So you want Franklin, not Nashville. For moderate hiking you’ll likely enjoy Radnor Lake but get the alltrails app. There’s a ton. Cedars of Lebanon is quite nice as well.
You might also like The Hermitage …just East of the airport and/or the James K Polk house in Columbia. Franklin is a charming small town and has the Carnton Plantation and Carter House amongst others.
Atlanta is how you drive to Charleston…you needn’t stop. But you can do the Northern route (Asheville).You can find lots to do in Chatt (enroute to Atlanta) but make sure you go to Rembrandts for breakfast. Lots of hiking there too as well as a nice path in Cartersville right b4 Atlanta. My only issue with Asheville at night downtown - can’t escape the cigarette smokers - they are everywhere. But Biltmore is fantastic.
If you want to get really crazy, you can skip both and go from Chattanooga across Georgia to SC and stop at Lake Amicalola Falls which has some nice hiking. But lots of stairs. And you’d end your Ga Drive after Livonia.
If you go via Asheville, right after you cross into NC there a national park area…you don’t go through a visitor center or pay but it’s got great easy hiking. Look for Big Creek Campground.
Someone mentioned the Space Museum in Huntsville - a bit off track but you can do a day trip from Nashville or enroute to Charleston - just a bit off course.
And Mammoth Cave Natl Park is 100 minutes North of Nashville.
Honestly you can’t go wrong no matter what you do as long as it’s what you like to do.
We really liked Greenville, SC when we spent a night there when visiting Furman and Clemson. Very charming small city with a cute Main Street and a river running through it. Worth a drive-through or lunch stop if you travel between Asheville and Charleston. Check out visitgreenvillesc.com (great website!)
Came across this thread while looking for info on Nashville.
D has a milestone birthday coming up. She’s going to be in Nashville for a conference a few days before so we are planning on joining her there and celebrating her birthday. Won’t have too much time - Sunday is her birthday and we might get Monday with her as well.
Suggestions for a good vegetarian restaurant that we could host a birthday lunch or dinner for her? She loves whiskey - but I am not sure if we can fit in the tour at Jack Daniels (it looks like it would kill the entire day). Any other recommendations for distilleries close by? I was thinking we could do something outdoors during the day, see a show at the Ryman/Opry and then dinner.
Corsair and Nelson’s are good distillery choices, and both are near downtown. The Corsair guys are known as the wild men of American spirits with names like Rymageddon, Buck Yeah, and Oatrage. The Triple Smoke is amazing. Nelson’s has a more traditional line of spirits, including the award-winning Belle Meade brand. There’s nothing like a trip to Jack Daniels, but it’s a full 90-minute drive from Nashville.
The Ryman and the Opry House are two different venues.
The Ryman Auditorium was the original home of the Grand Old Opry. Most shows there start at 7:30 and end at 11:00 or so, so eat dinner before you go. It’s an old church with about 1500 seats (in pews), and not a bad one in the house.
The Opry House is a larger, newer venue by the Opryland Hotel and hosts the Grand Ole Opry some nights and individual acts on others. The Opry is a unique experience, like an old variety show with modern acts. I’m embarrassed to say that I went to the Opry show for the first time in my life last year when my sister-in-law (a comedian) performed as part of the lineup. The acts are varied (Old Crow Medicine Show was there that night) and the show is over around 9:00.
There are also some great live music clubs like the Bluebird Cafe and the Station Inn. Lower Broadway is like Bourbon Street with country music. The folks with cowboy hats and boots are tourists lol.
Most nice Nashville restaurants will have vegetarian and vegan offerings. Check out the Nashville Scene for reviews and listings.
If you commit to waking up earlyish and doing a morning tour at Jack Daniels, you easily would get back in time for dinner in Nashville. I love the JD tour. If you don’t want to make that drive, then you could do the National Museum of African American Music. My27yo son and I spent hours there and could’ve spent hours more.
Of course The Ryman and the Opry are amazing.
I asked my vegetarian DIL who used to live in Nashville what she recommended. Her fave (and mine!) is Butcher and Bee. As long as she’s vegetarian and not vegan, we highly recommend the whipped feta with honey and black pepper. To die for, and I don’t like cheese!
She also loves Woodlands Indian Vegetarian Restaurant. I’ve never been there, but she’s an amazing cook and well-traveled so if she likes it, it must be good.
All my kids live/have lived in Nashville at some point so I’ve been there a lot. If you want to do something outdoorsy, I love walking at Percy Warner. Lovely in the fall, for sure. Don’t know about winter, but it’s always a good time to be outside and moving. Even just touring the Vanderbilt campus is lovely.
I am revisiting that Butcher and Bee menu and am sad as I miss it. I’ve been there three or four times, I think. Twice was part of a walking food tour in East Nashville, which is where I introduced DIL and her family to the restaurant. One of the walking tours was with college confidential folks at a meetup! The most recent time I was there was hosting some friends who came in for ds1’s wedding. We went there the night after the wedding and did the chef’s menu. I feel like I’ve eaten almost everything there, and it was all wonderful.
Oh, just thought of another nice place on the food tour. I’m not sure of all the vegetarian options, but the food I had was magnificent:
We just returned from Nashville, and we really liked a place called Hampton Social. It’s right on the river between two bridges.
ETA We had a reservation at Butcher and Bee, but the group decided against it. (They wanted to listen to music and drink/dance more than eat great food).
Also - We did tours of both Ryman and the Opry House. If you do the tours, paying for the guided tours is definitely worth the extra cost.
The Mockingbird is another great choice. Pinewood Social is also a super unique and cool spot to grab food and drinks if you have time. It has great food options including brunch and also randomly has a bowling alley that visually looks really cool and can be a fun option.
D & SIL like Pinewood Social. I loved Josephine, located in The Gulch, when kids took me there for birthday brunch. One of my 2023 goals is to explore more local restaurants. A KY hometown friend who went to college here and whose D is in law school here now loves Redhead Stranger for casual lunch, a taco place in East Nashville. High on my list to try in the next month or two.
D loves tacos - so thank you for both those recommendations. I am building up a good list here - the problem might be in just having to pick one or two!
Coming back to this thread and the Nashville regulars for more information.
We might have a few friends showing up to surprise D for her birthday. A mini reunion. I am looking to rent a house (or two) to host whoever shows up. Don’t need this to be in the downtown area - a little distance away is ok with us. Hendersonville appears to have some options - any ideas on if this area around Old Hickory Lake is a good one? Any other towns nearby that I should look at?
If you want to be on the Lake, check Percy Priest and Old Hickory. Not a Lake for boating, etc. but Radnor Lake State Park in Nashville is very nice hiking if you find a place close to it.
Hendersonville is a 20–30 minute drive from downtown Nashville, depending on traffic. It’s a separate community in Sumner County. There’s no real downtown either. Old Hickory Lake is the Cumberland River, not really a recreational destination other than for locals and those who live on it. Franklin has a charming downtown, about 30-40 minutes away. Both would be like staying in Greenwich or Westchester for a visit to New York City, which is not a bad thing of course!
Davidson County has a metropolitan government, so most other “towns” aren’t really considered Nashville and don’t connect in a geographic or cultural sense. East Nashville is quirky and hip, and there is a greenway with its own bridge over the Cumberland River connecting it to the city. Green Hills, Hillsboro Village/Music Row, 12 South neighborhoods are also close in. Agree about Radnor Lake for walking and renting a house in Hendersonville on the lake for the view. Percy and Edwin Warner Parks are also nice.