Green Hills

Santo is great for date night—expect excellent service and perfect plates of beets, brothy mussels, and beef tartare.

This bookstore is owned by beloved author Ann Patchett. (Her most recent novels include Tom Lake, The Dutch House, and Commonwealth. And she also wrote one of our all-time favorite memoirs, Truth & Beauty.), Parnassus is everything you wish for as a book lover: well-curated and cute, with a solid calendar of author events.

This past summer, local interior designer Sarah Bartholomew opened SB in Green Hills, a leafy, residential neighborhood south of the city center. It’s a reflection of Bartholomew’s impeccable taste and her vision of what today’s classic décor should be, which often involves a mix of bold patterns and bright, floral-inspired colors. You’ll find a tightly edited selection of handmade and artisan textiles, tableware, antiques, and home accessories (like brass match strikers, vintage mercury glasses, and hand-poured candles).

This Green Hills studio manages to be both a medical skin-care center and a spa haven, a dichotomy that trickles down from founder Karee Hays, a medical aesthetician. The Glow Facial involves a deep-steam detox with extractions followed by microdermabrasion, dermaplaning, lymphatic massage, and a chemical peel. You’re sent home with a customized regimen and complimentary two-week follow-up, to make sure your skin is thriving—or at least well on its way.

The people at Snap are incredibly nice and helpful and they seem to have all the lines little ones like best: They carry Tea Collection, Bonpoint, Ella Moss, and Splendid, plus the displays on bright white lockers are really sweet.

This store, owned by Holly Williams (who has exquisite taste and happens to be the daughter of Hank Williams Jr.), is the most cutting-edge of the shops in Nashville, carrying brands like Ulla Johnson and Anine Bing. Check out the second floor, too, which houses Williams's collection of music photography by the likes of Henry Diltz and Pattie Boyd.

Located just fifteen minutes outside of Downtown Nashville, this low-key spot hosts an open mic where you can hear up-and-coming and established singer-songwriters. Some of the biggest legends in country music have performed here, including Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, Taylor Swift, and Keith Urban. A typical nightly performance consists of a “songwriters in the round,” where three to four take turns playing their songs and accompanying each other instrumentally and with harmony vocals. This is another rec from Reese Witherspoon.

The crew from Country Strong kept raving about Noshville, a New York style deli. While GP never made it there, it's supposed to be the place for brunch, with a particularly standout veggie burger.