Nashville Trip Diary: July 2026
Well, I’m officially back from Nashville. It was my second time visiting, and I can definitively say now that the city’s not my scene. Don’t get me wrong, there are things I enjoy about it — I like southern culture, my snakeskin Cuadras are a prized possession, I ate way better this time around, and I certainly like music enough to appreciate the history behind it here…But something about it just isn’t for me.
In my least generous interpretation of Nashville, it’s because I’ve felt that the city cosplays Southern and Western American culture without actually embodying it. Maybe this isn’t fair — it could be because, as a tourist, I’ve only seen and experienced what tourists do.
And it’s not so much that I have an issue with tourists coming in wearing cowboy boots and bolo ties. A city performing and caricaturizing itself for tourism is nothing new. But taken alongside the commodification and corporatization that I’ve witnessed in the city’s growth, I wonder if Tennesseans look at that self-performance and feel similarly to how the Japanese feel in Kyoto: a frustration at economic strain that tourists and transplants bear the brunt of for being the most visible representation of an underlying problem.
But this is more of a guide than an essay, so let’s highlight what I enjoyed: I went to my first-ever honky tonk and loved it, I had one of the best Michelin meals of my life here, and there are a couple of really interesting day trips out of the city.
Let’s get into it.
Eat & Drink
This isn’t a rehash of my Tokyo Guide, where I lived for a good amount of time. Please treat this more as a trip diary rather than an expertly vetted map on where to go. I did eat way better on this trip compared to my last, and it’s thanks in part to great recommendations from my friends and brother.
I’ll be including what I visited along with spots I have saved, because I’ll be referencing this for my next trip. Spots that I haven’t actually visited yet are notated with an R, which stands for researched or recommended. Please feel free to give feedback or share more!
If you want a comprehensive list of everywhere I ate, here’s my Beli profile. (Want an invite?)
Restaurants
Locust – (, 12 South, *) I get why a lot of people say the only Michelin-rated spots they’ll go to are the ones with a single star. Often lacking the eyeroll-inducing pretension and theatre of fine dining, they’re guaranteed to give you a really good fucking meal. This New American, Japanese-inspired spot covers all of that.
(To be clear, I love the eyeroll-inducing pretension and theatre of fine dining, but I get that it’s not for everyone.)
Previously named Food & Wine’s Restaurant of the Year and consistently ranking in the top 20 of North America’s 50 Best Restaurants list, I went in with tempered expectations in fear of the hype, but ultimately felt it met its reputation. The menu rotates, but must-orders include the beef tartare hand rolls, skinny tim sausage, the scallop/yellowtail/black currant crudo, and the kakigori-inspired shaved ice.
I’ll post a full review on it later.
Uzbegim Halal Restaurant – ($$, Centennial Park) My brother’s favorite spot here in Nashville, serving up delicious Uzbek food with a really solid homemade flavor. It is family owned and run, so expect longer waits during busy times and for popular items to potentially sell out later in the day. I recommend the Wedding Pilaf, assorted dolma, and dumpling soup.
Maiz De La Vida – ($$, The Gulch) This Mexican spot has some delicious quesabirria, and I hear the mole is great too. They also have a food truck outside of Chopper Tiki in East Nashville.
Red Headed Stranger – (R, $$, McFerrin Park) I really love Tex-Mex, so this was the spot I was most disappointed in not being able to hit on this trip. It’s top of my list to try next time.
Pastis – (R, $$$, South Nashville) There’s never a bad time or place to tuck in to some steak frites, and this French bistro in South Nashville looks promising.
Xiao Bao – (R, $$, McFerrin Park) I’m a bit leery towards Asian Fusion because it’s often disappointed me, and a menu that’s all over the place is rarely a good sign – but I really trust the friend who recommended this, and the okonomiyaki with pork floss on the menu looks interesting enough to entice me for next time.
Kisser – (R, $$$, Talbot’s Corner) The name caught my eye because I wondered if it was inspired by Kissaten, an aspect of Japanese culture that I love. The miso clam ramen sounds unique, and I’m always craving a nice, classical Japanese breakfast.
