Want the real Nashville? Four things to do in Nashville beyond Broadway are touring the Johnny Cash Museum, eating a meat-and-three at Arnold’s, exploring East Nashville, and learning to line dance at Category 10.
What are the best things to do in Nashville beyond Broadway?
Broadway is the obvious start, but the Nashville locals love is just off the main drag. These four lean into the city’s music history, its Southern food traditions, its best neighborhood, and its dance floors. All are close to downtown or a short ride away, and they’re how you see Nashville like someone who lives here.
Tour the Johnny Cash Museum
The Johnny Cash Museum holds the most complete collection of artifacts on the Man in Black anywhere, and it sits right downtown a block off Broadway. It’s compact, well done, and a must for any music fan, even one who only knows a few songs.
Grab a meat-and-three at Arnold’s
A meat-and-three is the classic Nashville lunch: you pick one meat and three sides from a daily list of Southern staples. Arnold’s Country Kitchen is the city’s most famous meat-and-three, and eating one is about as local as it gets.
Explore East Nashville
Across the river, East Nashville is the city’s indie, local-favorite neighborhood, full of dive bars, record shops, vintage stores, and some of the best food in town. Spend an afternoon or evening here and you’ll see a side of the city most visitors miss.
Learn to line dance at Category 10
Line dancing is a Nashville rite of passage, and you don’t need any experience. Category 10, Luke Combs’ multi-story honky-tonk on Broadway, is a great place to join in, with room to learn a few steps and a rooftop to cool off after.
How should you plan a local Nashville trip?
Mix these in around the Broadway classics: a morning at the Johnny Cash Museum, a meat-and-three at Arnold’s for lunch, an afternoon and evening in East Nashville, and line dancing at Category 10 to cap a night. Most of it is a short rideshare from downtown, so it’s easy to fit into a weekend.
Whatever your trip looks like, Music City Weekend Co. can stock your Airbnb, VRBO, or hotel fridge before you arrive, so you skip the grocery and liquor store run on day one. We also offer 60+ amenity add-ons, delivered straight to your door.
Frequently asked questions
What are things to do in Nashville besides Broadway?
Touring the Johnny Cash Museum, eating a meat-and-three at Arnold’s, exploring East Nashville, and learning to line dance at Category 10.
What is a meat-and-three in Nashville?
A classic Southern lunch where you pick one meat and three sides. Arnold’s Country Kitchen is the city’s most famous meat-and-three.
What is there to do in East Nashville?
It’s the city’s local, indie neighborhood across the river, known for dive bars, record shops, vintage stores, and a great food scene.
Where can you line dance in Nashville?
At honky-tonks around town, including Category 10, Luke Combs’ Broadway honky-tonk. No experience required.