After lunch, experience Tennessee’s natural beauty by renting a bike near Shelby Park. From there, cruise the Shelby Bottoms Greenway for an hourlong forested ride along the river to the imposing Percy Priest Dam. Return to the center for happy hour at The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club. With 1920s speakeasy vibes, it dazzles with inventive drinks like the Ghost Beach (sake, lemongrass, yuzu and a briny “beach bitters,” topped with saltwater foam).

Nashville-native Margot McCormack worked as a line cook while in college before eventually becoming one of the city’s most celebrated chefs. In 2001 she transformed a derelict 1930s gas station into her Margot Cafe and Bar, preserving the building’s original charm while serving French-inspired dishes. In the Five Points enclave a beloved hole-in-the-wall, The 5 Spot, where stars appear as often in the audience as on stage, has hosted folk, hip-hop and Motown artists for nearly two decades. Finally, the neighborhood’s creative spirit shines in its annual Tomato Art Fest, a quirky harvest-time celebration that embraces the tomato’s ambiguous identity (Fruit? Vegetable? Both?) as a metaphor for unity, capturing the community’s inclusive, artistic soul.