In-N-Out – ($-$$, Multiple Locations) I had very conflicted feelings about In-N-Out’s expansion eastward, because it felt like they were abandoning the ethos that made them great in the first place. Selfishly, though, it means I get to enjoy it while I’m out here. There’s one on the drive back from Mammoth Cave about twenty minutes out from downtown Nashville, if you want to pair it with your day trip. The quality is still comparable to LA and Vegas, and I really hope it stays that way.
Cafes
hami – ($-$$, Various Locations) This adorable traveling truck serves up some of the best matcha I’ve had in the US. Look for their seasonal flavors – I liked my blueberry matcha enough, but the guava looked even better. And don’t skip the banana bread – it’s some of the best I’ve ever tried! Texture-wise it’s a bit closer to a muffin, and if you love a heavy cinnamon and spice flavor, you’ll adore theirs.
La La Land – ($-$$, 12 South) This Dallas-based cafe has just one Nashville location in 12 South, and I fell in love with their aesthetic and the drinks. Their banana cloud latte is absolutely delicious, and you should get it as an espresso, not a matcha. The mission behind the cafe is really sweet, too — an acquaintance from Dallas let me know that the original locations focus on employing at–risk youth.
Bars
Attaboy Cocktail Bar – ($$, East Nashville) The younger sibling to the NYC haunt of the same name, this cocktail bar has a speakeasy vibe and no menu. A distinct, mint-green building with a beautiful interior. Wait outside for someone to let you in. Some parts of Nashville really give me Denver vibes, and this was one of them. I had the Asteroid City, a gin-based, citrusy, herbal drink – and it was absolutely fantastic. But don’t copy my order – tell them what you like!!
Robert’s Western World – ($, Broadway) Touting itself as one of the last classic honky-tonks in Nashville, this bar plays great live music all day. It was really fun people-watching, seeing folks dance and unwind after work. Per the name, it really did feel like I was sitting in a Western dive bar. As it’s on Broadway, expect crowds at most times of day. Order the Recession Special, a tasty fried bologna sandwich served alongside chips and a PBR, for only $6.
The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club – (R, $$, East Nashville) I saw miso deviled eggs on the menu and blacked out.
Museums & Attractions
Belmont Mansion
To be honest, I only wanted to come here to take some pretty film photography of the peachy antebellum-era architecture and interiors, but the house ended up being way more historically loaded and interesting than that. I almost don’t want to spoil it for you, because I think it’s more engaging to discover it yourself…but if you need a bigger pull, here goes:
I’m often leery about giving money to antebellum-era properties like this in case I’m accidentally funding the confederacy fandom. But I felt this museum did a decent job of highlighting the full history behind the estate. It does not shy away from the fact that the woman who owned it was a slaver, and there are exhibits highlighting the laborers — free and enslaved — who lived and worked here as well.
Belmont Mansion was built as a summer home by Adelicia Acklen, whose late husband had amassed a fortune through one of the largest domestic slave-trading firms in America. She ballooned that wealth even further through her acquired Louisiana plantations, and the labor of the people enslaved on them, until the Civil War.
The house is colorful and a bit zany, cluttered with statues, souvenirs, and other memorabilia from the family’s Grand Tour throughout Europe, something many wealthy Americans did back then as a means of showcasing worldliness.
It became a strategic point of battle during the Civil War, when the Union Army came knocking on her door. As you will clearly see during your tour of the estate, Adelcia was not one for humility, so naturally she built her house on Nashville's highest hilltop. When war rolled around and the enemy came knocking, it commanded the best vantage point over the city. The Battle of Nashville that followed was considered a decisive victory for the North.
Perhaps failing to inherit acquired tastes, none of her children wanted to inherit the estate after her death, and two women bought it a few years later. Eventually it opened as Belmont Women’s College. In the ‘50s, the university became co-ed and expanded – and lives on as the Belmont University we know today. That’s why the mansion is situated smack in the middle of campus – it’s the original college.
Don’t stress over street parking that close to 12 South. You can easily register for (often free) visitor parking on Belmont University's website.
National Museum of African American Music
An absolute must-visit for anyone who even tangentially listens to American music or consumes American culture – which is, well, damn near everyone.
The conversation around it is better now, but I feel like a lot of people don’t truly understand how integral Black art and culture is to wider American art and culture. The museum is colorful, engaging, and interactive to boot – your NFC wristband lets you save the music you discover during your visit to a playlist that gets emailed to you later. You’ll need about two hours to explore this museum – it’s thorough, and up there among my favorite museums I’ve ever visited.
