Visit the Award-Winning Art Deco Bathroom at the Hermitage HotelDescend the lobby stairs of the Hermitage Hotel into its 1930s Art Deco men's room, all lime-green leaded glass and a two-seat shoeshine stand. It has won best bathroom in America; everyone is welcome to admire it now.WeirdEasy15 min
Climb the Mosaic Sea SerpentAt Fannie Mae Dees Park on Blakemore Avenue, find the 150-foot tiled dragon that locals built by hand in 1980. Clamber along its scaly back like the eight-year-olds around you.Photo HuntEasy25 min
Cut Your Own RecordStep into the 1947 Voice-o-Graph booth in the Novelties Lounge at Third Man Records on 7th Avenue South. Two minutes of your singing gets pressed straight onto a 6-inch vinyl disc.CultureEasy20 min
Karaoke in Santa's Double-WideSing at Santa's Pub on Bransford Avenue, a Christmas-decorated dive in two welded-together trailers. Cash only, $2 beers, and Santa's rules: no beer, no cussin', no cigarettes on his stage.SocialMedium1 hr
Survive Hot ChickenOrder a quarter bird at Prince's Hot Chicken, the family that invented the fiery dish back in the 1930s as revenge. Pick your heat honestly; the regulars are watching.Food & DrinkMedium45 min
Find the World's Narrowest CarAt the Lane Motor Museum, hunt down the 1948 Larmar, just two feet four inches wide, among 500-odd microcars, amphibious cars, and a propeller-driven oddity. Bring your sense of the absurd.Hidden GemEasy1 hr 15 min
Order the Dancing DipRoll up to Bobbie's Dairy Dip, a lime-green soft-serve shack on Charlotte Avenue since 1951. Get the Dancing Dip: vanilla cone, chocolate shell, rainbow sprinkles. Open March through October only.Local DetailEasy20 min
Smell 145 Years of InkWander into Hatch Show Print, the working letterpress shop running since 1879, tucked inside the Country Music Hall of Fame. Watch hand-carved wood blocks crank out posters the way they did for Elvis.Rainy DayEasy45 min
Walk the Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge at Two RiversSkip the famous downtown span and walk the Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge at Two Rivers, linking Shelby Bottoms to Stones River greenway. Tree-lined, near-empty, just you and the river.ActiveEasy40 min
Visit Two Stranded Polar BearsIn the Edgehill neighborhood, find the pair of polar bear statues at Polar Bear Plaza, left over from a frozen-custard shop that closed in 1930. They have been patiently waiting for customers ever since.WeirdMedium20 min
Sunrise miles on Shelby Bottoms GreenwayLace up before the heat and run the flat, shady paved loop through Shelby Bottoms Greenway, where East Nashville locals log their serious distance along the Cumberland River. Cross the pedestrian bridge to the Stones River Greenway and the miles feel endless.ActiveMedium1 hr
Run a Lap Around Nashville's Full-Scale Parthenon ReplicaJog or stride the one-mile trail circling Lake Watauga in Centennial Park, where your scenery is a full-scale replica of the Parthenon and a flotilla of unbothered ducks. Yes, Nashville built ancient Greece next to a duck pond.ActiveEasy30 min
Turn the Kids Loose on Nashville Zoo's Giant Jungle GymSkip a couple of animal exhibits and turn the kids loose on the 66,000-square-foot Jungle Gym at Nashville Zoo, complete with a 35-foot treehouse, super slides, and a giant snake tunnel. It is reportedly the largest of its kind in the country, so wear them out properly.FamilyEasy1 hr
Ride a hand-carved anteaterHop on the Wild Animal Carousel at Nashville Zoo and let the kids pick from 39 wooden creatures, including a giant anteater and a clouded leopard, carved by the same artist behind Disney's Tree of Life. No horses allowed here.FamilyEasy20 min
Climb Through the Giant Heart at the Adventure Science CenterTake the kids into the BodyQuest exhibit at the Adventure Science Center and let them climb through an oversized human heart, then chase stars next door in the Sudekum Planetarium. It is the rare museum where running around is the whole point.FamilyEasy1 hr 30 min