On our recent trip to Nashville for a friend’s wedding, my husband and I wanted to do some exploring outside the city. Having been to Nashville before and doing many of the popular tourist activities, we were looking for something different. Franklin, TN is about 30 minutes south of Nashville and is a quaint town full of shops, restaurants and plenty of historic buildings. Here are our favorite places:

Main Street– Franklin is a town of about 69,000 people and the 16 block Main Street is the hub of most of the activity. As you can see from our pictures, we had a warm and sunny October day to explore the shops and history of the town.

Historic Churches– As we were strolling around the historic center of Franklin, we kept stumbling upon beautiful churches. Most of them were established in the early to mid-1800’s and are still active congregations to this day.

White’s Mercantile– Along with being one of the most aesthetically appealing shops on Main Street, White’s Mercantile had unique goods, a good portion of them being locally made.

Puckett’s Restaurant and Grocery– There is actually another location in Nashville as well, but the food at Puckett’s Restaurant was delicious! Unfortunately I don’t have a picture of the sliders my husband and I ordered for lunch (I think we were so excited to eat them, I forgot :)). I highly recommend the brisket, pulled pork and pulled chicken sliders complete with Puckett’s BBQ sauce. An added bonus is the food is very reasonably priced.

The Factory at Franklin– Located several miles outside of Franklin, this is both a retail and entertainment complex that is on the National Register of Historic Places. There are several event rental areas, a theater, and the main building consisting of unique shops and restaurants. There is a Jeni’s Ice Cream shop, a brand that originated in Columbus, Ohio and is well-known for its unique and absolutely delicious flavors!

Five Daughter’s Bakery– This bakery is also located at the Factory at Franklin and uses organic and locally sourced ingredients. We tried two of their croissant donuts, the chocolate chip cookie dough and pumpkin cheesecake, both of which were amazing!

Bonus: Arrington Vineyards– Although not technically in Franklin, this vineyard is owned by Kix Brooks of the country duo Brooks and Dunn and is located about 20 minutes outside of Franklin. They have several tasting options including a traditional one in the tasting room and then a picnic tasting which is what we chose. This includes 4 wines, each a 2 ounce pour that you can take outside to one of the picnic tables overlooking the vineyards. Even though we visited the winery on a Friday around 1 pm, it was already very busy.

Thanks to the close proximity to Nashville, it is possible to spend a relaxing day in Franklin without missing out on the nightlife of Broadway in Music City, USA.