It’s been a few months since we’ve came back from Nashville but it’s still a fresh memory and I LOVE reliving it so I thought I’d compile my must do’s! I would recommend working out and training up before if you attempt this itinerary. You’ll need a lot of sleep before you leave.

I chose to go one night “earlier” and I was glad I did. A couple friends also came Wednesday night, but their flights were delayed 2-5 hours. Well, one of theirs was cancelled FIRST, and then she had to run to rebook it the same night. Airlines are a MESS, so if you are flying…go early so you don’t miss out. Two of the other’s flights were delayed the next day. They were supposed to meet us at 12:30pm at Ole Smoky Moonshine…but ended up getting in at 4:30pm and meeting us at the Airbnb so we could get ready for the night. They spent way too long at the airport bar.

Disclaimer: I work from home as a photographer. I pretty much work my ass off April-November and take December-March “off”. I do happen to have a fair amount of free time so I would say I spent WAY too long researching everything I could about Nashville. I enjoyed it IMMENSELY, but…also a lot of hours went into this itinerary. Watched hours of youtube vlogs from an array of people. Bachelorettes, mom and daughter trip, girls trips, family trips, day trips, what to do in each neighborhood and on and on. Then I was on tiktok with the videos, then instagram, and literally…WAY too many hours. So I feel like…I kind of planned the best trip. Hope you find some things on our list that make your trip awesome!

Wednesday

Three of us arrived on Wednesday night and we stayed in East Nashville at Urban Cowboy. OOOOOH my goodness, what a vibe. A jazz band played on the patio while I enjoyed a glass of wine on the porch. One thing I’ll say about Nashville is EVERYONE is literally so friendly. Met some locals, and enjoyed the ambiance while I waited for my friends to arrive. I also relaxed in the clawfoot tub after travels. Because flying stresses ME OUT. So I needed to chill.

Some runner ups to this place were DIVE MOTEL and The Russell. Even if you don’t stay in East Nashville I recommend heading there just to check it out.

Thursday Morning

East Nashville

Donut Distillery was a suggestion from Jessie! This place is in East Nashville so we went on a sweet little 15 minute walk to this place. Every single yard and house we passed was so cute. We ordered two flights of donuts. You get these little mini donuts and either coffee cocktails or mimosa cocktails. We shared, and it was a perfect way to start our morning. Of course there are murals and things to explore all around.

After donuts, we walked back, packed up, checked out, but not before we enjoyed a light breakfast and coffee in the lobby. Just wanted to hangout there all day. BUT we had shenanigans to get into.

Thursday Afternoon

6th and Peabody

The lobby of our airbnb (The Burhnam) has a baggage valet. So if you get in before your place is ready, for a small fee they will hold your bags so you can enjoy Nashville. We made reservations for that online and headed a block away to 6th and Peabody to Ole Smoky Distillery. We walked right in and lucky for us, they were starting the next tasting. The bartenders were high energy, so fun, and we felt welcome right away. Got a bit tipsy during the tasting, then we headed to the outdoor area for some yard games, tacos, and fun.

The Gulch

Definitely check out this area. This is where the famous What Lifts You Wings mural is. I mean…how can you go to Nashville…on a girls trip and NOT take a picture with the wings. We should have rode scooters because it was a bit of walk from 6th and Peabody. The Gulch is home to stores like Kittenish and Uncommon James, where we stopped to shop and of course take advantage of the photo ops.

One place we didn’t get to go but I REALLY wanted to make work was LA Jackson. They have a rooftop bar/ restaurant and the view of downtown is phenom. It just didn’t work with our timeline. ANOTHER place we couldn’t make work was White Limozeen at The Graduate Hotel. It just wasn’t in the area we were going to be at. Looks like SUCH a cool place. Reservations are hard to get so check into that weeks in advance if you want to go. If it’s too busy when you go, I heard the consolation bar on the main floor is pretty cool too.

