A Local's Guide to Nashville, TN

Live music

• Ryman Auditorium: Check the calendar before booking anything else. The Mother Church of Country Music is one of America’s great rooms, and a Leon Bridges show here remains one of the best concerts of my life.

• Grand Ole Opry: The world’s longest-running radio show and a wonderful night out. Have dinner at Sho Pizza Bar beforehand.

• Station Inn: The legendary bluegrass listening room in the Gulch, going strong for fifty years.

• Bluebird Cafe: The famous 90-seat songwriter room known for in-the-round shows.

• 3rd and Lindsley: A longtime club near downtown for top-tier rock, soul, and Americana.

• Star Rover Sound: A Germantown restaurant-venue pairing steak dinners with nightly live music.
  Listening Room Cafe: Downtown singer-songwriter rounds, where you hear the stories behind the songs.

Where to shop

• High Class Hillbilly: Country singer Nikki Lane’s East Nashville shop for hand-picked vintage boots, denim, and leather.

• GasLamp and GasLamp Too: Two enormous Berry Hill antique malls, easy to lose an afternoon in.
  12South: Jenni Kayne, Loeffler Randall, Sézane, Krewe all within a few walkable blocks.

• H Audrey: Highly curated, high-end women’s clothing.

• Patina Home & Garden: Brooke and Steve Giannetti’s home and antiques shop in the old Leiper’s Fork general store.

• Hermès Nashville: The maison’s first Tennessee store, in a converted brick hosiery factory in Wedgewood-Houston.

• UAL: Designer consignment at steep discounts, with several locations around the city.

• 503 Bloomhouse: Luxury consignment for Chanel, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton.

• Plaid Rabbit: The classic Green Hills boutique for children’s clothing and baby gifts.

Things to do (mostly kid friendly too!)

• Percy Warner Park: Part of 3,100 acres of trails and scenic drives, with the iconic limestone steps off Belle Meade Boulevard.

• Shelby Bottoms: Nearly a thousand acres of greenway and nature trails along the Cumberland River.

• Cheekwood: A botanical garden and art museum in a 1930s mansion, with seasonal festivals year-round.

• A boat day: Rent a pontoon on Percy Priest or Old Hickory Lake, both within a short drive.

• Nashville Sounds: Minor-league baseball in Germantown under the guitar-shaped scoreboard.

• Nashville SC: Major League Soccer at Geodis Park, the largest soccer-specific stadium in the country.

• Float the Harpeth River: You can find outfitters in either Bellevue or Franklin.

A fun day trip: Leiper's Fork & Franklin

With a car, drive Old Natchez Trace to Leiper’s Fork, one of Tennessee’s most beautiful drives, ending in a country town with true small-town spirit.

Wines in the creek

• The Crown Winery: The tasting room lets you take your glass to a chair set directly in the creek, often with live music.

• Fox & Locke: The historic general-store venue always has singer-songwriters. Buy tickets, get a table, and have dinner there while listening to the performances.

• Country Boy: The county’s oldest diner, open since 1968 and the classic breakfast stop, with a speakeasy called the Tornado Room hidden underneath.

• December tip: The downtown Leiper’s Fork Christmas parade is picture-perfect.

• Junior: Basque-inspired, open-flame cooking in East Nashville from the Rolf and Daughters team, in an intimate room that's one of the city's most exciting tables.

• Maiz de la Vida: Hand-pressed heirloom-corn tortillas and quesabirria from James Beard-nominated chef Julio Hernandez.

• Folk: Wood-fired pizza, vegetable-forward plates, and natural wine in East Nashville. The clam pie is famous.

• Butterlamp: An East Nashville wine bar and bread house pairing sourdough and cheese boards with good bottles (adults only).

• Rolf and Daughters: The Germantown institution known for handmade pasta and natural wine.

• Dozen: A beloved bakery for baguettes, croissants, and cookies, newly settled into a larger Woodbine home.

• Bastion: A Michelin-starred, 24-seat tasting menu hidden behind a lively cocktail bar in Wedgewood-Houston.

• Bad Idea: Inspired cooking and an award-winning wine program inside a converted East Nashville church.

• Kisser: Daytime Japanese comfort food in East Nashville, known for onigiri and the chicken katsu sandwich.

• Lion's Share: A luxe new tavern in Sylvan Park built around wood-fired hearth cooking.

• Tantísimo: Farm-to-table Latin American cooking in Sylvan Park from Husk alumni, open breakfast through dinner.

• Sho Pizza Bar: Sean Brock’s neo-Neapolitan pizzeria, and the perfect dinner stop before a Grand Ole Opry show.

• Babychan: A Japanese-French bakery café in Germantown from the Kisser team. The milk-bread French toast is the order.

• Sally’s Stay Awhile: An all-day restaurant in Wedgewood-Houston with rotisserie chicken, croissant waffles, and warm neighborhood energy.

• Antoinette's: A new wine bar and provisions shop in west Nashville with a big, family-friendly backyard.
  Miel: A French-leaning, farm-to-table bistro in Sylvan Park with a beautiful outdoor patio.