We spent all of Day 3 in Downtown Nashville exploring various Country Music sites. Neither Kim or I are Country Music fans but the sites we visited seemed like must sees. If we skipped them it would’ve just seemed wrong. I couldn’t come to Nashville and not see why it got the nickname Music City.
.
Here is a recap of some of what we did during our first full day in Nashville.

Day 3: Nashville

• Visited the Ryman Auditorium- “The Mother Church of Country Music”
• Had a drink & heard some music at “Honky Tonk” Bar- Legends Corner
• Toured Historic RCA Studio B
• Wandered around the Country Music Hall of Fame
• Had one of the best burgers in Nashville at Brown’s Diner

Kim and I enjoyed our visit to the Ryman Auditorium. We learned about the building’s history during the self- guided tour. It was originally built as a church and later (currently during winter months) used for the Grand Ole Opry radio show broadcasts. It’s also known as the “Carnegie Hall of the South”. The auditorium has really nice wood floors throughout and the seating is curved around the stage. The auditorium is small making views good from all of the seats. Lucas had fun watching balloons get filled in preparation for their New Years Eve concert.

I would’ve liked to have seen a show at the Ryman but the shows started a bit too late for Lucas.

Visiting a Honky Tonk Bar was on our list of things to do but it wasn’t going to happen at night. We decided to stop by Legend’s Corner around noon. The bar had a small crowd already and there was a band performing. We actually enjoyed the music. It seemed to work with the surroundings. I wouldn’t listen to country at home or in my car but in Nashville it was pretty neat to hear. Lucas made friends with the bartender. She held him for a little while as Kim and I had a beer and ate a quick snack. Talk about good service! I’d definitely recommend visiting a Honky Tonk bar whether or not you are a country music fan.

We took a guided tour or historic RCA Studio B which is only available with a combined ticket from the Country Music Hall of Fame. It’s located on Music Row and is Nashville’s oldest recording studio. The building is small and doesn’t look so special from the outside but it’s full of history. Many music legends have recorded here including Elvis Presley. We enjoyed hearing stories from the knowledgeable guide. I could picture the action going on in the studio while listening to her stories.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is a huge building with lots of interesting displays and exhibits. The HOF was very crowded which made it a bit annoying to wander through while pushing a stroller. We tended to skim and not read a ton of the information due to this. Highlights for me were seeing Elvis Presley’s Gold Cadillac & Gold piano, the archives (which were visible on the second & third floors) and the Hall of Fame plaques. I found it most interesting to read the plaques and learn a little about some of these country music legends, many I had never heard of before. Kim spent most of this time entertaining Lucas by a water fountain that he really wanted to jump into by the entrance!

I’m a huge burger fan so I was looking to try out a great burger in Nashville. I used the power of Twitter to make the decision of where to go. I contacted a couple of burger experts- George Motz, film maker, TV host & author of Hamburger America and Rev who writes the blog Burger Conquest. After getting a few recommendations I went with Brown’s Diner which has been around since 1927. The diner had live country music playing in the front which was nice. I ordered a cheeseburger which did not disappoint. It was cooked perfectly and left me happy and not too full. (I’ll probably write a full review of Brown’s Diner in the near future)

Check out my recaps of Day 1 and Day 2 by clicking on the links.
Keep an eye out for a recap of Day 4 of our Louisville & Nashville trip.
.
If you’re considering or planning a trip to Nashville, I’d highly recommend checking out the Nashville Visitor’s Bureau website Visit Music City for lots of great information about the area.