Plan
Where to go before and after.
Browse stops
14 stopsThe Opry Mills anchor store, with a large indoor aquarium, boat displays and a full floor of outdoor gear. Free to walk through and free to park. The fish tank is the reason to bring kids.
Mon to Sat 9am to 9pm, Sun 10am to 7pm
A German beer hall beside Opry Mills with more than 500 seats inside and another 120 in the outdoor biergarten. Long communal tables, German lagers by the liter, pretzels and schnitzel. Large enough to absorb a group without a reservation.
Mon to Thu 11am to 9pm, Fri and Sat to 10pm, Sun 10am to 8pm
A river-lodge restaurant on Music Valley Drive built around Tennessee outdoor cooking. Catfish, trout, ribs and steaks, with fried pickles and hushpuppies to start. Large enough to seat a group without much wait.
Dinner from 4pm
A free Dukes of Hazzard museum and gift shop run by Ben Jones, who played Cooter on the show. Inside are the tow truck, Daisy's Jeep, Rosco's patrol car and a 1969 Dodge Charger done up as the General Lee, plus costumes and props from the series. Twenty minutes covers it.
Daily 9am to 6pm
Vintage furniture, antiques and a flower counter in a Music Valley Drive strip center. Closed Monday and Tuesday, and the doors shut at 4 PM, so it only pairs with a daytime start.
Wed to Sun, 10 AM to 4 PM
Nine acres of indoor gardens under glass, with waterfalls, winding paths and a 4.5 acre atrium that a flat-bottom riverboat runs through. Non-guests can walk the gardens for free. Park at Opry Mills and take the walkway to the Delta entrance to skip the resort parking fee.
Open daily, all day
Local ice cream on Music Valley Drive. Doors do not open until 4 PM on weeknights, so a weekday matinee is too early for it.
From 4 PM Mon to Thu, from 11 AM Fri to Sun
An independent espresso bar in a Music Valley Drive strip center. Locally roasted beans, bagel sandwiches and a rotating pastry case, with free parking out front. Live music on Saturday mornings from 10 to noon.
Mon to Fri 6am to 4pm, weekends 8am to 4pm
Family owned since 1993, serving Mediterranean and Greek plates from a counter inside Opry Mills. Gyros, kebabs, falafel and hummus, ordered at the register and out fast. The independent option in a mall otherwise full of chains.
Mon to Sat 10am to 9pm, Sun 11am to 7pm
Steaks cut in-house, scratch yeast rolls and a broad menu. Useful when a group wants an easy sit-down dinner on Music Valley Drive without turning it into a project.
Dinner hours
A 374 acre park where the Stones River meets the Cumberland. The Stones River Greenway runs eight miles west toward Percy Priest Dam and east over a pedestrian bridge to Shelby Bottoms. There is a disc golf course, a skate park and a dog park, and Two Rivers Mansion, the Italianate house David McGavock built in 1859, stands on the grounds.
Dawn to 11pm daily
An arcade and bar at Opry Mills, open to midnight most nights and two in the morning on Saturday. Games, a long bar and a full menu. Worth knowing because almost nothing else at Opry Mills serves past ten.
To midnight Sun to Thu, 1am Fri, 2am Sat
A Music Valley Drive bar that runs to three in the morning every night of the week, with a patio, pool tables and a kitchen that stays open. Wings, burgers and hot chicken, cheap beer, screens everywhere. One of the only places in Music Valley still serving after midnight.
Daily 11am to 3am