Over Christmas break, I had the opportunity to travel to Nashville, Tennessee, the land where country music rings from every street corner, “y’all” is proclaimed loud and proud, and sweet tea reigns king. We spent four fun-filled days here and I just couldn’t help but share my experience!

We hit the major tourist destinations, ate at lots of tasty restaurants, and stayed at a sort of mini-Disney hotel, but I am going to list what I think are the top ten best activities to do and places to go while visiting the city where country music was born.

1. Tour the Ryman Auditorium- This place is so cool! Its history will intrigue you as it started as a church and slowly converted into a concert hall where major country artists dreamed of performing! You can even record your own record here as well!
2. Walk Downtown- Nashville is known for its downtown restaurants with the bright neon signs and local artists singing the night away. So, if you get the chance, just stroll downtown, and admire the music. No need to go inside the different restaurants because you will hear the music just fine.
3. Tour The Johnny Cash Museum- Walking through this small, quaint museum where you will learn about “The Man in Black,” his life as a musician, and why his legacy is so great!
4. Tour the Country Music Hall of Fame- When you purchase a ticket, it’s good all day long, and you get the opportunity to go through two whole levels filled with country music’s biggest stars from the beginning until now. They museum also has wicked cool memorabilia, such as Elvis Presley’s golden piano and Taylor Swift’s silver rhinestone guitar!
5. Visit The Gulch- The Gulch is a section of Nashville comparable to South Boston or The Seaport District. It’s up and coming with lots of cool restaurants and good shopping. It was fun to just stroll around with my cousins, and it even felt like Boston a little bit.
6. Merchants- Merchants is a really cool restaurant that is located downtown. It’s a little pricey, but the food was absolutely delicious, the wait staff was extremely friendly, and they were able to even accommodate to my cousin who has seven different allergies!
7. Uber- We used Uber to get from the hotel to downtown and we had great experiences every single time. The drivers were friendly and sociable.
8. Go to a Sporting Event- We were only in town for four days, but if you like sports, Nashville is home to two sporting arenas that have games and events quite often.
9. Visit the Marriott Gaylord Opryland Hotel- This is the hotel we stayed at. It was humongous, with over 3,000 rooms and 15+ restaurants. This hotel has activities going on all the time and is only a fifteen-minute ride from downtown.
10. Talk with the Locals- We found the locals that we conversed with, whether it be the Uber drivers or waiters, were so nice, curious about Boston, and enjoyed sharing cultures!

Overall, we had an awesome time while in Nashville, and I highly suggest visiting if you were looking for a place to vacation for a day or two. I found that four days was perfect because we hit the major sites and were also able to experience some of the local areas as well!