Thursday Evening

Germantown + East Nashville

Finally our two friends arrived just in time to check in at the Airbnb. Quickly got ready and ordered a ride to take us to Germantown. Germantown was a suggestion from one of us so I researched. I struggled and went back and forth with this one since there isn’t much touristy info on Germantown. IT did NOT disappoint. First we took a LYFT to Monday Night Brewing Co. It’s right on the river and seemed cool. It was. Looked like a place my husband played Call of Duty in. We ordered some drinks and headed outside to hang.

Next up was reservations at Emmy Squared Pizza. This is a chain and is in a few different locations in Nashville. OMG. So good. We got Nashville Hot Chicken Pizza and I think the Margarita pizza. I don’t even know because all I wanted was the Nashville Hot Chicken Pizza.

THEN we headed to one of my must do’s. I had to check out Mother’s Ruin. It just seemed like my vibe. The music was loud. The atmosphere was high energy. The drinks were inventive and had cool names like “Blaring Narcissistic Rage” and “Designer Testosterone”. We stumbled upon a wrestle mania party upstairs and met some interesting characters. The bathrooms were cool. ALWAYS…check out the bathrooms. It’s a tip from Jessie. And most of them did not disappoint. The ones at Mother’s Ruin were themed. One was all Carl Winslow and another was pure Betty White.

THEN we ordered a LYFT around 10pm and headed back to East Nashville. Seriously…so many cool places to check out. My other MUST DO was to go to Atta Boy. It’s a small little speakeasy. No menu. You just describe your wildest dreams and they make something for you. All of our drinks were amazing. We found the place in a little alley, knocked on the door. And he put us on the list. We did have to wait about 25 minutes so we wandered down the block to a place called Updown. Hung out on their rooftop until we got a text. Once in at AttaBoy he led us to our own private room. THE place is small, so it felt so personal and we just felt so special. OUR drinks were amazing. The fact that they were crafted just for us, really enhanced the experience. 10/10 recommend. P.S. The bathrooms were not special here.

Several of the girls were tired and achy from travels (see…go early so you get adequate rest) so they headed back to the airbnb. I had one more place on the list in East Nashville. Rosemary and the Queen. Just go if you are in the area. You’ll see why. Felt like a classic 90’s party movie on steroids. Just looks like a normal house, with a guy on the porch taking ID’s. The yard was astroturf and once you walk inside…it’s a different world. But also very chill. I enjoyed this place IMMENSELY.

Friday

12 South

Friday morning was all about donuts and murals. Murals and donuts. 12 South Neighborhood is home to Five Daughters, The Frothy Monkey, Draper James, Imogene + Willie, White’s Mercantile, and like…all the cute murals to name a few places. We started at 5 Daughters and headed to Frothy Monkey for breakfast. There was a short wait so we wandered around again until they had a table for us. Just go enjoy this neighborhood! Take a LYFT to get here, depending on where you stay.

After this we got our Aura’s read at Tertiary Sight in East Nashville. 🙂 So yes, once again, back to East Nashville. This was a highlight…if you are into this sort of thing. Do it.

Broadway

THEN it was finally time to do to what you have to do when you go to Nashville. GO to Broadway. My plan of attack was to start on one end and work our way down. By the end of the night, I’m not quite sure WHERE we were. The line to few bars like Jason Aldean’s was forever so long, so at one point you just have to pick a place and that’s where you’ll be. Each bar has like 5 levels so if you are in a place, it’s almost like 5 different places, because each level has a different band and a different vibe. We started out at Acme Feed and Seed. I thought the rooftop on the river would be nice. A must do from one of the girls was to line dance. SOOOO we quickly headed to Wildhorse Saloon for line dancing. They have live music and instructors ready to teach you the easiest or the most complicated of line dancing. It was actually more fun than I thought it would be.

