Things to Do in Nashville Besides Bars and Honky-Tonks (A Local's Guide)
- Paul Whitten
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By Paul Whitten, Founder of Nashville Adventures
Let me say this first: Broadway is fun. The neon, the bands playing until 2 a.m., the pedal taverns full of people having the time of their lives — that's part of Nashville, and I'd never pretend otherwise.
But I've been leading tours in this city for years, and the question I hear more than any other — from parents, from sober travelers, from couples on their third trip, from people who did Broadway last night and woke up wanting something different — is always the same: "What is there to do in Nashville besides the bars?" The answer is: more than almost any city in the South. You just have to know where to look. Here's where I send people.
Stand Under a Full-Scale Parthenon (Yes, Really)
Nashville has the world's only full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens, and most first-time visitors have no idea it exists.
It was built for the 1897 Tennessee Centennial Exposition, back when Nashville proudly called itself the "Athens of the South" — a nod to the city's early commitment to higher education. The building was so beloved that when the exposition ended, the city couldn't bring itself to tear it down. Inside stands Athena Parthenos: 42 feet of gilded goddess, the tallest indoor sculpture in the Western world.
It sits in Centennial Park, which hosts free concerts, markets, and festivals all year... the Centennial Park Conservancy keeps a full calendar. Go at golden hour. Bring a camera. Thank me later.
Walk the History Downtown Hides in Plain Sight
Here's what most people miss when they're bouncing between honky-tonks: they're walking past some of the most consequential ground in American history without knowing it.
The Tennessee State Capitol, where a single legislator's vote — nudged by a letter from his mother — ratified the 19th Amendment and gave American women the right to vote. Printers Alley, where Prohibition-era bootleggers ran an underground economy two blocks from the police station. The Woolworth building on Fifth Avenue, where students sat down at a lunch counter in 1960 and helped change the country.
Our Nashville history walking tours cover this ground in about two hours, and it changes how people see the city. One guest from Chicago put it better than I ever have: "I came for the bachelorette party. I left knowing more about American history than I learned in high school."
Hunt Murals from the Gulch to the Nations
Nashville's street art scene has exploded over the past decade — the What Lifts You wings in the Gulch, the Draper James stripes, dozens of lesser-known walls scattered through neighborhoods most tourists never reach.
The trick is knowing where they are and when the light is right. Our Nashville mural photo tour pairs you with a professional photographer who knows both. You leave with genuinely good photos of yourself, not eleven blurry attempts taken by a stranger holding your phone. Seriously, it's one of the best things to do in Nashville.
Meet the Permanent Residents of City Cemetery
Nashville City Cemetery opened in 1822, and it's the oldest continuously operated public cemetery in the city. Founders, madams, generals, riverboat captains — twenty-two thousand stories on twenty-seven acres.
If you think a cemetery tour sounds grim, you've never been on a good one. Our Nashville cemetery tour is one of the most requested experiences we run, and it's as much about how Nashville became Nashville as it is about who's buried where.
Do Your Mornings Like a Local
Nashville has one of the best coffee cultures in the South — roasters, historic neighborhoods, and the kind of breakfast spots locals quietly keep to themselves.
Our morning coffee tour was built for the hours before the city gets loud. It's the tour I recommend to everyone who tells me they're "not really a nightlife person." You see the neighborhoods waking up, you drink coffee that would embarrass a national chain, and you're done before most of Broadway has opened its doors.
Get Out to Franklin for a Day
Twenty miles south of Nashville sits Franklin, Tennessee — a Main Street that looks like a movie set, some of the best-preserved Civil War sites in the country, and a slower pace that makes a perfect contrast to downtown.
The Battle of Franklin in November 1864 was one of the most devastating engagements of the entire Civil War, and the story is told with remarkable honesty at sites like Carnton and the Carter House. Pair it with our Civil War tour in Nashville and you'll understand Middle Tennessee's role in the war better than most history majors.
Frequently Asked Questions about Things to Do in Nashville
Is Nashville worth visiting if I don't drink?
Absolutely. Nashville's history, architecture, food, parks, and museums stand on their own. Some of our most enthusiastic guests are sober travelers, families, and morning people — the city has an entire personality that has nothing to do with a bar tab.
What can you do in Nashville besides country music?
Plenty: the Parthenon and Centennial Park, Civil War and civil rights history, one of the South's best mural scenes, historic cemeteries, coffee culture, and day trips to Franklin. For a full rundown, see our guide to what to do in Nashville.
Is Nashville walkable?
Downtown Nashville is very walkable — the Capitol, Printers Alley, the Ryman, and Broadway all sit within about a fifteen-minute radius on foot. That's exactly why we built our company around walking tours: it's the best way to actually see the city.
See the Nashville Most Visitors Miss
Nobody comes to Nashville by accident, but plenty of people leave having only seen one street of it. The history, the art, the neighborhoods, the stories — that's the part of this city I've spent years learning, and it's the part our guests tell us they remember.
Browse all of our Nashville tours and find the one that fits your crew. Broadway will still be there when you're done. It's not going anywhere.
