Hopping among the honky-tonks along Broadway is a quintessential Nashville experience. But the city’s true character reveals itself beyond the strip. Away from the crowds and cover bands, a more refined Nashville emerges, with a thriving culinary scene, historic neighborhoods and intimate live music venues.
Live Music Lives Here
The Grand Ole Opry’s 100th anniversary was magical, featuring a parade of country royalty—Keith Urban, Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins and Vince Gill—honoring country legend Ronnie Milsap.
One of the night’s most mesmerizing performances came from 26-year-old Ella Langley, delivering a tear-jerking rendition of Milsap’s “I Wouldn’t Have Missed It For The World,” before performing her original, “Dandelion.” Her hit, “Choosin’ Texas,” has been Billboard’s No. 1 Country Song for over 20 weeks.
In Nashville, live music doesn’t begin and end at a venue. It greets travelers at the airport, drifts from open windows and plays throughout the city. Begin a day with the Walk of Fame Park, a landmark honoring musicians and industry professionals of all genres.
Inside the Birthplace of Hits
Before the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium (est. 1892) was the soul of Nashville—a premier concert venue boasting amazing acoustics. Deemed the Mother Church of Country Music, artists are honored to perform. If you can’t make one of the 200 shows a year, the venue offers daytime tours year-round, where artists like Bruce Springsteen, Harry Styles and Lizzo have performed.
Along Music Row, find Historic RCA Studio B, Elvis’ favorite place to record. Open since 1942 and nicknamed “The Home of a Thousand Hits,” Studio B became famous in the 1960s for producing what has come to be known as “The Nashville Sound.” Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings and the Everly Brothers all recorded here.
Fascinating exhibits abound at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, especially the wing exploring Dolly Parton’s 60-year career, focusing on how she overcame industry obstacles and critics, with a delightful array of costumes, handwritten lyrics, old photos and vintage videos.
In 2021, the National Museum of African American Music debuted in the new Fifth-and-Broadway complex, in the heart of downtown. NMAAM integrates history and interactive technology to share the untold story of more than 50 music genres and subgenres.
Creative Nashville
Belmont University’s Gallery of Iconic Guitars houses some of the most iconic stringed exhibitions—experiential and not behind glass. Pick up and play an instrument from the collection!
In 2019, the Frederic Hart Studio Museum opened to showcase one of America’s greatest sculptors. Hart created works that changed the national landscape, like Washington National Cathedral’s Creation Sculptures and the “Three Soldiers” bronze at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. While there are no finished works in the studio, it offers a glimpse into Hart’s process.
Since 2003, LeQuire Gallery & Studio has showcased Nashville’s most popular artists. Learn about the clay-to-bronze process in the artist studio, where the daily life of Alan LeQuire’s monumental works of art come alive, like grand tree trunk torsos, colossal heads of influential American musicians and activists, and large-scale relief sculptures. Discover how he came to create Musica, one of the largest sculpture groups in the U.S. that may soon become a Bellagio-like fountain. LeQuire’s other famous works can also be found around town such as Nashville Women’s Suffrage Memorial and a 42-foot replica of an ancient Athena Pathenos.
History & Heritage
Dive into the Victorian era at Belmont Mansion, a historic museum on the campus of Belmont University. Explore one of the few 1850s-era homes still standing, while learning about the people—free, enslaved and immigrant—whose stories make this site worth understanding.
One of the most elaborate antebellum homes in the South features 36 rooms and 19,000 square feet and built by the Acklen family, boasting such luxuries as lavish gardens, an art gallery, a bowling alley and even a zoo. Most impressive is the light-filled 58-foot Grand Salon, with original wallpaper in one corner, original Venetian glass windows that cast colorful light, and the Tennessee chocolate marble fireplace.
Belle Meade, a former 5,400-acre private plantation, was famous for its thoroughbred horse breeding. Built in the mid-to-late 1800s, four presidents have stayed at the 1853 Greek Revival Mansion. Equine art lines the entrance, telling the stories of America’s oldest horse nursery and most famous horses. The 30 acres that remain showcase architectural treasures like a gardener’s house, an ice house to store food, a pig smokehouse, a carriage house and a mausoleum.
Tour Belle Meade and sip bourbon or wine with a food pairing at Nashville’s first and oldest winery. The newly renovated hay loft is now a gorgeous culinary space with wine bar and library.
Southern Hospitality Meets Global Cuisine
Nashville’s culinary reputation has expanded almost as rapidly as its population. In 2025, the Michelin Guide launched a new American South edition and debuted in Nashville, recognizing 21 venues with several receiving one star.
Try vegetable-forward dishes and naturally leavened crisp thin pizzas like Pecorino Fonduta with pancetta and chive doused in egg yolk with a spritz of lemon at Folk.
In Germantown, 5th & Taylor occupies a historic warehouse anchored by a grand sculpture of General Francis Nash, Nashville’s namesake. Share a Grilled Wedge Salad, Tomato Pie and Buttermilk Biscuits with apple jam and reserve cheddar; then indulge in hearty comfort dishes like Lamb Pot Roast with butternut squash, Short Rib with mashed potatoes, and Beer Can Chicken.
For breakfast in the Hillsboro Village neighborhood, the Pancake Pantry has been serving scratch-made pancakes since 1961. While eggs, waffles, sandwiches and salads are available starting at 6 a.m., this low-key spot is the place to try a pancake sampler: Caribbean (pecan, coconut, sliced bananas), peanut butter chocolate chip and sweet potato, a Taylor Swift favorite.
Pioneering carhop service, iconic retro Mel’s Diner, opened its first location outside of California, in Nashville, in 2025. Order all-day breakfast at this 1950s-inspired restaurant in the heart of downtown, near honky-tonk row, or sink your teeth into Mel’s popular smash burger with fried pickles or short rib grilled cheese, paired with a milkshake. Since you’re in the South, top it off with the Tennessee whiskey chocolate pecan pie.
For bold Italian flavors and big vibes, fun new buzzy V Modern Italian feeds all five senses. Stracciatella arrives playfully smoking out the side of the glass while tableside delights include a cannoli carrier filling Italian cream shells and a Cocktail Carousel cart concocting cocktails with smoking dry ice. Choose from housemade pastas, wood-fired pizzas and festive dishes crafted in collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Stefano Ciotti.
Nashville After Dark
Ready to laugh it up? Legendary Zanies Comedy Club is the place to go! Your phone is sealed at the door and the comedy scene draws national headliners and makes for a therapeutic evening. Soon, one of the most exciting and gorgeous venues to come to Music City will be tucked behind Mel’s Diner—the Vinyl Vault—a Prohibition-style bar with multiple rooms.
The New Nashville
Country music may have built Nashville’s reputation, but today, the city’s cultural identity stretches far and wide. From legendary recording studios to late-night bluegrass sessions, acclaimed museums and an evolving culinary scene, Nashville continues to reinvent itself while remaining true to its musical heritage. Step beyond Broadway’s neon glow, and Music City reveals a richer rhythm that plays on long after the last honky-tonk band finishes its set.