Nashville and Memphis Travel Guide

This past year I have been to the state of Tennessee, not once, but TWICE! Who woulda thought?

Back in October, my friends and I went to Nashville for our Fall Break. I stayed with my friend who went to Vanderbilt and she showed me all of the cool parts of Nashville, both touristy and not.

Then a few weekends ago, I got the opportunity to go to Memphis with a few girls in my sorority. We were mainly there to see St. Jude's Children Research Hospital, since that is our philanthropy, but we also got to explore Memphis as well!

Here are a few things to make sure you do in each city!

Nashville- spent 3 nights and 4 days here. I personally liked it better than Memphis and would 100% go again.

Shop

- Franklin: an adorable little town right outside of Nashville that has such cute boutiques.

- 12 South: a street in Nashville with cute shops, including Goop (Gwenyth Paltrow's all-natural cosmetic store).

Eat

- Burger Up: really good burger and sandwich place near 12 South.

-Nada: Mexican restaurant with lots of options.

- Fido: Taylor Swift's favorite restaurant! It's usually pretty crowded, but the breakfast is amazing and my friend swears by the cake.

-Josephines: My favorite restaurant that I went to. Such a cute atmosphere. A little pricier, but worth it.

-Daddy's Dogs: a little stand on Broadway thats open for late night food. After a night of drinking, you must go here. They have the best hotdogs.

-Moto: I never ended up going here, but it's my friends favorite Italian restaurant in the city.

Go Out

- Broadway: the infamous street in Nashville with a crazy amount of bars. Whether you want the typical Nashville Honkey Tonk/country music scene or more of a college bar feel, you can find it here. If you're going to do one thing in Nashville, it's this. My favorite bar was Jason Aldean's. It has a rooftop that overlooks all of Broadway and the music is so fun.

-LA Jackson: a really cool rooftop bar with a great view of the city.

Other

- Sofar Nash: This was SO cool and SO Nashville. This is a mini concert that you sign up for in advance online. You aren't told the venue or the musicians until the day of. Our venue was at a house right outside of Nashville and it was set up in the backyard. There were fire pits, hot chocolate, and blankets. They set up a stage and there were about 4 different musicians that sung all different genres of music and played original songs. They have Sofar Sounds around the country, but since Nashville is all about music, it felt appropriate to do it here. Book this in advance, because it fills up quickly. It's also cheap!

- Percy Warner Park: if you're looking to get outdoors, Percy Warner Park is a great place to hike and go for a nature walk.

- Pedal Tavern: this is also a must do in Nashville. Ever seen the annoying bachelorette girls on a pedal tavern, drinking, belting songs and riding through the city? Well, this is that. My friends and I did this and it was one of the must fun parts of the weekend. You can book it through a bunch of different websites or you can book it once you're in Nashville. We supplied our own alcohol, but the pedal tavern came with a driver and a bartender. They played fun throwback songs and we rode through Broadway at night.

-Cheekwood Estate and Gardens: Cheekwood is this beautiful mansion a little outside of Nashville. It's decorated and has events for different seasons and holidays. When I went, it was decorated for Halloween and it was so pretty. We walked through the gardens and listened to a local live band. There are also a bunch of food trucks. You can go inside the mansion and see art and different exhibitions, as well.

Memphis- I was basically only in Memphis for about a day since Friday and Sunday were spent driving to and from. It was a cool city, but I probably won't go again, but that might be just because I didn't do enough research beforehand.

Go out

-Beale Street is Memphis' version of Broadway. Except instead of country music, it's all about rock and blues. I didn't go out while I was here, but a bunch of my friends went to B.B. King's Blues Club. The entire street is filled with fun bars with different music.

Eat

-The Majestic Grille: a really cool place that used to be an old movie theatre. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was even better.

-Rendezvous: The touristy barbecue place.

-Central BBQ: The more local, really good barbecue place.

Other

- Civil Rights Museum: I am not a museum person, but this place was really cool. Not only can you can see the exact place that Martin Luther King Jr. was shot, but the museum itself is filled with information about the civil rights movement inside and outside of Memphis.

- The Peabody: I didn't go here, but a couple of my friends did. The Peabody is a hotel, that is known for something very interesting. Every day at 11am and 5pm, they have a performance where ducks... wait for it... walk the red carpet. I don't know why this is a thing, but it is. But, if you're interested you can go watch it. Make sure to get there early because it gets crowded quickly.

-St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: The best part about my trip to Nashville. St. Jude is a nonprofit hospital for children that focuses on finding cures for cancer and other harsh diseases. St. Jude works hard to get donors and volunteers so that no patient has to pay off expensive medical bills for treatment. If you want to take a tour of St. Jude, you have to book it in advance, but the hospital itself is such a beautiful place. The decorations that fill St. Jude to ensure that each patient feels welcomed and comfortable are ingenious. I highly recommend going to see this amazing place if you have the time.

-Graceland: I didn't get to go here, but in short, this was Elvis Presley's home. You can take tours, which are a little pricy, but if you are an Elvis fan, it's definitely worth it.