Nashville · 3-day itinerary
3 Days in Nashville: A Grown-Up Itinerary
This plan gives you the music that made Nashville famous without the pedal taverns: an afternoon honky-tonk when it's still about the band, three very different listening rooms and a few serious Southern meals.
- Day 1
- Downtown: Hall of Fame, Robert's, Skull's Rainbow Room
- Day 2
- Gulch: Arnold's, Station Inn, Rudy's Jazz Room
- Day 3
- Ryman, Rolf and Daughters, the Bluebird Cafe
Some links on this page go to booking partners. If we join their affiliate programmes we may earn a commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. It never decides what we recommend. How we make money.
Day 1: Downtown, early
Do Broadway in daylight, then disappear into Printers Alley.
Afternoon
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
SoBro, Downtown
Allow two to three hours.
The best music museum in town, for fans and sceptics alike: costumes, instruments and stories from the Carter Family to today.
Late afternoon
Robert's Western World
Lower Broadway
Traditional country with no cover, before Broadway gets rowdy.
The Broadway honky-tonk for traditional country and western swing: no cover, a wall of boots and the $6 "recession special". Go in the afternoon, before Broadway gets rowdy.
Sunset
Elevate rooftop at The Nash
The Nash (formerly Bobby Hotel), 4th Ave N
A drink on the rooftop at The Nash (formerly Bobby Hotel).
A ten-storey open-air rooftop on the hotel formerly called Bobby, with lounges, lawn games and a vintage 1956 Scenicruiser bus turned into a bar.
Dinner and show
Skull's Rainbow Room
222 Printers Alley
Supper club dinner, live jazz and, late on Friday to Sunday, burlesque.
A 1948 Printers Alley supper club, revived: dinner with a pianist, live jazz every night and a late burlesque show on Friday to Sunday. The most grown-up night out downtown.
Day 2: The Gulch
A legendary lunch, bluegrass and a jazz nightcap.
Lunch
Arnold's Country Kitchen
605 8th Ave S
Meat-and-three, cafeteria style; weekdays and Saturday lunch only.
A James Beard America's Classic meat-and-three, run by the same family since 1982. Lunch only, weekdays and Saturday; line up cafeteria-style.
Sunset
L.A. Jackson
Thompson Nashville, the Gulch
The Thompson's rooftop, at its calmest early in the evening.
A polished indoor-outdoor rooftop on the Thompson hotel with skyline views and a Southern-leaning drinks list. DJs on some weekends; sunset is the calmer time.
Evening
The Station Inn
402 12th Ave S, the Gulch
Bluegrass and classic country in a plain room with great players.
A modest listening room open since 1974 and one of the best bluegrass venues anywhere, with bluegrass, classic country and Americana seven nights a week. The Sunday bluegrass jam is a treat.
Late
Rudy's Jazz Room
809 Gleaves St, near the Gulch
Live jazz and a New Orleans-style menu if you're peckish.
Nashville's first dedicated jazz club: Persian rugs, a Steinway grand and live jazz six nights a week, with gumbo, po'boys and beignets from a New Orleans-inspired kitchen. Gypsy jazz on Thursdays.
Day 3: The Mother Church and the Bluebird
Book the Bluebird the moment tickets release; it's the heart of this day.
Day
Ryman Auditorium
116 Rep. John Lewis Way, Downtown
Take the daytime tour, or better, catch a concert if the calendar lines up.
The "Mother Church of Country Music", a former tabernacle with church-pew seating and famous acoustics. Catch any concert here if the calendar lines up; daytime tours run too. The Opry returns to the Ryman for a stretch each winter.
Dinner
Rolf and Daughters
700 Taylor St, Germantown
House-made pasta in Germantown.
House-made pasta, sourdough and wood-fired dishes in the old Werthan factory. A MICHELIN-recognised neighbourhood restaurant with a lively, grown-up room.
Show
The Bluebird Cafe
Green Hills (about 20 minutes from downtown)
Songwriters in the round, about 20 minutes from Germantown by car. A hushed room: no talking during songs.
A tiny strip-mall room where songwriters sit in the round and play the hits they wrote for other people. Two shows a night; it is a hushed, listening crowd.
Swaps
- Weekend in town? Swap the Bluebird for the Grand Ole Opry at the Opry House.
- Whiskey fans: add a day trip to the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg (about 90 minutes each way) on a longer stay.
- Prefer a cocktail bar to a rooftop? The Patterson House started Nashville's cocktail scene in 2009.
Grand Ole Opry
Opry House, Music Valley
The long-running live radio show where several artists, from legends to newcomers, each play a short set. A genuine piece of American music history even if you are not a country fan.
Jack Daniel's Distillery
Lynchburg, about 90 minutes southeast
Tours of the distillery in the small-town square of Lynchburg. Take a guided day tour if you want to taste properly and let someone else drive.
The Patterson House
700 8th Ave S (5th floor)
The speakeasy-style bar that started Nashville's cocktail scene in 2009, now in a new fifth-floor home. Hand-cut ice, a long classic list and seasonal specials; limited reservations, walk-ins welcome.
Everything here was checked in September 2026. Line-ups, hours and ticket release dates change, so confirm before you go.
Questions people ask
Is 3 days enough in Nashville?
Yes. It's enough for the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Ryman, a songwriter round at the Bluebird, bluegrass at the Station Inn and a few great dinners.
How do you get Bluebird Cafe tickets?
Only through the Bluebird's website; they don't take phone reservations, you can reserve up to six seats per order, and many shows sell out quickly.