7 Days of Blogging: Where to Go on Visits to Nashville
For those of you considering making a trip to Vanderbilt in the near future, I thought I’d share some of my favorite spots in Nashville that I would recommend visiting if you’re in town! Nashville is a vibrant city and one that I’m so happy to call my second home, so it was hard to narrow down choices to share with you all. However, it’s hard to go wrong if you’re looking for places to eat, shop, or hang out, so this is meant to be a rudimentary list based on my short time in town:
- Cafe Coco: This is by far one of my favorite places to past time in Nashville, plus it’s within walking distance of campus which makes it even harder to resist. Cafe Coco is a 24-hour cafe with breakfast, lunch and dinner, live music, and amazing coffees and Italian sodas. My favorite thing is to let my barista choose what goes in my coffee for me and to station myself at a table with a book or some work for a couple hours. It’s also a great place to get some late-night food after attending a concert at Exit/In, a music venue nearby.
- The Ryman: If you ever get a chance to see a concert at the Ryman, TAKE IT. This venue is absolutely incredible and the architecture alone is a marvel. Not to mention how amazing live music sounds in “the church”. This is quintessential Nashville, and I hate that it took me until my sophomore year to discover it.
- Proper Bagel: I include this breakfast joint in my list mainly because of my parents. It’s our go-to spot when they come to visit, and it’s never let me down. With fresh bagels, a number of gourmet cream cheeses and spreads, and baked goods galore. I always eat enough for a family of 4 on my visits, and I never want that to change.
- The Shops at Fatherland: This is another spot I had yet to see until this year; however, it is a super cool gem you could only find in Nashville. Though it’s a bit far from campus, this setup involves a number of small shed-like structures that house up-and-coming shops, vendors, and salons. It’s super cool to see all the creativity that exists in Nashville, and it’s definitely abundant here.
- Grilled Cheeserie: I challenge you all to find me someone who doesn’t like grilled cheese. Impossible? I think so. This trendy spot in Hillsboro Village opened up as a result of the success achieved by a food truck of the same name. At the Grilled Cheeserie, you can get a specially crafted grilled cheese, or build your own. Enjoy it with sweet potato chips, a mint lemonade, or one of their milkshakes of the week.
I had an incredibly hard time thinking of just five places I would recommend visiting, but that’s the magic of this city! If you have any recommendations of spots you visited in Nashville, or want to know about any specific eateries, shops, or other spots in town, let me know at alex.rains@vanderbilt.edu!