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A few months ago, my sister and one of our best friends were talking about what we were going to get our husband’s for their 30th birthdays (all three of their birthdays are within one month of each other.) My sister mentioned wanting to take her husband on a little getaway and somehow, we came up with the idea of going to Nashville. We booked our flights and surprised our husbands! You have to watch the video of us surprising them here; they were completely shocked and confused!
I hadn’t been to Nashville since my 21st birthday and there have been a lot of new bars and restaurants that opened in the last few years. Half of our group had never been before so we had a lot planned for our three days. What we didn’t plan was Nashville getting a ton of snow and having the city shut down on us… more on that later!
I will start with what we planned  and then break down how to spend three days in Nashville with where to stay, visit, eat, etc. If you are planning a trip to Nashville, you will find the city has so much to offer. It is impossible to fit everything in just a few days so you will have to pick and choose what you absolutely want to experience.
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How to Spend Three Days in Nashville: What We Planned
Since we were visiting for the guy’s 30th birthdays, we didn’t plan too much during the day since we knew we would be out at the bars, likely until 3 am, each night.
We booked a mid-day flight which got us into Nashville around 6 pm. We got our rental car, stopped at a grocery store, checked into our Airbnb, grabbed Shake Shack, and then eventually went out to the bars on Broadway for our first night.
Day One
- Jack Daniels Distillery Tour
- If you are willing to drive a little distance while in Nashville, you cannot miss Jack Daniels! Even if you don’t like whiskey, Jack Daniels Distillery is an amazing tour. The distillery tour takes you around the grounds, shows you the behind the scenes of creating their whiskey, and of course, tastings of different whiskeys. I think it is definitely worth the drive! One thing to know, the tour is 90% outdoors so dress right for the weather!
- Party Fowl
- We were told not to miss out on this restaurant. They are known for their Nashville hot chicken. I can’t give a review (more below) but it is staying on my list for the next time I visit!
- Shopping
- Us girls wanted to shop at Vici and Uncommon James (any other Kristin Cavallari fans!?) We also wanted to go to the Nash Collection on Broadway for some souvenirs.
Day Two
- I Believe in Nashville Mural
- You know we can’t miss a good photo op! There are two different locations where you can find this mural:
- The Original: 2702 12th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37204
- Marathon Motor Works: 1402 Clinton St, Nashville, TN 37203. This is the one we visited. We discovered there were a lot of fun shops inside the building that are worth walking through.
- You know we can’t miss a good photo op! There are two different locations where you can find this mural:
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- Grand Ole Opry Tour
- You can’t visit Nashville without touring the Grand Ole Opry. The last time I was in Nashville, it was closed to the public and I was so bummed. I was really excited to finally see it this time. I am assuming you are a country music fan if you are planning a trip to Nashville but if not, this tour would still be enjoyable as it is filled with a lot of history. The tour lasts about an hour and is all indoors. You get to watch some videos on the history, visit backstage, see the dressing rooms and member hall, and walk across the stage and take a memorable picture in the circle on the Grand Ole Opry stage (but you have to pay $25 to purchase the picture.)
- Breweries
- The guys love visiting breweries and we had two saved on our list.
- Ole Smoky Distillery and Yee Haw Brewery: This a larger place that has moonshine tastings and cocktails, craft beer, taco truck, and corn hole and games.
- Tennessee Brew Works:Â This is a smaller brewery but there was a good amount of options for beer, cocktails, and food.
- The guys love visiting breweries and we had two saved on our list.
Day Three
We were flying home on our third day. We chose the latest flight option so we would have the day to go anywhere we didn’t get to fit in on the previous two days.
- Brunch
- We chose The Hampton Social for weekend brunch. The menu looked good and of course, the pictures are beautiful. We learned that this restaurant must be so popular for the ambiance because all six of us had a horrible experience with the food. My quick review is that it is completely overpriced. Of course, we could have just had a one off, bad experience but I would not recommend visiting for brunch and won’t be visiting again.
How to Spend Three Days in Nashville: What Actually Happened
When we were packing for our trip, we looked at the weather forecast and saw there was a 70% chance of snow on our first full day there. Honestly, none of us thought anything of it. We didn’t even bring any snow clothes. We were completely unprepared for Nashville snow. We quickly learned that Nashville completely shuts down for the snow!
Day One
When we woke up that first morning, our husbands ran out to grab coffee across the street and came back soaked. They told us it was dumping snow and we all thought they were kidding until we realized they were freezing and wet. I think we all envisioned just a light snow if it even snowed when we saw the forecast. Even the locals at the bars the night before were skeptical of snow happening the next day. Well, to our surprise, it snowed like crazy all day long!
The day before, Jack Daniels had called to confirm that we were still coming since it showed snow. The lady told us the tour would potentially have to close off some parts if there was too much snow but she didn’t say it would potentially get cancelled. So, we still woke up early on our first day, got ready, and got in the car to start our drive. That drive didn’t go far. We got on the freeway and sat in the same spot without moving for fifteen minutes. We kept calling Jack Daniels to let them know we would be late for our tour and when they finally answered, they told us they had been making calls to cancel all tours for the day due to the ice at Jack Daniels and the road conditions. We asked if we could visit the next day (even though we already had tickets for Grand Ole Opry) but she said they were unsure if they would be open due to the ice.
