Nashville Travel Guide for Foodies and People Who Don’t Love Country Music

Best Foodie Things to Do in Nashville

Rather than think of Nashville as a country music haven, I like to refer to it as a land where hot chicken, savory BBQ, and whiskey flow freely. Break out the Tums and plan your foodie-focused Nashville itinerary (with a little bit of sightseeing too of course)!

1. Eat Nashville Hot Chicken

You can’t come to Nashville and not eat hot chicken. You just can’t! Well, unless you’re a vegan or vegetarian (I’m sure there are alternatives for you).

While there are dozens of places to get hot chicken in Nashville today, if you only have time to eat at one hot chicken spot, make sure it’s Red’s 615 Kitchen! On our first visit to Nashville, I was on a mission to find the best Nashville Hot Chicken. We visited three spots – Red’s 615 Kitchen, Party Fowl, and Hattie B’s. Hattie B’s is a great second contender and my second favorite to Red’s.

If you have more time to do your own hot chicken quest, other places that come highly recommended are Bolton’s, Pepperfire, and Helen’s.

2. Find the Best BBQ in Nashville

Nashville isn’t necessarily known for it’s own BBQ style – that honor belongs to Memphis out west. However, Nashville does a great job of spreading the BBQ love and there are a ton of great BBQ joints all over the city.

Edley’s easily earns our top spot for best BBQ joint in Nashville! They have amazing burnt ends, grits, mac and cheese, baked beans, and green beans – not to mention one of the best spicy Bloody Mary’s I’ve ever had! We also loved the ribs and brisket at Martin’s, and Peg Leg Porker is a great contender as well.

Read more about the different BBQ spots we’ve tried in Nashville, and how we rank the meats and sides in this post.

3. Try 100-Layer Donuts

Basically the equivalent of the cronut, the 100-layer donuts from Five Daughters Bakery are a sweet treat you want put on your foodie list! There are several locations in Nashville to swing by and pick up some of their traditional or seasonal donut offerings.

The Purist, Maple (cream-filled), and Vanilla Cream (also cream-filled) are all delicious options from their traditional donut menu!

4. Visit the Goo Goo Clusters Shop

The Goo Goo Cluster candy bar has been around since 1912 and a visit to Nashville wouldn’t be complete without snagging yourself a box of these treats. Goo Goo Clusters are made of caramel, nougat, and peanuts coated in milk chocolate. Since I’m not a huge peanut fan, I made sure to grab some of the pecan variety (which turned out to be my favorite).

You can visit their shop on 3rd Avenue right off Broadway to pick up a box (or two) of Goo Goo Clusters. You can also try your hand at designing your very own Goo Goo Cluster by customizing it at one of their kiosks!

5. Discover Other Foodie Spots

Nashville is home to so many great restaurants, and we’ve barely scratched the surface! If hot chicken and BBQ aren’t your thing, here are some other restaurants worth checking out in the city:

• The Mockingbird: Owned by celeb chef’s Maneet Chauhan’s restaurant group, The Mockingbird is a great place for either happy hour or dinner. Get the Tatchos with lamb chili and beer cheese and thank me later! You also can’t go wrong with the Pork Belly Sisig and Mac and Cheese. Get a variety of small plates to share and they will fill you right up!
• Emmy Squared: If you’re up for pizza, check out Emmy Squared for some delicious Detroit-style square pie. With three locations around Downtown Nashville (Germantown, The Gulch, and East Nashville), you can’t miss it! Try the Big Al – the burrata and Calabrian chile combo was amazing!
• Gumbo Bros: Gumbo Bros brings Cajun cuisine to Nashville! Be adventurous and try the Nashville alligator bites, similar to popcorn chicken with a bit more chew. I also recommend sampling the gumbos – both the seafood and chicken gumbos are delicious.

6. Go on a Distillery Tour

The distillery scene in Tennessee has grown tremendously over the past two decades and the state is now home to 30 distilleries. They even created a Whiskey Trail back in 2017 and Downtown Nashville is home to many on the passport list!

We created our own DIY distillery tour that included a combination of walking and Lyft rides to visit as many as we could with limited time. If you aren’t interested in doing the legwork yourselves, check out this distillery and brewery tour combo as an alternative option.

Our recommended stops for a DIY distillery tour are below. This can easily be completed in a half day as three out of the four stops are located in close walking distance to each other!

