Friday
We arrived to our AirBnB around 5pm which was perfect so we could settle in before getting dinner.
We went to the Nashville-Broadway location and there was a line out the door half way down the block. The line was consistent, but worth waiting in.
Broadway – Acme Feed & Seed
Downtown Broadway is really just the section between 1st and 4th on Broadway, and it is a trip. There are just a bunch of restuarants/bars that have constant live music and larger crowds of people. At least 75% of the people on Broadway were Bachelorette parties which really sets the vibe of the area. We didn’t have to pay any covers, and a lot of the places had rooftop bars so you could see the whole area which was really cool.
Acme Feed & Seed was by far our favorite place on the street. They had great prices for drinks (I got frosé for $5) and their rooftop was the best view since they’re at the end of the road. The food looked amazing, and they had great options for Bourbon on the second floor bar.
Saturday
I totally want to have their 100 layer donuts shipped to me monthly. It sounds overly indulgent, but the 100 layer donuts are like croissants that are made into donuts with seriously amazing toppings. You are probably going to stop at the I Believe in Nashville mural anyways, so you should definitely stop at this bakery.
12 South – I Believe in Nashville Mural, Draper James, Goop Store, White’s Mercantile
12 South is a very cute shopping area that had Draper James, a Goop Store, a Madewell store, White’s Mercantile and a lot of other cute stores. It is very walkable, we drove there and found reasonable paid parking close to everything I wanted to go to. There were signs on the side streets that it was resident parking only, and we didn’t want to risk getting a ticket so we stuck with the paid parking.
The “I Believe in Nashville” mural is right next to Draper James and easy to take a picture in front of. There wasn’t a line when I was there, there was only 2 other people also there to take a picture of it.
Draper James was very cute and they were handing out cups of sweet tea to every customer that walked in. I love this attention to detail and really enjoyed my experience shopping there.
The Gulch – Uncommon James, The Wings Mural, Amelia’s Flower Truck
While 12 South was not that busy, The Gulch was VERY busy. There was a LONG line in front of the wings mural (it was 95 degrees, I don’t know how those people stood in line that long). I didn’t feel it was worth the wait, so I opted out of this photo op. Amelia’s Flower Truck is also parked here, but it was another insta photo op that there was a line to get to. Flowers are pretty, but there are other places to get pretty pictures with flowers.
Uncommon James was also very busy, but it was a cute store with pretty jewelry. They had bagels out on a table for shoppers to eat while they browsed which was thoughtful.
Otaku Ramen
After navigating through all the women trying to get good insta pics, we were tired and hungry. We love getting ramen when we go to a city that is big enough to have a ramen shop. Otaku was very good and had friendly staff.
The Parthenon
It is very random that a full size replica of the Parthenon is in West Nashville, but it is there so I had to see it. I didn’t get to see inside because there was a private event going on, which is fine because I didn’t want to pay for a tour anyways. There is plenty of free parking around it and you can visit the exterior of the building for no charge.
The Pharmacy – East Nashville
This place was AMAZING. They have really great food; we both got burgers and fries and split a milkshake. We sat at the bar, and the bartenders looked genuinely happy to be working there and having a great time. There was plenty of free parking near the restaurant. If we go back to Nashville ever, we will go to explore East Nashville because that seems to be where the normal people are – not just tourists.
Downtown/Broadway
We went back to Broadway Saturday night and it was even busier than on Friday night. It was still fascinating to see how busy some bars were and how dead others were. There is a lot of energy from the live music and I can see why this became a destination for group party weekends.
Sunday
After a week of sight seeing, we were worn out and didn’t try to do brunch or anything on Sunday morning. We stopped by the closest Starbucks and started our drive home.
Overall, it felt like Nashville had chaotic energy from the massive amounts of tourists and live music bars which is fun to experience. I don’t feel the need to go back because it’s not my vibe, but I would recommend everyone go there at least once!