Robert’s Western World is just around the corner, too — stop by before or after for some live music and cheap grub.
The Parthenon and Centennial Park
Ever wanted to visit the only true-to-life replica of the Athens’ Parthenon, located smack in the middle of America? No? TOO FUCKING BAD, I’m making you go!!!
Why is there a gigantic Parthenon in middle America? If you’re like me, you probably erroneously assumed that the city probably just built it because they fucking felt like it. I’ve been to Vegas – we Americans love copying famous monuments for the hell of it.
But there’s actually an interesting bit of history here. 19th century Nashville famously touted itself as the “Athens of the South” due to the strength of its colleges. So, when the Tennessee Centennial Exposition – one iteration of Gilded Age America’s iconic World’s Fairs – was held Nashville in 1897, the city constructed the Parthenon to reflect that reputation. Originally built out of wood, brick, and plaster, it became so popular with the locals that the city decided to reconstruct a permanent version of it.
I learned on this trip that Gilded Age Americans loved to reach towards Europe as a way to prove they were serious – worldly, cultured, intellectual, other synonyms for bored and pretentious. Adelicia Acklen sailed to Europe to fill a mansion, and the city of Nashville built a full-scale Greek temple to prove a self-anointed nickname.
It now functions as an art museum, but I still haven’t been inside. The interior was closed for HVAC renovations when I went this time which made me so pissed off, but what can we do.
Head over to Uzbegim nearby for some delicious Central Asian food afterwards.
Country Music Hall of Fame
An obvious visit for a first-timer, even if you’re not that into country music – it holds one of the largest music collections in the world, the exhibits are engaging, the campus has a couple of cute shops worth exploring (the print shop is my favorite), and the rotunda is just beautiful.
Bicentennial Park
The nearby Tennessee State Capitol building is lovely to explore, and it hosts President James K. Polk’s tomb in its backyard. After visiting the historic sites, you can take a few laps around Bicentennial Park afterwards (not to be confused with Centennial Park). Be sure to stop by the Nashville Farmer’s Market, just west of the park, while you’re in the area.
Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage
Just outside Nashville, the seventh president’s former plantation is worth visiting even if – like me – your interest towards Andrew Jackson is mostly hostile. The mansion and grounds are beautifully preserved, but the history beneath them is, as with most entrenched Southern wealth, necessarily ugly: Jackson enslaved more than a hundred people here, and the site includes surviving cabins and exhibits about their lives and labor. It’s a historic site where the grounds tell a much larger story than the man at the center of them.
Day Trips
Mammoth Cave National Park (KY)
The longest known cave system in the world, and Kentucky’s only national park, holds a reputation for being “America’s most disappointing national park”. I think this is monstrously unfair and completely untrue. I thought it was incredible, and absolutely worth a day trip from Nashville — it’s a two-hour journey one-way. Here’s everything you need to know.
I will concede that the overground trails aren’t particularly interesting. You’re here for the caves, all of which need to be signed up for with a tour slot. Entry to the park is free, but tours range in cost from $12–$30 as of mid-2026.
I HIGHLY recommend booking your cave tours ahead of time – even the day before is fine. They sell out fast on the day of. I witnessed many frazzled families trying to round up their restless kids in a cramped visitor center to wait four hours for the next tour slots because the next three tours had already sold out. It was a surprise to see, because I’d checked and ticket sales were wide open the day before. I was expecting the park to be relatively empty as a result, and that wasn’t the case. The tour I went on was sold out.
The Historic Tour is usually recommended for first-timers. That’s what I did, and I really enjoyed it. I think you can get away with doing two tours in a day, though I’ve seen some people online say it begins to feel repetitive. I’ll definitely be visiting Mammoth Cave the next time I’m in Nashville, and plan on doing the self-guided Discovery Tour in addition to another one of the established tours.
The caves are naturally at around 56ºF/13ºC year-round, which conveniently means you don’t really need to time the hike for a specific time of day. I felt perfectly comfortable in long pants and a light jacket – you don’t want to bundle up too much, as most of the tours include a lot of walking and climbing steps. It was not physically strenuous for me at all and I didn’t really see anyone in our group, including older or younger people, really struggle. Nothing in the historic tour is dangerous, but some of its sections may not be for you if you get claustrophobic. Accessible tours are also offered once or twice a day.