• Stop 1: Standard Proof Whiskey
• Stop 2: Nelson’s Green Brier (a short Lyft/Uber ride from Standard Proof near Marathon Village)
• Stop 3: Tennessee Legend (located a short walk from Nelson’s Green Brier in Marathon Village)
• Stop 4: Corsair (located down the hall from Tennessee Legend in Marathon Village)

Of course, make sure to eat before you get started on this little tour. I recommend starting off at Martin’s in Downtown and doing a little sightseeing before heading to the first distillery stop.

Best Things to Do in Nashville that Aren’t Country Music-Related

Aside from all the great foodie activities, there are also a ton of sightseeing opportunities and activities that you can do in Nashville that aren’t country-music related.

1. Walk the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge

For the best views of the Nashville city skyline, get your walking shoes on and head across the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge – a pedestrian-only bridge that crosses the Cumberland River. Stop at various points along the way to admire the city from different viewpoints while getting your steps in!

2. Go Mural Hunting

Nashville has a collection of some amazing murals! Some of my favorites were the I Believe in Nashville mural next to Draper James and Nashville Looks Good on You (located behind the Frothy Monkey coffee shop), both in the 12 South Neighborhood. And of course one of the most popular is the What Lifts You mural in The Gulch neighborhood. Make sure to get there early (like before 10:00 a.m.) as there can often be a line!

If you’re in town for a bachelorette party, you’ll probably want to check out the Candy Hearts mural below, located in The Gulch neighborhood.

*Side note: Nashville is often referred to as the newest Bachelorette Capital of the World. Expect to see lots of groups of ladies living it up in cowgirl boots and hats on any given day of the week!

3. Play Games at Pins Mechanical

Pins Mechanical is an awesome spot for a fun night out! Grab dinner at Mockingbird nearby before hitting up Pins Mechanical for some duck pin bowling and pinball.

4. Check out the Parthenon at Centennial Park

Nashville is home to a replica of the Parthenon, which is a nod to Nashville being dubbed “Athens of the South.” The original structure was built back in 1897 to celebrate Tennessee’s 100th year of statehood.

Since it’s located in Centennial Park, you can admire the views from the outside while taking a walk around the park, enjoying the nearby duck pond. Or, you can pop into the museum inside the Parthenon to check out all the art, including a 42-ft gold Athena statue (entry is $10.00 per person).

5. Catch a Sports Game

Nashville is also home to numerous professional sports teams, including the Tennessee Titans (NFL), Predators (NHL), and the Nashville SC (MLS) team. Nissan Stadium, home of the Titans, is located just across the Cumberland River from Downtown Nashville – an easy walk over the John Seigenthaler Bridge. And the Predators play at Bridgestone Arena, which is right in the heart of Downtown.

6. Visit a Honky Tonk, if You Must

You’re probably going to find yourself wandering down Broadway or passing through at some point. The streets will be lined with crowds and the Honky Tonks will be blaring music from 10 a.m. onwards!

Honky Tonks don’t all necessarily play country music. In fact, when we passed through Broadway, all I heard was rock music. If you want to pop into one just to say you did, Broadway is the place for it.

Word to the wise, do not wear a backpack if you plan on going inside a Honky Tonk – they are basically banned for security reasons. Although large purses seemed to be just fine…the logic in that escapes me.

Where to Stay in Nashville

If you’re staying in Nashville without a car, popular areas for hotels include Music Row, The Gulch, SOBRO (South of Broadway) and Downtown. We found the hotel rates in Nashville to be quite expensive all around. If you have credit card points stored up, this would be a great destination to get some value out of those!

The Thompson Nashville

I personally enjoyed staying in The Gulch neighborhood away from the hustle and bustle of Broadway. It was relatively quiet at night and close to many great restaurants.

We stayed at The Thompson Nashville which was going for close to $600/night when we visited in October. Instead of paying cash, I booked it with Hyatt points transferred from Chase Ultimate Rewards to stay here for “free!” Not too bad for a couple of nights in Music City.

Book The Thompson Nashville on Hotels.com

On return trips to Nashville, here are a few hotels that I would love to stay at:

• Music Row: Kimpton Aerston Hotel
• Downtown: The Union Station Nashville Yards, Autograph Collection
• SOBRO: The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel