One of the most respected brew houses in the South, this downtown branch has around 75 beers on tap at any one time and an 18m (60ft) bar to accommodate those seeking out the perfect pint. To accompany the ales, they serve up original pizza recipes, including Cajun and brisket. The bar is especially busy whenever there's a local sports fixture, but it's worth the crush for the choice of drinks.

Despite essentially being a small drinking hole in a trailer, Losers Bar is the current favourite among the Nashville trendsetters. Selling itself on the simple premise of live music and cold beer, it's open every night until 0300 and is a fabulous place for people watching. With fun tunes and kitsch decor, Losers has quickly acquired itself celebrity regulars, so look out for a well-known country singer or one of the guys from Kings of Leon playing shuffleboard in the back.

Located in the trendy Gulch area, Patterson offers an elaborate selection of authentic cocktails poured over eight types of twice-filtered ice that are uniquely mixed with homemade syrups and bitters. The joint also offers a 15-item menu with everything priced under $11. Weekends are busy, so visit on a week night. Sit at the bar for the full experience.

If you want a bit of glamour mixed into your country, Pinewood Social is the place to be seen. More a cool community concept than just a bar, locals hang out all day at this former trolley barn where they pick between fab tiki cocktails or amazing Mexican food, a vintage bowling alley and karaoke. There are swimming pools and bocce ball courts as well as a drinks patio and an Airstream trailer bar.

Another original, low-key watering hole, the Rebar is where you'll find Nashville's young and hip hanging out over its famous Bushwacker cocktails - iced slush puppy drinks that are filled with booze. With happy hours lined up everyday of the week, the odd live gig and plenty of BBQ action during the summer months, this is how people party in Tennessee. It even has that favourite Southern pastime, corn hole (throwing bean bags at a raised platform), out on the front lawn.

Santa's Pub has quickly become a Nashville nighttime institution. This unique drinking den has to be experienced to be believed: the owner is a Santa lookalike who decided to open the doors of his double-wide trailer and offer karaoke and cheap beer (prices start at an unbeatable $2) every night to the city's party animals. A house band plays each Sunday evening and the only rule here is 'be nice.' Cash only.

Close to the stage door of the church-like Ryman Auditorium, musicians used to nip into Tootsie's Orchid Lounge for a drink between shows. Famous visitors have included Hank Williams, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristoffersen and there are lines of new bands and singers that play on the tiny Tootsie stage who are trying to emulate them. Adorned with old photos and homemade brews, this rough and ready boozer makes outsiders feel like locals, and locals feel like kings. No wonder it's been around for over 50 years.

This live music venue is the place for budding singers and songwriters to get noticed. Many musicians, including Garth Brooks, played here as virtual unknowns, and have gone on to fame and fortune as top recording artists. Around 100 people can fit into the performance room, so you could be rubbing shoulders with some high-flying music industry executives - but don't let that put you off.

One of the more unique institutions in town, the Wildhorse is famous for its line dancing nights and live bands playing around the clock. To celebrate its opening in 1994, a herd of live cattle was stampeded past the venue, but now hoards of people who storm to the converted historic warehouse. Strung out over three floors, this multi-purpose venue boasts the biggest restaurant and largest TV screen in the whole city. Arrive in the early evening for line dancing lessons.

Designed to emulate the perfect acoustics of European concert halls, this is the permanent home of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. The neoclassical building is a work of art in itself, featuring a custom-built pipe organ and versatile show space that can convert from raked to cabaret seating, or transform into a spectacular ballroom for world class performances.

While national touring companies fill the main stage, this locally respected troupe performs a wide range of material at either the James K Polk Theatre or the Andrew Johnson Theatre, in the same venue. The company prides itself on high standards and locally produced plays that utilise Nashville talent wherever possible.

One of the city's larger music venues, the Tennessee Performing Arts Centre hosts everything from big names through to honest-to-God legends of the country music scene and beyond. It occupies an entire city block and has four performance theatres, the biggest of which houses 2,400 people. The venue also hosts touring Broadway shows, plays, contemporary dance and just about any show big enough to pass through town.

Best known as the historic home of the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium first opened in 1892. The Opry was based here from 1934 until 1974, when it moved to its current home at Opryland Drive. The list of past performers here reads like a who's who of country music: essentially everyone from Elvis down. The venue seats 2,300 people and its church-like appearance serves it well as a place to worship country heroes.