Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is the historic country music venue, and also the longest running radio broadcast in the U.S. with 90 years! The Opry still hosts concerts and backstage tours – starting at $33 per person.
Part of the backstage tour is seeing the different dressing rooms and sitting in chairs that stars like Carrie Underwood have sat in! You get to learn a lot about the history of the space and even get to walk up on the stage! The tour is about an hour long and concludes in the gift shop (like most tours) but worth the money in my opinion.
Broadway Bars
Broadway is the “Bourbon” street of Nashville. Along the way, you can see the Ryman Auditorium (the first home of the Grand Ole Opry), Margarita Ville and the Honky Tonk Bar! EVERY bar has a live band or artist playing music and they are all insanely talented. Along the bar strip, they also have souvenir and gift shopping.
Solo Setbacks
I’m not going to lie, traveling solo can be tiring, it can be boring, and it can be expensive. And while I’ve been doing it for most of the year (and loving it), I found Nashville the most difficult place yet for solo traveling because it is such a social town. I obviously still had fun, but I think I could’ve had an even better if I had someone to drink and listen to music with.
Part of this also comes from how big the city is. I wanted to see different attractions that just so happened to be spread throughout the city, making the Ubers add up. I’m also a little disheartened because when I was first trying to take an Uber from the airport into the city, I was waiting at the wrong “pickup” spot and my Uber had to cancel from waiting too long, thus causing me $5! It was a bigger airport than I thought.
I could’ve taken the bus system, like I’ve done before in Boston, New Jersey, San Francisco, etc., but for some reason I couldn’t really figure out this one or find a main ticket building, just side street bus stops. All in all, I don’t think Nashville was really my town. I also booked an Airbnb, which I am no stranger to, but I thought I snagged a good deal with it being “close to downtown”. However, I did not find this to be true and only furthered my frustration.
I think these setbacks are good to remember, and good to share, because traveling–like life—is not always perfect. And if I ever go back to Nashville, I definitely know what I would do different!
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Great post! Nashville is on my list for a girls trip!
yes! it would be so fun to go with a group of girl friends, thanks for reading 🙂
Great post! Nashville has been on my bucket list for quite a while. When I finally get down there I will have to check out the Grand Old Oprey for sure! Thanks for sharing!
Great post! Nashville has been on my bucket list for quite a while. I will have to check out the Grand Ole Opry for sure when I visit. Thanks for sharing!
Nashville looks like such a fun place to visit. I’ve only driven through once, and wish I would have stopped. I’ll have to add this to my US bucket list!
I can see where Nashville would be challenging as a solo traveler. I went here with my sister and we loved it. But, good for you for going solo! That takes guts and makes you a stronger person! I admire that!
wow thank you so much! im glad you had a great time with your sister!
I could see where the nightlife would be kind of awkward solo. I used to go to concerts alone every single night because it was part of my job in the music industry, so I don’t mind that I still enjoy the music, but going to bars or places to line dance or whatever would be something I don’t want to do alone. In the daytime though I remember liking Nashville, I didn’t get to see the things you did (next time!) but I saw Sun Records where Elvis recorded, and went to Grimey’s which is one of my favorite record stores.
Wow still sounds like you had a good time – thanks so much for reading 🙂 I really appreciate your take on solo outings too!