Visiting Fan's Guide to Nashville & other local areas & Parking Updates II

[hockey diva]

I am guessing the Hilton across the street or the Renassiance up on Commerce.

 

[TitansVolsPreds615]

Thompson Hotel in the Gulch. I've seen Corey Perry, Toews, Seth Jones all walk in and out of there at various times.

 

[Adz]

Thompson Hotel in the Gulch. I've seen Corey Perry, Toews, Seth Jones all walk in and out of there at various times.

Thompson...don't we have an owner who has something to do with Thompson construction machinery? Wonder if the two businesses are related?

 

[hockeyfan4ever]

Also, what places would you guys recommend me visit other than the Nashville Country Hall Of Fame?

 

[PerdFan]

Also, what places would you guys recommend me visit other than the Nashville Country Hall Of Fame?

The Ryman which is the original Grand Ol Opry is right across and up the street from the Bridgestone.
The Parthenon which is an exact replica of the one in Athens Greece is in Centennial Park.
The Johnny Cash museum is down the street from the Arena.
Tootsies Orchid Lounge.

Look through this thread, there are endless lists of attractions, music, food etc...
There’s lots of stuff to see everywhere

 

[101st_fan]

Also, what places would you guys recommend me visit other than the Nashville Country Hall Of Fame?

The Musicians Hall of Fame at the old auditorium.

 

[Adz]

Also, what places would you guys recommend me visit other than the Nashville Country Hall Of Fame?

If you are into architecture and history, the Scarritt Bennett campus near Vanderbilt University is gorgeous. The church, Wightman Chapel, is a small gothic cathedral constructed of Crab Orchard stone (local specialty stone). There is also an historical (1852) Episcopal Church--Church of the Holy Trinity on 6th that still conducts services. Woolworth on 5th is a restaurant located in the site of sit ins during the Civil Rights Movement. And I keep pressing people on this but the Downtown Presbyterian Church is a must see--it is one of few examples of Egyptian Revival architecture in the US and is probably one of the best preserved churches in that style world wide.

I also enjoy the bars downtown. ha!

 

[hockeyfan4ever]

Anyone know where the Blackhawks usually stay?

 

[Adz]

Anyone know where the Blackhawks usually stay?

Motel 6

My guess would be either the Renaissance, the Hilton across from arena or, from earlier reports, the Thompson Hotel in the gulch.

 

[Enjoy i24 Traffic]

Airport Marriott is a another option. Hard to believe they would stay at the Thompson ($$$).

 

[sparkle twin]

The penguins stayed at the Thompson during the Finals. I don't doubt other teams stayed there as well. I know the pens have stayed at Lowe's Vanderbilt, The Hermitage Hotel and the Renaissance Hotel through the years.

Teams have been at the Omni a fair bit. Now with the Westin, Marriott and Cambria all open downtown, there are even more choices.

 

[pritz]

Live in Calgary but am a die hard Oiler fan and am coming on a boys trip to see the Oilers play the Preds on Oct 27th, 1pm game. Was wondering if there were any bars that hockey fans go to before the game?

 

[sparkle twin]

Live in Calgary but am a die hard Oiler fan and am coming on a boys trip to see the Oilers play the Preds on Oct 27th, 1pm game. Was wondering if there were any bars that hockey fans go to before the game?

Well, we used to go to Paradise Park (RIP), now we are just everywhere. I've been going to AJ's, I think they are trying to be a Preds hangout.

Honestly, there are so many bars, just walk past one and look for yellow jerseys and find one you like. If you don't like it, go next door to the next one. I mean, I think there are at least 30 bars down Broadway and the area around Broadway. Seriously, Google map the arena and Broadway to see.


Also, we're an hour ahead of you so the game is 2pm here.

 

[dhawken]

Hello! My wife and son surprised me with tickets for the Preds/Oilers game on Saturday. We're in Michigan, so we'll be making the trek down this weekend. While my wife has been to Nashville for work, I have never been there, so I was wondering if anyone has recommendations. I've heard what an atmosphere Bridgestone and surrounding area has during a game - any advice on stuff to do/see?

We'll probably be rolling in late Saturday morning for the 3PM game. Likely we'll just head down to the stadium area, park down there and grab some food or something prior to heading into the stadium. Does that seem like a viable plan? Any good suggestions for food or other things to see prior to the game if we have time?

After the game, we're hoping to do something touristy/interesting prior to heading out. Our son is 7 so can't be too late. We'll be wearing Oiler jerseys, so don't be too hard on us, but our son says he wants to get a Preds jersey when we get there - hedging his bets I suppose!

Despite the Oilers continued lack of success against the Preds (and afternoon games in general), we get to see one Oiler game a year and we're very much excited about seeing the Preds and Nashville.

