Talkin' Tennessee: A Slow Living Travel Guide To Music City and Southern Style - Part II

If Franklin feels like an exhale, Nashville feels like a steady hum. There’s an energy here - unmistakable, creative, and everpresent — but it isn’t chaotic. Beyond the neon and noise often associated with the city, Nashville reveals itself in quieter ways: residential streets, early mornings, lived in neighborhoods, and moments of calm layered within motion. 

This part of Tennessee isn’t about slowing all the way down. It’s about learning how to move through a city without rushing — finding stillness within the rhythm rather than stepping outside of it. These are a few of my favorites. 

Music, History & Meaning

There are places in Nashville that feel less like attractions and more like anchors. The Johnny Cash Museum is one of them — quietly powerful, reverent, and deeply tied to the city’s creative lineage. It’s a reminder that Nashville’s energy is rooted in history as much as it is in what’s being made today. It's a small museum that allows for plenty of time to walk over to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as well. 

Where To Stay In Nashville 

Where you stay in Nashville shapes how the city feels. I'm always drawn to places that feel more design forward and residential. Spaces that offer more calm at the edges of a vibrant city. And in this particular city, far enough away from Broadway. 

The Thompson Hotel - In the Gulch, this hotel strikes a perfect balance of modern yet restrained, a touch rustic, and offers a sense of pause amid the city's movement. Dinner on the rooftop terrace with great city skyline views. The Gulch is a perfect little neighborhood to walk and eat in. 

The Bode - a short distance from the Gulch, this hotel feels communal and creative, more like a neighborhood gathering place. 

 

 

 

 

Where To Eat

Nashville's food scene is not only diverse but expanding every day. The places that stayed with me were not typically southern food. They were more quiet spots, with incredible food and warm, unfussy environments. 

Lola in Sylvan Park - A modern building, a bright white interior with natural light shining thru and layers of flavors filling the plates with their Spanish tapas. 

Epice on 12th Ave S - The same owners as Lola, Epice is their Lebanese bistro. A charming, modern yet warm neutral aesthetic, and the food rich in flavors, make this a perfect romantic dinner date spot. The space feels raw in a city full of noise that it lends itself as a rare, truly intimate experience to share with the people you are with. All while enjoying fresh healthy ingredients from their Mediterranean roots. 

LA Jackson Bar - You can't go wrong with dinner and a view. A swanky spot on the rooftop of the Thompson Hotel in the Gulch, overlooking music city. It's a perfect place for a burger with their garlic fries and a glass of wine. 

City House - Located in Germantown, City House is the epitome of a friendly, neighborhood Italian restaurant. It's quant, casual understated ambiance, paired with really good food, equals the definition of a perfect spot. 

 

Daily Rhythm 

Some of my favorite moments in Nashville, were the quiet ones. Walking the Greenway each morning in Sylvan Park became a ritual - quiet, grounding, and restorative. The city feels more personal there, the people are so friendly, it feels like a softer way to be in the middle of a city. 

Sylvan Park is one of my favorite little neighborhoods there. Grabbing a bagel or coffee at Star Bagels after my morning walks, or picking up Edley's for take home bbq. The architecture of the historic homes mixed in between some new modern builds, the lush greenery, the smaller streets, the quietness, the ability to hear one's own thoughts nestled into the city scape is a breath of fresh air. 

 

Nashville isn't a city you finish. It's one to un-layer each trip you make. There are endless things to do, experience, eat, as the creativity of the city always leaves you wanting more. 

 

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