Nashville on Next to Nothing: Honky Tonks on Broadway

Welcome to Part 2 of my "Nashville on Next to Nothing" series; I hope you will incorporate my suggestions into your budget travel plans. These articles will guide you through a complete week-long vacation experience for two at a cost well below $1,000.

In Part 1, I explained how to book your room at a great rate. Here's another money-saving idea: Be sure to pick up several free tourist brochures and hotel guides when you check into your room or stop for meals, as they typically contain FREE, helpful Nashville maps and discount coupons. I suggest you carry a small bag in your vehicle to hold the brochures, as they make great souvenirs and reference materials. Keep the brochure bag nearby so you can refer to them often during your visit. Bring a supply of quarters to feed the parking meters, too, as well as several dollar bills for public parking machines.

The best way to see a lot of Nashville's attractions at a cut rate is with an "All Access Attractions Pass" (http://www.visitmusiccity.com/visitors/TotalAccess#ASC). For only $45 per person, you get access to your choice of four Music City attractions from a list of 16, as well as free admission to the Parthenon (a must-see to be highlighted later in this series). Attraction options include Adventure Science Center, Belle Meade Plantation, Belmont Mansion, Cheekwood, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum, The Delta Riverboat Company, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, General Jackson Showboat, The Hermitage (Home of President Andrew Jackson), Musicians Hall of Fame & Museum, Nashville Shores, Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, Ryman Auditorium, and Travellers Rest Plantation & Museum, Historic RCA Studio B tour, and Music City Duck Tours. To order passes or for more information, call 800-657-6910. The All Access passes are also available at both Nashville Convention Visitor's Bureau locations; Fourth Avenue North at Commerce (615-259-4730, call for hours of operation) or Fifth Avenue South at Broadway (615-259-4747), on the first floor of the Sommet Center. A word of advice on choosing which attractions to visit using an All Access pass: If you plan to visit 5 attractions from the list of 16 choices, use your 4 All Access coupons on the four highest-priced attractions and pay out of pocket for the least expensive. Again, planning saves you money. If you have more than a week to visit Nashville, you might budget for two passes per person and really do the town up right.

Now we're back to "what to see and do." In my opinion, the best place to start a Nashville vacation is with a drive down Broadway, better known as "Honky Tonk Highway." See where country music's legends lived the lyrics and, in some cases, reinvested their earnings without ever leaving a barstool. A word of caution: Keep your eyes on the road-there is often heavy pedestrian traffic, and the best vacation is a safe vacation.

Once you've driven Lower Broadway, which I like to call the Honky Tonk "miracle mile," make another pass and, this time, park the car so you can tie on your sneakers and stroll the venues at your leisure. Grab some great (and affordably priced) grub at Jack's Bar B Que, www.jacksbarbque.com (416 Broadway) or Paradise Park Trailer Resort and Food Stand (411 Broadway, www.paradiseparkonline.com). In addition to a number of live music venues including Tootsie's Orchid Lounge (422 Broadway), Nashville Crossroads (419 Broadway), Second Fiddle (420 Broadway), The Stage on Broadway (412 Broadway), and Legends Corner (428 Broadway), all of which feature hot live country music and cold beverages, don't miss the Ernest Tubb Record Shop at 417 Broadway (615-255-7503, www.ernesttubb.com).
Here's a souvenir advice break, too: If you are looking for an affordable souvenir of your travels to Nashville-and make that decision that BEFORE you go, not after you have been in town several days and need to backtrack-consider buying logoed guitar picks, which are found in almost every venue in the city. They can be had from 59-cents to a few dollars, and in addition to their obvious use, they are easy to store, make great conversation pieces, and are the perfect shape for pressing into a scrapbook if you so desire. Thanks to my Dad for this suggestion; he has a sizeable collection from our June 2009 visit to Nashville, during which he and Mom decided, on the spur of the moment, that he should have brought his guitar and, since he hadn't, they spent the several hundred dollars saved from traveling under this "cheap travel guide" to buy a great Takamine acoustic at Springfield Guitar Co., Springfield, Tennessee. Talk about a great vacation memory!

Next up, Episode 3 will feature advice on a visit to one of my favorite stops of all in Nashville: The Ryman Auditorium, known as the Mother Church of Country Music. Stay tuned for more money-saving tips and great travel advice.

Sources:

2008 Nashville Vacation Guide, Journal Communications Inc. (Available free from Nashville Convention Visitor's Bureau or their website, www.visitmusiccity.com)

In the Beginning,http://www.wsmonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=25&Itemid=28, WSMonline.com

Music City Total Access Pass, http://www.visitmusiccity.com/visitors/TotalAccess#ASC, Visitmusiccity.com

www.ernesttubb.com. Ernesttubb.com

Jack's Bar B Que, www.jacksbarbque.com, Jacksbarbq.com

The Grand Ole Opry, www.opry.com. Opry.com

Paradise Park Trailer Resort and Food Stand, www.paradiseparkonline.com. Paradiseparkonline.com