Check Recreation.gov for tickets and tour availability.
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park (KY)
I “stumbled upon” this, as much as you can “stumble upon” a National Historic Site, on my drive back to Chicago from Nashville two years ago. It’s technically pairable as a day trip with Mammoth Cave, but it’s your call in terms of your own interest levels, as the visit itself is fairly short. I personally wouldn’t do it.
It’s really cool exploring the replica log cabin and walking around the place that saw the early years of President Lincoln’s life. The rangers at this center were also really fun to talk to.
The site is not very large and will take an hour and a half to visit, tops. It’s an additional hour’s drive north of Mammoth Cave. If you’re in the specific situation of driving up north like me, I’d just visit it then. If you’re a history buff and NPS geek? Make the trip.
Muhammad Ali’s Grave (Louisville, KY)
This I definitely do not actually recommend as a daytrip from Nashville – please do not travel an additional hour from Lincoln’s Birthplace just to visit a gravesite. But again, if you’re driving up north anyway, it’s definitely worth the stop!
Beware of the timezone shift, because Louisville is in Eastern Time – the cemetery closes at 5pm, so you have to show up by 3pm Central Time at the latest to get in. Kentucky’s got some fucked up law where timezone is decided by county. I don’t know what that’s about. Take it up with them.
While you’re in Louisville, check out Carmichael’s Bookstore and grab a bite to eat at The Eagle nearby for some Southern fare. The staff were super friendly and the food was delicious. I honestly really liked that bit of Louisville I passed through – the vibe reminded me of Galena and Dubuque.
That’s all! (For now).
I want to revisit my earlier distaste towards Nashy, because there are obviously multiple things about the city and its surroundings that I really adored. So I’m going to loop in my own hometown.
Chicago’s Wrigleyville is often derogatorily referred to as Nashville North nowadays, and unfortunately, I kind of agree. I took one step out of a downtown parking garage, came face-to-face with Assembly Food Hall, and laughed as I thought “goddamn, it really does look exactly like Wrigley.”
And when I’m driving back into the city from Mammoth Cave or the Hermitage and watching Nashville’s skyline grow before me, it could easily pass as Chicago’s West Loop or River North neighborhoods blown up to the size of an entire city.
What I realized is this hasn’t always been Nashville. It’s a reflection of the wider corporate commodification and “sameness” that’s been affecting our cities. It’s a late stage capitalistic siphoning of character and creativity for the same slate grays and browns. And I swear I’m not just soapboxing over 5-over-1 podium constructions here. I walked into my brother’s apartment lobby and the first thing I saw was Captivate news on the television and elevator screens — the same Captivate I saw at my old corporate job in Chicago. God damn, that felt bleak.
So yes, a lot of Nashville’s downtown core is new and shiny and West Loop-y, to its own detriment. The new faux-luxury builds with recycled backsplashes and questionable plumbing systems all look and feel the same. The food halls touting watered-down versions of international foods and corporate slop all look and feel the same. For all the propaganda that was squawked at us growing up around the sameness of Chinese and Soviet aesthetics as evidence of authoritarian bleakness…we’re kind of doing the same thing, except ours is emergent rather than ordered. It’s mass market-produced cultural uniformity for the sake of generating the safest, fastest profits…and what follows from that encroaching death of character is oligarchical, authoritarian bleakness. Which is why private equity is the root of all evil and everyone who works in it is really ugly!!!!!!
What I’m witnessing repeatedly in cities thousands of miles apart is price inflation and wage stagnation while culture is simultaneously flattened for the sake of consumption. People vent this frustration of cultural loss towards tourists and transplants, and to put it plainly, that makes me sad. Interacting positively with a culture or moving to a new city because you like it is not the issue. A culture becoming sanitized for the sake of commodification while locals get priced out is. That death of character terrifies me — sociologically, politically, psychologically. That dying was what I felt visiting Nashville, and it broke my heart to witness.
So I do want to absolve Nashville of some of my own distaste towards it — it’s victim to a broader homogenization and corporatization that’s been plaguing American (and arguably global) cities, especially post-COVID.
There is character in this city. There is heart. You’ll just have to dig a little harder to find it, and I hope that I can do it justice next time.
You can also find me on Instagram, Tiktok, Beli, and most other social media platforms as @ayahokay.