Just last year, more than 12 million people visited Music City. The year-round tourist destination continues to evolve and offer excursionists something new. My recent trip to Nashville took me beyond the honky-tonks. So if you’re planning a trip and need to know where to go, here are my top five recommendations—all guaranteed to be a smorgasbord of satisfaction.

CREATE A CUSTOM GOO GOO
If you’ve never had a Goo Goo cluster before, you must visit Goo Goo Chocolate Co. on 3rd Avenue. The store, which underwent a $2 million renovation last November, showcases its classic chewy roasted peanuts-caramel-marshmallow nougat chocolate confection. But if you want to take the sweetness one step further, step up to the “Design A Goo Goo” kiosk where you can create a custom Goo Goo and then watch a staff member make it for you. I designed my Goo Goo with rainbow sprinkles, pretzels, hazelnuts, vanilla nougat, and salted caramel covered in a ruby chocolate shell. It was heavenly.

The store takes taste buds to a new level by offering classes where you and your crew can make your own Goo Goo for $55. Get wild as you choose from fun fillings such as Rice Krispies, Fruity Pebbles, pretzels, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and much more. And if you’d prefer to not get your hands sticky, snag a 6-ounce bag of Lil’ Goos or head to the dessert bar for a supersize sundae or thick vanilla milkshake. By the time you leave the store, the phrase “What a cluster!” will take on a whole new meaning to you.

JOIN THE WAITLIST AT BUTTER MILK RANCH
Breakfast with friends is the best at Alyssa Gangeri’s 12South neighborhood hot spot Butter Milk Ranch. With everything made in-house, the petite pastry chef (who recently won the 2022 StarChefs Nashville Rising Star Pastry Chef Award) offers tasty items such as Bacon Squared, which is a steamed farm egg with BMR house bacon, onion-jalapeño jam, and gruyère to the Strawberry “Shortcake” Pancakes, which are topped with Rocky Glade Farm’s strawberries, whipped vanilla mascarpone, and brown butter powdered sugar.
You’ll love the variety of items on the menu (think Southern delicacies such as BMR Chicken & Waffles with sea salt, Dirty South Fried Rice with andouille and duck confit, and the Deep South Biscuit Benedict with coffee bacon gravy and a side of BMR breakfast sausage). There’s a reason why this place is always packed. Gangeri gives you more than one.

SAVOR A SUITE STAY
I’m a hotel connoisseur. My favorite stays have been at luxury properties all around the world. So when I checked into Downtown’s Grand Hyatt Nashville, I felt right at home. Looking at the cityscape’s bright lights through floor-to-ceiling windows, jumping into the hotel’s cozy bed, making use of the Balmain Paris bath products (shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, soap), and heading to R+R Wellness for an 80-minute custom massage sealed the sweet deal for me.
Not to mention the live country music in the lobby, which gets people humming and two-steppin’ into the wee hours of the morning. This is the perfect place to plant your cowboy boots before hitting Broadway with your friends.  

SHOP TILL YOU DROP
For funky fashions and eclectic knickknacks, head to 12 South, a cutesy neighborhood with stores galore. A few of my faves include White’s Mercantile, a general store filled with funny cards, kitchen towels, dishes, books, and more; the sweet and stylish Draper James, which is outfitted with gingham heels, floral handbags, haute halter top bikinis, and other Southern-inspired items; and LUNAWEAR, a pop-up shop located inside a white trailer with everything from jackets and shirt dresses to gold-dipped pineapple necklaces and “royal” rings.
These three gems have a special place in my heart because all are owned by powerhouse women, respectively: Holly Williams (daughter of singer-songwriter Hank Williams Jr.), actress Reese Witherspoon, and Morgan J. Bonner. 

When you leave this area, you’ll also want to stop by The Mall at Green Hills. Here, you’ll find a bevy of luxury stores like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Tory Burch, and the four-level RH Nashville, The Gallery. Grab a bite to eat at the brand-new RH Courtyard Restaurant where staples like the truffled grilled cheese on artisan sourdough bread with a side of French fries can be perfectly paired with a glass of bubbly or leave the mall and walk over to Emmy Squared for its Detroit-style pizza. My pick? The MVP. It comes with housemade vodka sauce, red sauce, garlic parsley pesto, and a sesame seed crust. It’s delizioso!

Laura Janelle Downey with personalized Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey

WHO WANTS WHISKEY?
About an hour south of Nashville is where you will find the 270-acre treasure, Uncle Nearest. Named after Nearest Green, the first known African American master distiller, you will be fascinated by the history and friendship between Green and Jack Daniel. Find out more about the relationship between the two when you sign up for a hosted 90-minute property tour and tasting.
Other highlights include stepping into the Bottling House to try your hand at placing an Uncle Nearest label on a bottle of whiskey, grabbing a seat at the live music venue (check out @nearestgreendistillery on Instagram to get the latest scoop on scheduled performances), having dinner at Barrel House BBQ, and visiting the retail shop packed with tees, hats, barrel-shaped glasses, luggage tags, blankets, and so much more.

Depending on how you like your whiskey, what you need to know about the award-winning brand is digestible. Green’s special technique differentiated Tennessee whiskey from Kentucky bourbon by filtering bourbon through sugar maple charcoal. And today, we have the 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey, which is 100 proof; 1884 Small Batch Whiskey, which has been aged for seven years and is 93 proof; and the Master Blend Premium Whiskey Edition, which can range anywhere from 118.5 to 122.5 proof. Snag this Master Blend only at the Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, Tennessee. It’s been blended by Victoria Eady Butler, the master blender, and great granddaughter of Nearest Green.

Expect the 1856 to offer a “big blast of vanilla sweetness” and the 1884 to go down smooth— there’s a “cotton candy sweetness” to it. As for the full-bodied Master Blend, you’ll taste “cocoa, caramel, dark fruit and more.” A savory adventure awaits. So whether you’re traveling solo or with your boys for a sip, you can’t go wrong with any selection from the Uncle Nearest Distillery.