What to do in Nashville if you don’t like Country Music

When Seth told me that he wanted to go to Nashville for his birthday, my very first question, after “Why?” was “What are we going to do there?” Neither of us are big fans of country music. I’ve enjoyed maybe 5 country songs in my life. So why would we go to Nashville? Before we left, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best places to stay, and what there was to do if you don’t like country music.

I love staying in Airbnb’s when we go traveling. It gives you the chance to see an area you probably wouldn’t have seen otherwise. It’s also just really cozy. Especially traveling with a baby, it was nice to have  a home base that felt, well, homey. The place we stayed at was in East Nashville, and it was so cute. The host was great and it was pretty conveniently located. I feel like you never quite know what your experience will be with an Airbnb, so if you ever find yourself in Nashville, definitely try to book at her Airbnb, The Blooming Cactus!

The thing we did the most of in Nashville, honestly, was eat. Nashville has so many great restaurants and such great food. The food was so good that I’ve already written three posts on the best food, best brunch, and the best cafes in Nashville. So if you don’t really like country music, just try eating a lot. 😉

While we were there we went to Centennial Park. It’s this huge park that has a replica of the Parthenon. It’s the only replica in the US, so it’s definitely worth a visit. And the park was nice, there were lots of places to sit and enjoy the view of the pond and sit under some trees to escape the heat.

I’ll also recommend that you don’t go visit in the middle of the summer. It was way too hot and humid.

We also loved visiting the pedestrian bridge! You get an amazing view of the skyline and it’s a great way to access downtown without having to actually park downtown.

Another must-see, no matter what your accomodation plans are, is the Gaylord Opryland Resort. We stayed there for the last leg of our trip, but honestly we would’ve gone to sight see even if we hadn’t stayed there. The whole hotel is filled with nine acres of indoor gardens. There are waterfalls, fountains, and rivers. And their restaurants are incredible(we really did eat a lot on our trip). Honestly, every time we walked out of our hotel room or looked out the window, I was in awe. It was gorgeous and the perfect temperature at all times! Did I mention that it was incredibly hot in Nashville? haha

I know that a lot of the experience in visiting Nashville lies in the live music, the honky tonks, and so forth. But despite not really enjoying that, I loved Nashville. It was beautiful, there was plenty to do, and the food was soooo good. But if there’s something I missed during our visit, let me know so we make sure to fill in the gaps during our next trip to Nashville!