Nashville City Guide: Where to eat, sleep, and explore

To everyone else Nashville may be known as Music City, but to me, it is Food City USA. This laid back city is located on the Cumberland River and surrounded by fertile farmland. Spend your days dining on classic Southern cuisine and modern creations. Spend your evenings sipping drinks and listening to live music.

Where to eat

Nashville has experienced a culinary renaissance in recent years with a greater appreciation for their classic establishments as well as renewed interest in local produce and products. Here are some of the best places to grab a bite for a true taste of Music City.

Biscuit Love

If you want a laid back Southern breakfast this is the place to go. Their biscuit sandwiches are epic – try the East Nasty – and share a plate of bonuts. And you can grab some preserves to take home the taste of Nashville. 

Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack

Hot chicken used to be a Nashville oddity, but it has now spread across the world. This spot is still the best and considered the original by many. This place keeps it super simple which makes it that much more charming. Locals and visitors alike enjoy this place so it can get pretty crowded.

Urban Grub

This casual fine dining spot is a tasty example of how Nashville has continued to develop its culinary roots. Offering a wide menu featuring fresh from the bay fish, meat aged in-house, and local produce it is truly a taste of place. 

Looking for more great eats check out my other favorites.

Where to sleep

Hotel Indigo

The Hermitage Hotel

Union Station Hotel

Where to explore

All that delicious Southern cooking and late-night drinking will probably leave you looking for some lowkey exploration during the day.

Centennial Park 

Centennial Park is itself filled with interesting sites and plenty of wide-open spaces to breathe in that Southern air. Check out the Parthenon, the displays of historic war pieces spread throughout, and beautiful gardens. 

There is a one-mile running/walking trail that is great for getting in a few miles to get your day started and work off a few of those biscuits. 

Farmer’s Market at Bicentennial Park

This isn’t your basic farmer’s market. Occupying two large open-air sheds, a greenhouse, a huge garden center, an international food hall, and a culinary incubation center – this is a foodie paradise. Unlike a lot of other markets around the country, they implemented a rule to become a farmer-and-producer only market. That means none of the stands are run by resellers. You are talking to the people who actually make the stuff you are buying.

Before you go check out the monthly chef-led demos and workshops. 

Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Factory

This artisan chocolate maker is one of my favorite spots in Nashville. Creating small-batch bars, brittles, caramels, and seer suckers that highlight Southern flavors and classic techniques. Stop by the shop, but also take the time to tour the chocolate factory. Located in a building constructed in 1890 and packed with antique fixtures and chocolate equipment it is a modern Willy Wonka factory. 

Walk Eat Nashville tour

My personal favorite from this company is the East Nashville option, but you really can’t go wrong with any of them. They partner with some of the best chef-led spots in the city and get you in the room with the artisans and tastemakers that make Nashville’s food scene hum. 

Rabbit Circle Tours

At its core, Southern cooking is about the land. Rabbit Circle tours get you out of the city and back in touch with the farmland that surrounds the bustling city. After meeting with the farmers that work hard every day to grow the food we enjoy you will walk away with a new appreciation for what it means to be a farmer in the modern world. You will also see the food on your table in a whole new light. This is a truly unique experience that gets you in touch with the true local roots of the area. 

Tennessee Brew Works

It isn’t all whiskey here, especially in the Gulch neighborhood. Raise your glass (or two) to the growing local beer culture at stops like Jackalope, Yee-Haw Brewing Co., and my personal favorite the Tennessee Brew Works. 

Country Greats

Some tourist hot spots are well worth a visit and the places that give Music City its name are on that list. Besides heading to Lower Broadway for drinks and music (go earlier in the day), you should head to the Ryman Auditorium, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Grand Ole Opry. 

Can’t get to Nashville yet? Don’t worry – the first B.I.T.E. Box is about to bring the flavor of this amazing city to your doorstep. It should be enough to hold you over until you get there yourself, bring back memories from a previous visit to Music City, and inspire you to explore a little Southern flavor near home.