Nashville: Honky-Tonks, Hot Chicken & Southern Soul

Nashville has evolved far beyond country music — though the honky-tonks on Lower Broadway still deliver that in staggering volume every night. The city now holds James Beard–nominated restaurants, a contemporary art scene anchored by the Frist Art Museum, and neighborhoods (East Nashville, Germantown, 12South) that rival Portland or Austin for independent character. This journey covers the music, the food, and the Southern hospitality in a long weekend that'll have you looking at real estate listings by Day 3.

1. Day 1

   Arrival in Nashville

   Private transfer from BNA Airport to The Hermitage Hotel, the 1910 Beaux-Arts landmark on 6th Avenue — the marble lobby, the Capitol Grille, and the men's restroom (Art Deco green-and-black tiles, voted America's best restroom multiple times). Evening: welcome dinner at The Catbird Seat, Nashville's most celebrated tasting-menu restaurant — 22 seats at a U-shaped counter surrounding the open kitchen, where the chefs serve an ever-changing multi-course menu directly to you.

   • Stay: The Hermitage Hotel — Premier Suite
   • Culinary: The Catbird Seat counter tasting menu

2. Day 2

   Nashville: Music, History & Hot Chicken

   Morning at the Country Music Hall of Fame — the museum is genuinely world-class even for non-country fans, with exhibits on the music's roots in gospel, blues, and Appalachian folk. Continue to RCA Studio B, where Elvis, Dolly Parton, and the Everly Brothers recorded (guided tour included). Lunch: Prince's Hot Chicken, the original — Nashville's iconic dish of cayenne-crusted fried chicken, invented here in the 1930s as an act of revenge by a scorned girlfriend. The "medium" is hot enough for most people. Afternoon: walk the Gulch and 12South neighborhoods for boutiques, murals, and craft coffee. Evening: the honky-tonk crawl on Lower Broadway — three floors of live music at Tootsies, Robert's Western World (the best band on the strip), and the Ryman Auditorium (the "Mother Church of Country Music") if there's a show.

   • Cultural: Country Music Hall of Fame, RCA Studio B
   • Culinary: Prince's Hot Chicken
   • Music: Lower Broadway honky-tonk crawl, Ryman Auditorium

3. Day 3

   East Nashville, Studios & Farewell

   Morning in East Nashville — the Five Points neighborhood for Barista Parlor (Nashville's best coffee), vintage shops, and the independent music venues that host the songwriters who aren't on Broadway. Visit a recording studio for a private session — Nashville has more recording studios per capita than any city in the world, and several offer behind-the-scenes tours or the chance to record a song with session musicians. Lunch at Hattie B's (more hot chicken — the debate between Hattie B's and Prince's is Nashville's most sacred argument) or Arnold's Country Kitchen (the city's best meat-and-three: choose three sides from a steam table with fried catfish, mac and cheese, turnip greens, and cornbread). Afternoon: the Parthenon in Centennial Park (a full-scale replica of the Athens original, with a 42-foot Athena statue inside — delightfully absurd and oddly moving). Farewell dinner at Audrey, Nashville's most exciting newer restaurant — Southern ingredients through a global lens, from the chef who previously ran several Nashville favorites.

   • Cultural: Recording studio tour, the Parthenon
   • Culinary: Hattie B's or Arnold's meat-and-three, farewell dinner at Audrey

4. Day 4

   Departure

   Private transfer to the airport. If morning allows, a final biscuit at Loveless Café (30 minutes south — worth the drive).