Nashville Music City- what can I say, you are a shit show. At least the downtown area, unfortunately with only 36 hours to spend in Nashville I may not have seen enough to do it justice. The Downtown and Gulch areas is where I spent all my time- and here are the words that come to mind: Lights, neon, crowded, music, rooftops, lines, bachelorette parties. That about sums it up. Again, there may be much better parts of Nashville to visit, but I did not get to see them. I did get a healthy dose of Nashville nightlife (and daylife) and it is aggressive. Can't say I had a bad meal there though- the food everywhere was awesome. If you are traveling to Nashville for a weekend, here is a realistic summary of what you can do:
Brunch/Breakfast spots I recommend: Julio's wine dive and Union Common. Both were down Broadway closer to Vanderbuilt University. Awesome brunches at both spots and good for groups (we were rolling with 8+ people)
Dinner/drinking at Acme- downtown- another great spot for groups. Sweet potato fries and shrimp and grits- so yummy
404 Kitchen- in the Gulch area- higher end dinner spot, outdoor seating available, really good cornbread as well as halibut so slightly more upscale than anything you will get downtown
Whiskey Kitchen- also in the Gulch area, really good cocktail selection, also small patio for outdoor seating
For dessert- Milk and Honey in the Gulch area. Stop by the Wings mural (ha stop by- more like stand in line for an hour) and get that photo for the gram.
Bar spots for extreme people watching and tons of live music: Jason Aldean's (rooftop plus 5 floors of crazy), Acme (first floor for live music), Tin Roof (first floor for live music), Dierks Bentleys (not sure if I'd recommend but first floor had live music, basically like everywhere else downtown).
Every bar downtown seemed the same to me, so grab a scooter and check out all Nashville has to offer!