With all of the traveling I do, people are constantly surprised when I mention that Nashville is one of my favorite cities to visit. Considering its size, Nashville has a lot of the features you would find in a much larger city. Home to country music, this city has a ton of bars downtown where you can watch live bands.
I usually stay close to Vanderbilt University in the West End area of Nashville. In addition to being close to downtown and the university, it is also the area with the 2 main gay bars. Tribe is the main gay video bar in Nashville and great for cocktails. PLAY is next door and is a great dance club. Since they are next to each other, you can make a night of fun without driving all over the city. I do not go out to bars much when I travel, but I make a point of going out to PLAY every time I am in Nashville.
Also in the West End/Vanderbilt area is Centennial Park. In the middle of this park is a full-scale reconstruction of the original Greek Parthenon (see picture above). Its a pretty cool sight right in the middle of the city.
The gym situation in Nashville is rough. The best place to workout in Nashville (by FAR) is the YMCA. But, they have recently instituted a new policy at the Nashville area YMCA's where you can not buy a day pass anymore. If you are not a member of another YMCA in another city, then you are out of luck. I have worked out at the Urban Active gyms in Nashville, and although they have great equipment, the crowd is not all that great. But, if you just want a good workout and do not want eye-candy, then Urban Active is a good alternative to the YMCA. But, if you can find a way to get into the YMCA, that is definitely the place to go.