We made early dinner reservations at The Twelve Thirty Club. (at 4pm. That was all they had by the time we booked.) Backed by Justin Timberlake, this place was everyone’s fav. We ate in the Honky Tonk (first level) but you can choose the Supper Club or the Rooftop. And now that I’m thinking about it, why the heck didn’t we go on the roof?! I think a few of us were feeling good and we also needed to get back and change for going out at night. So many outfits, so little time. I don’t have a great picture from here. I mean…I do…it’s just half blurry photos of us having a great time, so I’ll spare you. 🙂

We changed for the evening…

And headed back to Broadway! We started at Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosita. 10/10.
Tootsies was next. Definitely go there. 10/10. Nudie’s was fun. 10/10. Tin Roof made us feel good. 10/10. The Stage was another. We did go to Kid Rock’s. I wasn’t into it. But it’s a very popular spot. Robert’s Western World has an amazing fiddler and it’s one of the few independently owned bars on Broadway left.

I wore boots with heels. If you want to feel your feet in the morning, I’d recommend comfier shoes. SOOOOO many stairs. So many.

Saturday

Printer’s Alley + Belle Meade Plantation

This is where I didn’t choose White Limozeen for Brunch. I chose Stateside Kitchen instead. Mostly for the disco ball mimosa’s and the DJ playing EDM. Well, don’t be me and think that you don’t need reservations. you do. We did get to eat in the same hotel, just around the corner from Stateside in a Havana Themed Bar. We ordered the same drinks and food but we just weren’t at Stateside. We did experience the atmosphere on the way to the bathroom though. Stateside Kitchen is inside DREAM hotel near Printer’s Alley.

Almost forgot to tell you…at 9am that morning we had made reservations for a liquid IV. We are over 35 here…so…it was needed. They came to us and it was amazing.

We had some time to kill before our tour at Belle Meade Plantation so we hopped on some scooters (well two of us did, everyone else uber’d to VICI to shop. The scooter ride was about 15 minutes. THEN we took a LYFT to Belle Meade. OOOOH my goodness this was one of my favorites. I thought amidst all the late nights and drinks and food we should experience some history. One might think the Music Hall of Fame or The Grand Ole Opry would be appropriate, but I didn’t want a museum this trip. Those would probably have been good also. (I did stop by Hatch Print Show in the Hall of Fame Building.)

Anyway, Belle Meade was a plantation turned historic site. There are several tours to choose from. We did the Mansion Tour. LOVED every second. We could have spent hours here touring the grounds as they were beautiful. The history was fascinating and humbling. Check it out and see if it’s for you. 10/10 recommend.

Dinner at SIXTY VINES on 5th and Broadway was amazing. I would definitely go here again. After dinner we enjoyed a moment on the rooftop. Because we waited for a table and server a little too long (we had reservations), they gave us 4 free appetizers. Get the Burrata. It was the one I was going to get so I almost cried when it was the first one he brought out. Everything was amazing but…I was not super impressed with my shrimp pizza though. There was actually tears over how good the zucchini appetizer was. Like…real tears. So if you like wine…and italian food. Go to Sixty Vines. 5th and Broadway is a super cool area to explore.

THEN we headed to Printer’s Alley. It’s a few blocks off from Broadway. I was especially excited to check out this little speakeasy in the bottom of the basement of Noelle. BUT…I wasn’t super impressed so we’ll just leave it off the list. I like Blues so Bourbon Street Blues was a favorite. We stumbled into a speakeasy called Dirty Little Secret. Looked like a fake retail store, but when we opened a closet…it was a bumpin club. So fun. Some places we didn’t quite get to but they almost made the list was BOBBY HOTEL Rooftop and Skulls Rainbow Room. Skulls has a cover after a certain time and more of a cover later, because they have a burlesque show.

AND THAT was our trip! If you want to see my saved stories on instagram head to @rach_blankenship .

I do have a detailed google map and itinerary I could share also. 🙂

Hope this was fun for you to read and you find some things you might enjoy! Cheers.