At that point, we decided to go shopping and out to lunch. We drove downtown and saw that everything was closed. Every store had signs taped saying closed due to the weather. We called Vici and Uncommon James and learned they were also closed due to the snow. We couldn’t find a single shop that was open so we decided to go grab lunch. We started by calling Party Fowl and got the same voicemail: closed due to the snow. I kid you not, we probably called 50+ restaurants in Nashville to learn they were all closed. Every fast food spot and brewery we looked up was also closed. We went back to our Airbnb to play games and find somewhere that was open to eat. It took us from 10 am to 3 pm to find ONE restaurant that was open! We were so hungry and very grateful for Neighbors delicious menu.
It was a bummer that everything was closed on one of our full days there. The bigger bummer was that majority of the stores and restaurants were still closed the next day due to the ice. Meaning, we were unable to visit so many places on our list due to the snow. Even a lot of the bars on Broadway were closed that night. The positive was getting to see Nashville covered in snow; it was beautiful!Â
Day Two
Our second full day looked a lot like our first day. While we were out at the bars on our first night, we got an email saying our Grand Ole Opry tour the next day had been cancelled due to the weather. We had the option for a refund or to rebook it. Knowing we wouldn’t be able to go to Jack Daniels, we really wanted to tour Grand Ole Opry. Luckily, we were able to book it for our last morning.
This meant switching our brunch reservation at Hampton Social. While at the bars, we booked Grand Ole Opry for our last day and changed brunch to the next morning. When we were getting ready in the morning, we got the phone call that our brunch reservation was cancelled due to staff not coming in because of the icy roads. At that point, we all just laughed. He told us we could go online to make a new reservation for a different day. We got a reservation for our last day after the Grand Ole Opry tour.
So, we had another full day now wide open with no plans. Majority of the restaurants and shops were still closed but we got to take our picture at the mural, went to Tennessee Brew Works, ate at Burger Republic, and walked down Broadway for the shops that were open. We were pretty bummed that everything was closed on our only two full days but we learned to be flexible with this trip!
Day Three
Things were finally open again! But, we only had a half day since we had to get to the airport by 3 pm. We did the Grand Ole Opry tour, brunch at The Hampton Social, and went shopping. We went to Vici and then went back to Marathon Motor Works for the shops inside. We didn’t get to go to Jack Daniels Distillery but they had a small gift shop there that we found some merchandise at. There were some other shops with Nashville merchandise too.
How to Spend Three Days in Nashville: Where to Stay
If you are planning on going out on Broadway, I would recommend staying as close as possible in the downtown area. You don’t want to drive and Uber/Lyft prices are insane! We booked an Airbnb so we could all be together but I included a map below for hotels; you really can’t go wrong with any of them!
- 506 Lofts:Â This is where we stayed and I highly recommend it! The building and loft was really stylish and clean. The location was ideal; two blocks from Broadway. The walks at night were freezing but it was worth not having to drive or pay for an Uber.
How to Spend Three Days in Nashville: Getting Around
While you don’t HAVE to have a rental car, it is way easier if you do! You could walk everywhere downtown but you have to drive to/from the airport, Jack Daniels, Grand Ole Opry, and a lot of the restaurants and breweries. We priced it all out and it was significantly cheaper for us to rent a full size excursion versus paying for Ubers to the places we wouldn’t be able to walk to.
There are a lot of rental car companies onsite at BNA airport. We chose to book Alamo due to their availability with larger cars. Our experience was great; no complaints!
How to Spend Three Days in Nashville: Where to Eat and Drink
- Party Fowl
- Hattie B’s Hot Chicken
- Ole Smoky Distillery and Yee Haw Brewery
- Tennessee Brew Works
- Jack’s Bar-B-Que
- The Mockingbird
- Neighbors: Germantown
How to Spend Three Days in Nashville: What to Do
- See a Game at Bridgestone Arena
- Listen to Artists at The Bluebird café
- Tour and/or see a performance at the Grand Ole Opry
- Sail down the Cumberland River
- Visit Belle Meade Plantation to learn Tennessee history and taste wines
- Taste whiskey and see the process of making it at Jack Daniels Distillery
- Experience the nightlife on Broadway Street
How to Spend Three Days in Nashville: Nightlife
You can’t go wrong with any of the bars on Broadway. I think your favorite bars will really depend on the live music. We fell in love with a band the first night, asked where they were playing the second night and ended up staying at both of those bars until they closed at 3 am. The last night, we bar hopped a lot because we didn’t find a live band that we absolutely loved.
It was SO much easier to go out three nights in a row at age 21 than at 28. We were all feeling it each morning! I will say, we definitely enjoyed the bars more on Wednesday and Thursday night than Friday night. Friday night was way too crowded at each bar. It was more enjoyable for us when there were less people and we got the opportunity to talk to the bands and get to know them. The ones listed below were some of our favorites!
That wraps up our quick three-day trip to Nashville! Our guys had the best 30th birthday celebration and we can’t wait to all go back (hopefully when it isn’t snowing!)
All of our outfits pictured are linked on my Like To Know It! Planning an upcoming trip to Nashville? Have any questions? Comment below or connect with me on Instagram! And don’t forget to subscribe to be notified of new blog posts.
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