Nashville City Guide: The Gulch
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville seems to be the hub of swanky eateries, country roots, and the place where aspiring musicians come to fulfill their dreams. If you've ever visited, you'll know first-hand about the nostalgic feeling Nashville radiates deep within you even after you've been gone for weeks. It's the type of place that country music songs pinpoint when they refer to never being able to leave home. While Broadway, the city's central entertainment hub, bustles with eclectic food scenes and rich culture, this epitome of a friendly city has vast offerings beyond downtown. Venture to the outskirts to places like the Gulch and you'll quickly be taken into a seemingly different world — where art and business diverge and modern elements are transparent.
For the Shopaholic
photo via thenashvilleguide
The Gulch is a very unique experience — think upscale, contemporary shops and restaurants and high-end retail. No doubt, the soulfulness is still present and the friendliness is just as prevalent as ever. Imagine the Gulch as a small, booming strip of shops emitting new energy. Here, you'll find a stretch of storefronts with steeper price tags than in most Nashville areas — for example, Design Within Reach, a vastly white, modern interior design store with abundant glass windows has spotlights casting shadows on unique furniture. e.Allen is a mock of a carefully curated Anthropologie shop, beaming with clothing and winsome gifts.
For the Foodie
As far as restaurants go, Little Octopus offers culinary delights for both carnivores and vegans in an swanky setting — a marble host stand welcomes you through the front door and warm lighting emits soft glows throughout as cooks and servers talk to you like an old friend. Bringing soulful spirit to the table is Biscuit Love, a bright, spacious offshoot known for locally sourced Southern fare. It's the type of place locals and tourists flock to to get a taste of traditional yet innovative Nashville food. From there, trendy coffee shops like Milk & Honey and the Juice Bar offer newfound drinks, like turmeric lattes and green smoothies, sure to please the up and coming health wave.
For the Active
A nod to the fit culture, Pure Barre and Barry's Boot Camp pride themselves on offering the finest and most intense workout classes in Nashville. Take one look inside and you'll be impressed with the quality equipment in the same upscale setting the Gulch radiates with throughout. Make no mistake, there are thriving bar scenes in the Gulch, like The Pub Nashville and Bar Louie that whip up grubs and microbrews in a setting very different from a typical dive bar. Step over to L.A. Jackson and you'll be met with carefully crafted cocktails and creative small plates atop the Thompson Nashville's rooftop bar.
photo via caferoze
For the Artsy
You can't walk through the Gulch without noticing an immense line of people waiting to snap a picture in front of the infamous Wing Mural, "What Lifts You." While this mural is by far Nashville's most sought after, the city offers innumerable murals, like the ones on Charlotte Avenue. The 20-foot wing mural rests effortlessly against a black brick wall, making for an iconic photo opt, and it's quite apparent that everyone has received that memo.
The Gulch is one of my favorite areas because it incorporates old-school country roots with an electrifying new soul. Venture beyond downtown to experience a taste of the outskirt's thriving atmosphere with hints of modernity peppered in. Nashville continues to serenade visitors with open arms, and after just a few hours in the city, you'll quickly see why.
Thank you for reading this post about the Gulch in Nashville, TN! Stay tuned as I uncover a different
borough of Nashville in my next blog post.
