Unless you had a car handy in Orlando, you were pretty well confined for your three days to the Mariott resort. As nice as it was, this meant no chance to experience anything else off-site in the Orlando area. Not so in Nashville. First of all, you’ll not be required to pack your own snacks in your luggage or buy the $30+ steaks at the Old Hickory Steakhouse or $14 hamburgers at Jack Daniels or Fuse Sports Bar.
The Opryland Hotel is set up nicely to allow you to take a casual stroll through the beautiful walkways just a few minutes across McGavock Pike to Music Valley Drive where a very nice variety of restaurants await. The Opry Mills Mall is also located just a short walk (or shuttle ride) behind the hotel, offering even more dining options. For you outdoors guys, you’ll want to carve out some time for the Bass Pro Shops store.
Additionally, the Opryland Hotel offers shuttle service to downtown Nashville for a very reasonable cost. The shuttle departs hourly and has several destinations, but the primary focal point — especially if you’re going late at night — is the WildHorse Saloon on 2nd Avenue. This is a very convenient point to access everything in downtown Nashville and it’s only about 20 minutes from door to door.
Here’s a list of some of the things that you might want to see and do during your time at the ABCA Convention in Nashville.
Music Valley Drive area (a short walk from the front entrance of the Opryland Hotel):
Start by downloading your free map of these restaurants.
- John A’s (bar and restaurant)
- Shoney’s (restaurant)
- Opry Backstage Grill
- Caney Fork Restaurant (a particular favorite of mine)
- Cracker Barrel Restaurant and Old Country Store
- Santa Fe Cattle Company (a very nice alternative if you’d like a steak or Mexican)
- Logan’s Roadhouse
- Sukho Thai Restaurant
- Bob Evans Restaurant
- McDonald’s check out the newly renovated and old-time radio themed McDonald’s
Opryland Complex:
Downtown Nashville:
- Opryland Hotel shuttle to downtown
- TripAdvisor.com Lots of good tips on what to do downtown
- Top things to SEE downtown as rated by TripAdvisor.com members/readers
Other Resources:
- The Best Places to Eat in Nashville from SmarterTravel.com
- The official Nashville tourist guide
- Thrillist.com-Nashville A unique look at Nashville from the Thrillist.com
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