Fairlane

Worth getting out of bed for

The hotel backs onto the renowned Printer’s Alley – once home to its namesake newspapers, publishers and print shops, it morphed into a prohibition-flouting strip of bars, restaurants and clubs in the Thirties. Today it’s a neon-lit, music-blaring Broadway-in-miniature; a touch cheesy but worth stopping by for a beer and some blues. For an altogether more memorable musical experience, make the pilgrimage two blocks south to the mother church of country music: the Ryman Auditorium. There are tours charting its esteemed history – from birthplace of bluegrass to Grand Ole Opry HQ – throughout the day and catching a show in the evening, especially if it’s a hometown hero on stage, is a must. Visit in summer, and you can catch a full program of alfresco gigs at the Ascend Amphitheater. For a primer on Nashville’s musical lifeblood, work your way around the well-curated Country Music Hall of Fame: artifacts include Johnny Cash’s guitars, Dolly’s dresses and Elvis’ tricked-out Cadillac. Under the same roof you’ll find Hatch Show Print, the pioneers of letterpress printing who have produced some of the most iconic poster styles of our age. You can take tours of the shop to see the designers and printers in action and there’s a gallery for browsing recent work. A few minutes further south and you’ll find a more recent addition to Music City’s heritage: Jack White’s Third Man Records stocking recent releases, plenty of merch and exclusive vinyl-only pressings of sessions recorded in the neighbouring studio. It’s also home to one of the few remaining Voice-o-Graph machines: a Forties-built booth that records up to two minutes of, well, whatever you want, straight to a six-inch phonograph disc – quite the Nashville souvenir. Also down in the Gulch you'll find Two Old Hippies and Lucchese Bootmakers if you're in the market for some contemporary Southern fashion statements. 

Local restaurants

Not to be confused with New York institution Russ & Daughters, Rolf & Daughters in Germantown serves a seasonally changing menu of Italian-American pastas and small plates. In a riverside warehouse, Pinewood Social serves brunch, lunch and dinner classics with flair – and if you like your dining with a side of distraction, it has a six-lane bowling alley, an outdoor games area and two dipping pools to boot. A few blocks south of Broadway you'll find Husk, a historic mansion turned dining room helmed by chef Katie Cross whose style is to refresh Southern classics with local-as-it-gets ingredients. Woolworth on 5th also has history: it was the site of some of Nashville's first lunch-counter sit-ins to protest against segregation. Stop by and you'll be treated to a warm welcome and some regional classics in impressive art deco surrounds. For dive-bar-and-grill greatness, seek out Dino's in East Nashville and have a burger at the bar. It only has pictures of Dolly Parton by way of decor, and the late Anthony Bourdain blessed it as a true Nashville institution. That 'hot chicken' you hear everyone talking about? Prince's is the place…

Local bars

Let's face it, in Nashville you're never far from a bar. Not least on Broadway, the city's main artery lined, almost exclusively, with loud, lively honky-tonk hostelries. Listen to the locals, though, and and head for Robert's Western World – a no-frills bar and grill where some of Nashville's best players grace the stage (if you're ever here on Christmas Day, local legends Gillan Welch and David Rawlings are known to drop by for a festive sing-song). To sample Nashville's own nectar at source, the Yazoo Brewing Company taproom is open every afternoon for beer-sampling. Of the many rooftop bars, LA Jackson (on top of the Thompson) affords the best views back over the whole city and serves inventive cocktails (pro tip: order something with lots of ice; it gets hot up here). With its exposed brick walls, cosy Chesterfields and roaring fire, Black Rabbit adds a dose of sophistication to Printer's Alley – and its bar snacks are just as good as its drinks. If you fancy the 10-minute cab ride into East Nashville's fashionable 'hoods, Duke's is the low-key local to head for – its a magnet for the city's scenesters with a vinyl-only DJ booth often manned by special guests and a superb sandwich counter in the back.