Nashville is known for being the best place for a bachelor party to visit for a reason. Here in Nashville, we love to listen to music and have a good time, all while sipping on a cold one. There is so much to do and plenty to see so keep reading to check out what’s in store! Having the responsibility of making a bachelor party one that no one will forget can be a heavy burden. No worries, NBB has got your back. We’ve made it easy on you and your crew to have the best time while in Nashville and taking advantage of everything it has to offer!
The Parthenon at Centennial Park
★ 4.6
Love Greek mythology but can’t swing a trip overseas? Or perhaps you’ve got a craving for both country music AND neo-classical architecture at the same time? Fear not, for just west of downtown Nashville lies a full scale replica of everyone’s favorite Greecian wonder, the Parthenon! What in the Dolly Parton is a duplicate Parthenon is doing in the heart of Nashville, you ask? Well, in 1897, the building was commissioned for Tennessee’s Centennial Exposition, which was to be held in the park that formerly been used for horse racing and state fairgrounds. Nashville was trying to push the nickname “Athens of the South” to promote their image as a progessive city where education and fine arts were of great value and with this temporary attraction for the fair they hoped to cement this claim. However, the building proved so wildly popular with Centennial crowds, it was replaced with a more permanent rendition. In the nineties, a 42 foot statue of Greek goddess of war Athena was made, making the Parthenon home to the largest indoor statue in the western hemisphere. The room features other ornate carvings of Greco gods and heroes and also functions as an art gallery, boasting a beautiful permanent collection of around 60 paintings from the 19th and 20th century. This cultural mashup is a can’t miss on any trip to Nashville, though whether you wear a toga or your cowboy boots is up to you.
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Hail Dark Aesthetics
★ 4.7
Imagine Indiana Jones and Wednesday Adams had a love child who opened a fanciful boutique full of macabre oddities and curios. Or maybe if Urban Outfitters merged with Hot Topic and started specializing in taxidermy? Either way, Welcome to Hail Dark Aesthetics, where a patron is likely to experience shock, awe, delight, and disgust (possibly all at the same time). This truly unique boutique has a wide range of offerings catering to shoppers with a taste for all things creepy and cool, though if you’re particularly religious (or squeamish for that matter) you may want to pass as the store was named “Best Place to Buy Devil Stuff” in Scene’s annual “Best of Nashville” in 2014. But rest assured, if you’re not into dead animals, Charles Manson biographies and ouija boards, they’ve also got less controversial fare like an impressive collection of vintage concert tees, racks upon racks of upcycled retro shoes, clothes, and accessories, and fairly innocuous pop culture flavored magnets and buttons. Whether you’re in the neighborhood for a new tarot deck, a snakeskin wrapped coyote skull, or a coloring book starring Lemmy Kilmister of Motorhead fame, you’re in the right place (though your church-going grandma may beg to differ).
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Dead People’s Things
★ 4.3
In the fashion of Hail Dark Aesthetics, our next location is another unusual shopping experience that has also graced Nashville Scene’s “Best of” list, though if you’re one to mince your words or prefer a sugar coating regarding how your favorite thrift store finds are sourced, you may want to skip this one. Winning “Best New Junk Shop with the Realest Name”, Dead People’s Things has been keeping it real since they opened and won the title in 2017. This antique paradise whose slogan is “You Die, We Buy!” is located twenty minutes out of downtown in Goodlettsville and is well worth the drive so long as you ain’t faint of heart and are feeling up for the adventure. Like an old bookstore, this goods in this joint are haphazardly and precariously set up in tumultuous stacks and piles from floor to ceiling, making you feel like you’re on treasure hunt or about to get trapped in an old board game a la Jumanji. Though overwhelming for some, most are enthralled by the thrill of the hunt and pleased as punch upon coming across the knick knack of their dreams they didn’t even know they needed. The sheer range of cool and eclectic junk is a true testament to the eccentric owners’ love of their craft- feverishly frequenting the estate sales of the recently deceased. So if you’re feeling frisky and fancy a drive, take the trip out to Goodlettsville where you may find that one (dead) man’s trash might just be your treasure.
