a “Shut the Cluck Up” t-shirt may be too aggressive, the “Flock Around and Find Out” is a nice option (that I now own).

The Butter Milk Ranch

This place gets busy busy busy, so plan accordingly. It’s known for its gorgeous croissants and pastries, including the signature square croissant, but the full brunch menu has plenty of other sweet and savory options to love beyond pastries. The move is to join the waitlist on their website or Yelp before you leave your hotel. I did exactly that, drove fifteen minutes to the restaurant, and still waited another thirty minutes. The outdoor seating out front is a pleasant enough place to wait.

Portions are enormous, so come hungry: the beignets are an unexpected must-order, arriving as four giant, pillowy rounds sitting in a pool of lemon butter sauce dusted with powdered sugar, and the croissant breakfast sandwich is the largest I have ever seen.

The restaurant is in the 12 South neighborhood, which is ideal for a long post-brunch walk to walk it off.