Thanks for any input!

 

[valeriammm]

Parking will be almost non existent unless youre willing to pay up a decent little bit. I would recomend walking or taking an uber in. There is plenty of night life on the strip where the stadium is, your son will not be able to get in its all 21 and up for the most part, its also loud and crowded which can be overwhelming for a little person. I still recomend walking down broadway even if its only during the day, as far as food goes the whole city has some amazing options just depends what your looking for but while in Nashville check out some Hot Chicken spots or BBQ. I dont remeber if ACME is 18 and up or all ages but if you get their early in the day it shouldnt be too crowded you could order some apps and drinks and play shuffleboard or cornhole with the kid and listen to live music

 

[Legionnaire11]

Your best bet for parking downtown will be at the Music City Center or the Library. Otherwise there's almost always something at Nissan Stadium and it's much cheaper, but you'll have to walk (pedestrian bridge) or catch a shuttle. Forget those smaller side lots unless you want to take out a second mortgage to pay for them.

Otherwise there is no shortage of restaurants and entertainment downtown on a Saturday before and after the game.

 

[Adz]

I think you can bring kids before 10 PM to most of them. I used to bring mine and they were under 21--but they weren't 7, they were teens. I brought my 10 yo granddaughter downtown last fall and they invited us both into Roberts and said it was fine. (We passed) I had a lot of fun just walking around after a game with my son back when he was in his early teens. We didn't go in, just absorbed the atmosphere most times.

I think you'll have plenty of fun. You can park for free at Nissan Stadium in Lot D but it has gotten very popular and it's not that close to the bridge anymore. Here's information on that, though. Bridgestone Arena Event Parking | Downtown Nashville Parking Since you have a 7 year old you may want to ride the $3 round trip shuttle (but that's per person). It isn't a terrible walk but it may be too much for him.

One thing I ALWAYS suggest for visitors is for you to go to Centennial Park and see the Parthenon. It is a full size replica and is stunning. There is a statue of Athena inside that is so imposing it's scary!

 

[dhawken]

This is great stuff - thank you!

 

[Drake744]

Double post

 

[Drake744]

This is great stuff - thank you!

One small detail, just making sure you know, you said the game is at 3PM. Being in Michigan, you're presumably stuck on Eastern time, but Nashville is Central time so it's a 2PM game here.

 

[101st_fan]

The bad thing is that a lot of the tourist things that somewhat kid friendly close too early to enjoy after the game. There is the Musician's Hall of Fame at the old Auditorium ... the Hendrix exhibit should be open to the public by now ( I got a sneak peak in June and it had the stage he played in Nashville in the mid-60s before making it big). There are plenty of historic sites if that is your thing. Tons of food ... distilleries in town ... reality TV tourist traps like the Antique Archaeology store (American Pickers) ...


What are you into? I'm sure somebody here can guide you towards things that interest you.

 

[Roman Yoshi]

Hydration is key for survival

 

[LCPreds]

I’d suggest Martins BBQ or Jacks BBQ for food before the game if you like that type of grub. Both are great and near the arena.

(Sorry, have to defer to others on suggestions for post game with a 7 year old. Have fun!)

 

[Legionnaire11]

Post game, should be around 6pm, you could hit up 2 Boots pizza for a family friendly place. But it's a national chain so you wouldn't get as much local flavor there.

 

[dhawken]

Thanks for all the input, guys. The trip was really good. Can't say enough about the building and fans - it was an awesome time. We got downtown around 9:30AM and parked at the Music City Center (super easy at that time) and started walking around. I wanted to see a bunch of the places even if we didn't have time to go into them on this trip, so we immediately walked over to Ryman for a picture, then down to the Hall of Fame and then just kinda wandered, winding up down at the Johnny Cash museum. Many pictures and a few souvenirs later, it started to rain pretty good, so we went down towards the river and decided to get on that Trolley tour thing I saw on the phone. That turned out to be really good - both for the weather, our energy, and seeing a lot more stuff than we would have.

After that, we grabbed some food and went into Bridgestone. Really nice building. There were more Edmonton fans than I thought there would be, but the preds fans were extremely friendly and gracious hosts. Our 7 year old just had a blast - he had to get a Rinne jersey of course, so my quest to keep him from being a goalie continues to fail. Down to the glass for warmups of course, and then back to the seats. Pretty good game (from our perspective!) Save for about 10 minutes mid 3rd perious, that didn't seem like the same Predators team we saw in Edmonton last week. Needless to say, I would have bet money against that outcome but we'll take it.

Thanks again everyone! Quick trip down and back but definitely hoping to do it again with more time to take in the sights!