10 Best Things to Do After Dinner in Nashville

The Nashville Night Tour lets you take in the bright lights and glittering bar fronts of Nashville aboard the Old Town Trolley, a unique way to see this great city. You'll ride the streetcar as a knowledgeable and entertaining onboard guide fills you in on all the stories about how music evolved in this city and the legendary musicians, producers, and characters who came up here. You'll even get to exit the trolley for a 30-minute performance in one of the local honky-tonk bars, as well as catch skyline views and photo opportunities.

If you want to get a great overview of Nashville before diving in, this is the way to do it. It starts in the heart of downtown.

A Full Moon Pickin' Party is a Nashville tradition held every month in different areas of the city where parties are much more family-friendly than bars and nightclubs. Most of the parties are pet-friendly and offer a wide range of food and drink options, from beer to cocktails and eats from Korean street food to fried chicken. The prime attraction, though, and the one for which the parties are named, is the banjo pickin' that goes on at every party.

Bring a blanket and get ready to get down with some good old-fashioned bluegrass music on the grass. Check to see where the party is when you're in town.

The John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge offers unparalleled views of the Nashville skyline that's all lighted up and colorful as you stroll across a historic landmark over the Cumberland River. The bridge is under a mile long but is still among the longest pedestrian bridges in the world. It was built in 1907, and if you're looking to capture an astounding view of the sunset or a photograph that will light up your Instagram feed, you can't go wrong with the Nashville skyline after dark.

This scenic, historic bridge is an easy jaunt. It's located right in the heart of downtown.

The Ryman Auditorium is known as the Mother Church of Country Music and offers astounding acoustics and tons of history and heritage backing up the live music. This is the place where the original Grand Ole Opry radio show was performed from 1943 into the 1970s, so it's essential to the roots of country music. Today it hosts live performers from just about every genre, but the Opry Country Classics series is the highlight with celebrity hosts and iconic country-western acts.

The auditorium has been renovated many times over the years and stands up to the test of time. It's right in the heart of town.

The Grand Ole Opry may be the most iconic locale in Nashville and offers live music from new and established acts in the place where the legends came up. The lineups change every week here and are announced the Wednesday before the performance, but you can get tickets ahead of time to be surprised, and it's almost guaranteed that you won't be disappointed. Even better, the performances are still broadcast on the radio like they always have been, so you'll be part of a live broadcast.

It's no exaggeration to say that this is the very heart and soul of the city's country music scene. It's just across the Cumberland River from downtown.

A General Jackson Showboat Dinner Cruise lets you see the nighttime skyline of Nashville on a classic riverboat along the Cumberland River with food and live entertainment. You'll get plenty of time to walk the decks under the endless stars for a romantic evening with that special someone. The boats offer full-service bars and a delicious and luxurious dinner served up by waitstaff where you'll get to make new friends, and a high-energy and rollicking show with music and dance.

The boat bills itself as the largest showboat in the world. Whether or not that's technically true, it can get crowded, so be aware. It launches from a spot about 18 minutes northeast of town.

Tootsie's Orchid Lounge is the place to learn what nightlife means in Nashville at a historic watering hole offering up cold beer and live honky-tonk music. This is the classic honky-tonk bar, so if you're looking for the true experience, it's the place to be. The building's bright purple exterior is only the beginning. Inside it's just as bright and eclectic, and you can even hit the outdoor rooftop venue for great views of the city skyline. The bar has 3 floors with 3 different bands playing just about every night.

This is a wild party that gets packed with people. It's directly in the center of downtown along Church Street.

Exit/In is a music venue of a different kind, showcasing the full diversity of the Nashville music scene from country to rock, punk to bluegrass, and even stand-up comedy. This is a historic venue that opened in 1971 and right from the start was known for unusual occurrences and a wide range of genres. Steve Martin was a mainstay here in the '70s. Through the '80s it focused on rock, while today it features punk rock bands, singer/songwriters, indie rock, and spoken word artists, among others.

You never know what you're going to get at Exit/In, but it's sure to be an experience. It's just a 5-minute drive southwest from the center of downtown.

The Honky Tonk Highway is a strip of live music venues you can visit on a bar crawl across the music district of Nashville. It's a wild trip where you'll visit iconic venues like the Paradise Park Trailer Resort, Nashville Underground, Nudie's Honky Tonk, Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, and many others. The bar crawl happens every day and night from 10 am all the way to 3 am. Best of all, none of the bars along the Honky Tonk Highway have a cover charge.

If you're looking to explore a wide variety of country-western, bluegrass, and Southern rock bands, this is the bar crawl for you. It's in the heart of downtown along Broadway.

Printers Alley is a narrow alley that is a nighttime destination offering up an electric vibe with neon lights, pubs, restaurants, and karaoke bars. It's also a historic location named for the wealth of newspaper and book printers that once were centered here. It's something of a hidden gem of Nashville, beloved by locals and with thin crowds in the early evening. Later, when the lights kick up, it's illuminated like the Vegas Strip.

One of the highlights is the Bourbon Street & Boogie Bar, which kicks you from Nashville to New Orleans just by walking through the door. Printers Alley is right downtown, just a 4-minute walk from the center of the city.