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Willie Nelson/Elvis Fortune Tellers at Dixieland Delights
★ 4.4
Maybe you love carnivals and Coney Island or maybe you just loved Tom Hanks in the movie Big or maybe you’re feeling mystical and are searching for a sign or a sense of direction during your stay in our fair city. Well rest assured, we’ve got you’re nostalgic and metaphysical hankerings covered, and Nashville style to boot! Boogie on down to Dixieland Delights, a cute little curio shop that specializes in candy and novelty items and is great for some silly fun souvenirs. Head to the back of the store where you will find yourself a (honest to Hank Williams) Willie Nelson oracle in the style of Zoltar! Pony up a couple of quarters and America’s most beloved braid-sporting, guitar strumming outlaw will dispense bonafide life and love advice (though If you’re looking for something stronger you’re outta luck cause it may be Willie you’re talking to, but it ain’t that kind of dispensary!) Dixieland also hosts a similar machine though this one is in homage to the hip swinging King himself, Mr. Elvis Presley. Bring extra scratch so you can cross check your fortunes, as we personally wouldn’t trust either of those crooners.
Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum
★ 4.5
The first Madame Tussaud’s opened in London in 1835 and the wax museum chain has become a successful entity, boasting twenty-six locations spanning four continents. Though you may have been in other cities and think you’ve seen it all when it comes to celebrities forged in wax, the Nashville location is pretty special. Not only can you get up close and personal with the likes of country stars like Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, and Garth Brooks, the music-themed exhibits feature Nashville specific history, including a walk through a makeshift 1950’s neighborhood where everyone’s dials are tuned in to the likes of Hank Williams and Tammy Wynette on the Grand Ole Opry radio show. But it doesn’t stop a country- you can take in the twang of Muddy Waters’ guitar in the Blues Lounge or get a serenade from the legendary Billie Holiday in the Jazz Bar. Experience sets from the hit CMT show Nashville before the grand finale where you belt one out on stage at the opry next to Queen Reba herself.
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America’s Best Bathroom’s: Hermitage Hotel and Nashville Zoo
★ 4.6
You may not know it (or want to know it), but there is an annual award and Hall of Fame for America’s Best Restroom. The Cintas company considers cleanliness, visual appeal, innovation, functionality and unique design elements when perusing submissions for America’s most notable porcelain palaces. In 2008, the historic Hermitage Hotel’s facilities were deemed the most iconic latrines in the land for their bold black and green glass-tiled, terrazzo-floored washroom of wonder. All joking aside, the art deco architecture in both the bathroom and the rest of the hotel is gorgeous and definitely worth a selfie or five.This oasis of excretions dons a proud plaque claiming to have housed multiple music videos and legislative deals alike, and luckily for the ladies, all genders are now allowed to behold this beautiful bathroom.
And in case that isn’t enough for Nashville to be proud of, they took home the potty prize AGAIN in 2019 with the truly awe-inspiring renovations at the Nashville Zoo. The innovative designs feature giant glass walls stretching from floor to ceiling that allow viewing access to animal enclosures. The women’s restroom located nearest to the Expedition Peru exhibit features views of the tiny cotton top tamarin monkeys, while the men’s rest room nearest the entry way village showcases a ball python. (I’m not touching that one.)
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Bluegrass Underground/The Caverns
★ 4.6
The greatest adventures sometimes require a little jaunt off the beaten path, but if you’re willing to drive the hour and a half for this gem, the sonic fruits of your labor will be well worth it. Do you like bluegrass? Great. Do you suffer from cleithrophobia aka the fear of being trapped in a closed space? Weeeelll, it might be worth getting over it for this one because situated in AN ACTUAL CAVE UNDER A MOUNTAIN is what might be the world’s coolest music venue. Bluegrass Underground is concert series taped for PBS that takes place in the Caverns underneath the Cumberland mountains, spans genres, and features big stars and rising ones alike. Come to hear one of your favorite acts or something new, and if that doesn’t suit you, daytime walking tours and spelunking tours for the more brave are available year round (there’s even overnight options.) And if you don’t get down with country, folk, soul, or r&b, check the local listings for electronic and psychedelic offerings such as the Floozies, Flying Lotus, and the Disco Biscuits.
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