What Are the Most Underrated Things to Do in Nashville?

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The Nashville experiences that are easy to miss on a first trip, and that reward the time, are the Civil Rights Room at the Nashville Public Library, a bluegrass night at the Station Inn, the Lane Motor Museum, a family-style Southern meal at Monell’s in Germantown, the indoor market house at the Nashville Farmers’ Market, and Fort Negley’s Civil War history. None of them is hidden, but none of them is on the standard Broadway, Hall of Fame, and hot chicken circuit either.

“Underrated” is a judgment, not a statistic; the picks below are places with a clear reason to go and little overlap with the usual first-trip itinerary.

The Civil Rights Room at the Nashville Public Library

The library’s Civil Rights Room exhibits materials from its Civil Rights Collection, and it overlooks the intersection of Church Street and Seventh Avenue North, where the protests against segregated lunch counters took place. In February 1960, students from the city’s four Black colleges, American Baptist, Fisk, Meharry, and Tennessee A&I, set out to confront segregation at lunch counters and other public accommodations, as the room’s own description explains (Nashville Public Library, Civil Rights Room). The history itself is covered in Nashville’s role in the civil rights movement.

A Night at the Station Inn

The Station Inn at 402 12th Avenue South in the Gulch is a listening room for bluegrass, classic country, and roots music with live music seven nights a week (Station Inn). If you want to hear acoustic musicianship at close range, it is built for that.

Lane Motor Museum

At 702 Murfreesboro Pike, the Lane Motor Museum describes itself as home to the largest European automotive collection in the United States, with about 200 unusual cars and motorcycles on display, from the early 1900s onward (Lane Motor Museum). It is a strong choice for a rainy day or for anyone traveling with car enthusiasts. Check its opening days before you go, since it is closed on some weekdays and holidays.

Monell’s in Germantown

Monell’s serves Southern food family-style, on platters passed among diners at shared tables, at its original location in Germantown (Monell’s). It is a different experience from a plate lunch or a hot chicken counter, and a good way to taste several Southern dishes in one sitting.

The Market House at the Nashville Farmers’ Market

Next to Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, the Nashville Farmers’ Market includes an indoor market house with merchants and food vendors in addition to the farm sheds (Nashville Farmers’ Market). Pair it with a walk through the park and a visit to the free Tennessee State Museum next door.

Fort Negley

Fort Negley was a Union fortification built largely by African American labor in 1862 and garrisoned in part by African American soldiers during the Battle of Nashville, according to the Tennessee Encyclopedia. The site puts that part of the Civil War on the ground in front of you. Check current visiting hours before going.

How to Fit Them In

Each of these fits into a morning or an afternoon, except an evening at the Station Inn. A good pattern is to swap one downtown attraction you would have rushed through for one of these. For more ideas that cost nothing, see the best free things to do in Nashville.

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