From amazing food to swanky hotels and electrifying sport - discovering that you don't HAVE to be into country music to enjoy a visit to Nashville (but it helps!)

'Have you ever visited Nashville before?' a man shouts out above deafening rock music.

We’re on the top floor of The Stage, one of the honky-tonk bars on Lower Broadway. Live music bellows out behind us, and he struggles to hear my response over the band's frontman, whose banter is almost as loud as his ego. He spends more time fixing his hair than singing.

I tell him it’s my first time in the city and, in fact, my first time in the U.S. 'What took you so long?' he asks. It’s a question I'm still struggling to answer, as I reflect on a long weekend in Nashville - a place I was more than reluctant to leave.

My preconceptions of the city extended no further than images of flashing lights, studded cowboy boots and fringe leather jackets, with these visions exacerbated by listening to an entire Dolly Parton album on the flight over.

I knew it was nicknamed 'Music City', due to its long and influential history in the music industry, but I assumed this began and ended with country tunes. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

MailOnline Travel's Jess Hamilton reflects on a whirlwind weekend in 'Music City'. The verdict? There's more to it than honky-tonk bars and country music. Pictured above is Broadway in Downtown Nashville

Jess describes Nashville's mismatched architecture as both 'obnoxious and alluring'

'I knew it was nicknamed "Music City", but I assumed it began and ended with country tunes,' Jess writes 

Although a medium-sized city, Nashville’s spirit is extra-large. This is evident in its startling skyline, with towering glass skyscrapers standing next to giant red brick warehouses along the Cumberland River.

The mismatch of architecture is simultaneously obnoxious and alluring, a theme which is echoed throughout my visit and perhaps most apparent on Broadway, an area covered in neon signs, cowboy boot sellers and hot chicken eateries.

Amidst this lively scene, it's evident why Nashville has attracted some of the world’s great artists, from Elvis Presley and Elton John to Aretha Franklin and Adele, who have all recorded here. The distinguished guitar brand, Gibson, set up its headquarters here. It’s where Jimi Hendrix 'really' learnt to play guitar, and music legends, including Keith Urban, have chosen to call home.

'Everyone is a musician in Nashville,' I learn on a tour of the Musicians Halls of Fame Museum, and its live music scene certainly affirms it. Despite boozy buses that trawl the city centre and hoards of hen parties, there’s overwhelming talent downtown.

'Everyone is a musician in Nashville,' Jess learns on a tour of the Musicians Hall of Fame Museum (above)

The 56,000-square-foot National Museum of African American Music (above) does a lot to celebrate Nashville's diverse music scene, writes Jess

A visit to Nashville isn't complete without seeing a show at the Grand Ole Opry 

Country music mecca: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Swiftication: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is home to myriad Taylor Swift items. Jess is pictured above with a replica of the mega-star's tour bus

Noteworthy: Guitars on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame

The historic Hatch Show Print shop inside the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum 

The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) is another space that celebrates Nashville’s rich musical scene. The 56,000-square-foot museum, 20 years and $60million (£48million) in the making, showcases the many music genres created, influenced and inspired by African Americans. I could have easily spent all day wandering its interactive exhibits, exploring centuries of music history.

Of course, Nashville can't deny its country roots and lots of spaces embrace it, including one of the hotels I stay at, the swanky Bobby Hotel on historic Printers Alley, which carries a country theme throughout. The city’s most famous singer, Dolly Parton, looms large in the lobby, where a shrine-like poster in her honour sits above two stylish (yet uncomfortable) egg chairs.

In my room at the nine-story property, the wardrobe is adorned with drawings of items such as cowboy boots and acoustic guitars - signposting to guests where they should place their souvenirs.

The homage to the genre continues at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which is home to a wall of platinum country records, Elvis’s gold-plated Cadillac and various artefacts from Nashville’s sweetheart, Taylor Swift, including her original 'sparkle' guitar, encrusted with Swarovski crystals and rhinestones. 

Above is a wall of gold and platinum records in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Jess went to a Nashville Predators ice hockey game, which she describes as 'electrifying'

Jess stayed at the Bobby Hotel, at the heart of Nashville’s Downtown Arts District

The nine-story Bobby Hotel has a country theme running throughout

One of the public spaces at Bobby Hotel, which features a huge chandelier

The outdoor pool at Bobby Hotel, which is located on historic Printers Alley

In Jess's Bobby Hotel room the wardrobe is adorned with drawings of items such as cowboy boots and acoustic guitars - signposting to guests where they should place their souvenirs 

Jess is pictured beneath an angelic image of Dolly Parton in an 'uncomfortable egg chair' in Bobby Hotel

There's no doubt a visit to Nashville wouldn't be complete without seeing a show at the Grand Ole Opry, the world’s longest-running live radio show, which has been on air for nearly a century, or touring the Ryman Auditorium, where the live broadcast began. But if you’re coming solely for the country music, you’re missing out.

It’s not just the music scene that’s big in Nashville, sport is huge - my group goes to a Nashville Predators ice hockey game and the atmosphere was electric - and the food servings are massive, too. While trying everything from 'Daddy's Dogs', an oversized hot dog, to the city’s famous hot chicken, I discovered that food is definite source of pride in the southern city.

In Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint, a rustic eatery in the heart of downtown, a thick cloud of smoke billowed out from the kitchen across the restaurant, making my eyes - and mouth - water. After demolishing a plate of chicken wings covered in Alabama white sauce, I indulged in the BBQ beef brisket with a side of mac-n-cheese. I left defeated and longing for an extra stomach.

At Sinema, a stunning brunch spot housed in a former theatre, bowls of grits, gravy-covered biscuits and cinnamon-roll pancakes are placed in front of you before you’ve even looked at the menu.

Pictured above is Sinema, a 'stunning brunch spot' located in a former theatre

At the Nashvillian restaurant chain 'Biscuit Love', Jess tucked into some hot chicken 

Then there's the progressiveness - Nashville is more diverse than you might think.

In East Nashville most people have nose piercings and shaggy mullets and the vibrant and youthful area is bursting with fusion restaurants, upbeat bars and artistic cafes.

Similarly, 12 South, a leafy neighbourhood outside the bustling centre, offers a host of unique local shops, vintage clothing stores, and boutique pop-up shops. 

At Diskin Cider, in Wedgewood-Houston, or 'WeHo', anyone is welcome. Nashville’s first craft cidery is a generous donor to the LGBT Chamber of Commerce and has previously hosted burlesque shows and drag brunches, with performances from 'The Diskin Divas', a group of local drag queens.

Located in an old semi-truck garage, there’s plenty of room to relax and enjoy their 'dangerously good cider'. My personal favourites were the 'Mayor Berry', a mix of blueberry and lavender, and the 'Lil' Blondie', a classic apple flavour.

As I bid farewell to the man at The Stage bar, I knew that while this was my first time in Nashville, it wouldn’t be my last. 

Drawn in by loud music and bright lights, I found myself not only wanting to stay for that, but everything else too.