Perfect One Day in Nashville Itinerary for First-Timers
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Only have one day in Nashville? Don’t worry, I tested it for you.
I landed in Music City with 24 hours, a loose plan, and zero shame about eating biscuits alone. I wandered solo in the morning (which was surprisingly delightful), then met up with my friends Tony and Carmella to crank up the fun.
This 1 day guide to Nashville is equal parts chill, charming, and wildly doable, with spots that feel safe solo and even better with company. Ready to make the most of your quick trip? Let’s go.
Where I Stayed in Nashville (And Loved)
Why Hyatt Centric Is My Go-To for 1-Day Trips
The Hyatt Centric Downtown Nashville is a great central location hotel. It's an easy walk to Broadway, the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Johnny Cash Museum, Ryman Auditorium, basically everything on a “Nashville in a day” list. It’s sleek, central, and came with a rooftop pool that made me wish I had more time. There's also a gym, and a restaurant: Ella's on 2nd.
If you only have one day, being walkable to everything is essential, and this hotel delivered. Check rates here.
What to See With 1 Day in Nashville (My Route)
Here’s how we squeezed in Nashville’s best sights, with time for snacks, surprises, and a couple celeb sightings.
Morning: Johnny Cash Museum & BBQ
Johnny's museum was smaller than I'd expected, but packed with memorabilia. Great representation of Johnny's life and career. As “medium” Johnny Cash fans we spent about an hour in this museum. For Patsy Cline fans there is a museum dedicated to her upstairs.
There is a nice gift shop and the museum connects to a BBQ spot, so you can pair your black-and-white memorabilia with pulled pork. For Patsy Cline fans there is a museum dedicated to her upstairs. If your name is Sue be sure to pick up a “Brew Named Sue” coffee mug like I did!
🎟Try a Private Nashville Walking Tour including Johnny Cash Museum Entrance
The Lazy Way to See the City (And Learn a Ton)
This Old Town Hop On Hop Off Trolley tour has 13 stops, with narration throughout. Our driver was very amusing and engaging! The air conditioned tour bus (it's actually a bus, not a trolley) was very nice with tv screens spaced above to show footage related to what we were driving past.
Our driver also filled us in on Nashville and Tennessee history. We ended up just riding the tour almost the whole way from Broadway to the Country Music Hall of Fame. That gave a us a great overview of the sights in Nashville, away from the downtown Broadway area where we were spending most of our time. A surprisingly fun break in the day, and nice to sit down and relax for a bit!
Afternoon: Country Music Hall of Fame
This is a beautiful, modern and huge museum full of artifacts of and tributes to the biggest stars in country music history. The Country Music Hall of Fame is often referred to as the “Smithsonian of Country Music”. The current incarnation of the museum was opened in 2014 and is 350,00 sq. feet (you could fit 5 White Houses in there!) As minor country music fans we spent about an hour and a half touring the museum. If you are a big country music fan you could easily spend hours there!
🎟 Book a Country Music Hall of Fame Ticket
Celeb Sighting Bonus: Charley Pride + Dennis Quaid?!
After I first arrived in Nashville I wandered around to check things out. I noticed TV cameras and group of people gathered so I went to see what was going on. Turns out at the Ryman Auditorium a new statue of country music star, Charley Pride, was being unveiled! Charley's son, Dion, was there for the occasion, speaking and greeting the crowd. He is a country star in his own right. So I was able to get a picture with him. Such a nice guy!
Also, I noticed actor Dennis Quaid there talking with Dion! (Dennis is in the white shirt below). Apparently he lives in Nashville, and his production company is making a movie about Charley Pride! Pretty fun!
From what we heard on our bus tour many many celebrities live in Nashville, so I think celeb sightings are probably pretty frequent!
Snack Break: Build Your Own Candy Bar!
“Goo Goo! It's so good, people will ask for it from birth”.
This Nashville original was the first American combination candy bar. Prior to the Goo Goo candy bars had only single ingredients (chocolate or taffy, etc). It was invented in 1912. A Goo Goo Cluster consists of caramel, marshmallow nougat, fresh roasted peanuts and milk chocolate.
The shop is located right across the street from the Johnny Cash museum. It is a fun place to visit! Perfectly air-conditioned, crisp, clean environment with all configurations and sizes of the available Goo Goos and related merchandise. You can see the Goo Goo clusters being made through a glass pane. Customers can also design their own custom candy bar using computer kiosks and then watch their creation as it's handmade by the Goo Goo employees.
This is a must see & eat stop for any Nashville visit! Also makes perfect souveniers.
Evening: Honky Tonks & People Watching (Bring Earplugs!)
The “Honky Tonk Highway” main drag of Nashville has neon signs, crowds of partiers and live music blaring out of the many Honky Tonk open windows! It's lots of fun to wander up and down the street, people watch and check out the different bands. The music is sooooooooooooo loud though, that I couldn't stand to stand too close to many of the buildings (much less go inside)! I recommend you bring earplugs, unless you are already deaf and/or really don't care.
Pro tip: Head up to the Kid Rock rooftop for great views and slightly less ear-shattering volume.
Where We Ate (And What I’d Recommend)
With only one day, I wanted food that was quick, good, and memorable. Here’s what made the cut.
Pancake Pantry
Pancake Pantry is right next door to the Hyatt Centric. Good, basic breakfast food and some lunch items. Open from 6AM – 3PM. Convenient and much cheaper than the Hyatt's restaurant.
Jack's Bar-B-Que
Jacks is right on Broadway. It was a relatively quiet respite from LOUD music everywhere outside. (Yes, I'm being old and cranky about these kids with their loud music everywhere! haha) The line was out the door, but moved quickly (about 15 minutes). You order from a counter, get your food on a tray and find a table. There is quite a bit of seating upstairs. The food was very good!
On Your Way Our of Town
The Loveless Cafe
The Loveless Cafe is about a 30 minute drive outside of downtown Nashville, sort of on the way to Memphis. This 70+ year old establishment is well worth a stop for 100% made-from-scratch delicious food and a charming complex with shops, the restaurant and lawn games to play while you wait to be seated.
The lobby of the restaurant is lined with dozens of photos of celebrities who have dined there. Apparently Martha Stewart said “it was the best breakfast I've ever had.” I can't disagree. The Cheesy Grits were amazing, and their biscuits were life-changing!
If You Only Have 1 Day in Nashville…
Bring your boots, your earplugs, and your appetite.
My 1-Day Recap:
🛏 Stay: Hyatt Centric (central + stylish)
🎸 Morning to Afternoon: Johnny Cash → Hop On Hop Off → Country Hall → Goo Goo Cluster
🎤 Evening: Honky Tonks → Accidental celeb sighting
Fantastico! I’m packing me bags! Got to find Christopha and Paulie first!