Where can I bar hop without hopping in and out of a car?

That's easy. You walk. You have eight different neighborhoods to try, all of which offer walkable distances between bars.

Circuit 1: Second Avenue

If Girls Gone Wild came to Nashville, they would visit Second Avenue. On the weekend, it's flooded with people, most of whom are college students looking for mass quantities of alcohol. Buffalo Billiards and Havana Lounge are popular destinations for Vandy folks. Graham Central Station has mediocre dance music, cheap drinks and a karaoke bar. If you bring a bunch of friends, you'll have a fun time. For those who want to party like spring break at Cancun never ended, Hurricane's is the place to be. If Nashville's bar scene is too tame for you, try NV, a New York-style nightclub with a dress code that forbids T-shirts and sports gear (see Music & Nightlife for more information). For Irish pub lovers, Mulligan's offers live music, board games and darts. Some people also like the Beer Sellar, which has an extensive selection of brews, although they're not necessarily all in stock.

Circuit 2: Lower Broadway

First and foremost, visit Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, a bar so famous that it's actually a Trivial Pursuit question. Tootsie's was the place to be in the 1960s when bigwigs such as Willie Nelson and Patsy Cline frequented the joint. Not much has changed since the bar's heyday, and customers like it that way. Tootsie's is the bright purple building on Broadway. Inside the bar, you'll find a haze of smoke, walls lined with autographed photos of famous visitors and live music every day of the week.

Just a few doors down is Robert's Western World. Popular with both locals and tourists, this bar features some of Nashville's best rockabilly and traditional country music, seven nights a week. After Tootsies and Robert's, stop by Wolfy's, Legends and Rippy's, three other staple Nashville bars full of lively Southern flavor.

Circuit 3: Midtown (Upper Broadway/Division)

Ken's Sushi is mostly a restaurant, but the folks there also offer some mean sake bombs. Start out at Ken's and then make your way over to Broadway Brewhouse for a selection of ice cold beer that will blow you away. If you're up for more, try Mojo Grill, the Cajun restaurant right behind the Brewhouse. Just a block away on the corner of 19th and Division is The Red Door Saloon, a trendy new hangout that's more sophisticated than the bars along Broadway and Second Avenue. Most of the patrons are yuppie singles meeting for drinks after work. The Red Door lacks a sign out front, but the cocktails are worth the search. Oh, and the decor is pretty cool; there are doors on the ceiling. End your night at Virago, which offers a superb late night menu to go with its hip atmosphere.

Circuit 4: Music Row & Demonbreun

You should begin at Two Doors Down, an upscale sports bar that features Ms. Pac Man, pool tables, darts, foosball, a 46-inch plasma TV and live music. The VIP room has leather couches and a Sony flat screen. Next up is the Tin Roof, with musical acts that successfully mix Music Row faces and college students in their audiences. Chi-Town is a decent piano bar with no Chicago-specific atmosphere, but it's a nice place nonetheless. After that, try Dan McGuinness, an Irish pub that serves classic fish and chips to go with the lager. And just so you know, the street is pronounced "Duh-mun-brie-uhn" not "Demon-broon." Say it wrong, and you'll look like a tourist.

Circuit 5: Elliston Place

Start your night of drinking and debauchery with a good, healthy meal: greasy burgers and cold beers at Rotier's. Then make your way down the street to Exit/In and The End, two popular concert venues. The End is also a bar, so you can sit down and knock back a few more beers while you listen to some good rock 'n' roll. When you're done, stagger over to the Sherlock Holmes Pub, the English drinking establishment sure to please any Anglophile. Afterward, try Gold Rush, the former dive bar turned trendy nightspot. It's open every day until 3 a.m., after which you'll have to spend the night at Café Coco, one of Nashville's few 24-hour eateries. Café Coco offers some quality food, but if you wait it out, you can hit Krispy Kreme when it opens at 5:30 a.m..

Circuit 6: Hillsboro Village

Because it's so close to Vanderbilt and Belmont, college kids overrun nearly all the bars in Hillsboro Village, especially Thursday through Saturday. Start with a cocktail at Jackson's. The martinis are served with a shaker that gives you two drinks for the price of one, but other drinks can get pricey. If you want dinner while you drink, try Boscos, one of Nashville's few microbreweries. We recommend the wood-fired pizzas. Next, try Sam's Sports Bar and Grill, which is standing-room-only on two-for-one nights. Sam's is a typical college sports bar, but the servers are friendly, and the mozzarella sticks are sinfully delicious. Finally, end your night the right way: at the Villager Tavern, a classic bar famous for its darts, foosball sharks, po' boy sandwiches and fiercely loyal clientele. Although it looks like a typical Southern bar, the Villager is known to play entire Beastie Boys or Radiohead albums to please the collegiate clientele. Will you become a follower of the Villager cult? There's only one way to find out.

Circuit 7: East Nashville

The Cumberland River is not an ocean; if you want to familiarize yourself with Nashville, you're going to have to cross it sooner or later. East Nashville has a reputation for being "the bad part of town," but, like most reputations, its ferocity is largely exaggerated. In fact, new restaurants and bars are multiplying at record levels in East Nashville, especially around Woodland Street. The Alley Cat is a former body shop turned neighborhood bar, with red painted concrete walls and an old Victrola instead of a live musical act. The entrance to the Alley Cat is, fittingly, in an alley. Another great spot is Beyond the Edge, a bar dedicated to extreme sports. Snowboards and skis line the walls, and the food fits the active lifestyle: healthy salads and veggie wraps dominate the menu. The 5 Spot on Forrest Avenue has New Orleans-inspired food. The vinyl records on the walls can be taken down and spun on request. Further down Woodland, the Lipstick Lounge provides a self-described "female friendly" environment (read that, lesbian bar with all kinds of clientele) full of live jazz and top shelf martinis. There are also the new 3 Crow Bar at 11th Street and Woodland and Red Door Saloon East at 12th Street and Forrest.

Circuit 8: Murfreesboro

Depending on the night, start off with some beers at The Boro. Make your way over to Bluesboro on the square and have a few more. Be sure to stop by the MTSU favorite, Gentleman Jim's, where on Thursday you can get a half-gallon jug of beer for $2.50. You can also visit The Inferno, which can get pretty rough, especially in the summer when college is out. But if you want to experiment in some local culture, give it a try. You can also go to Chili's, which on Thursday offers two-for-one specials on almost everything. Another favorite is La Siesta, where you can sit on the patio and drink the best margarita in Murfreesboro. The All American Sports Bar was a lot more fun to go to when it was a cigar bar called Puffin' Billy's, but it still has a two-for-one pitcher night that makes the new, boring name worthwhile. After all the bars have closed, stop by Davis Market, the hippie center of universe, and pick up a 12-pack of any imported beer and take the party home. There's a local myth that if you go inside, you'll never leave Middle Tennessee; you'll eventually come back to die.

What about pool halls?

Most bars have a pool table hidden somewhere, so you don't have to search hard to find a place to play. But if you're looking for a serious marathon, the H-Cue's Upstairs Poolroom above Pizza Perfect near Vanderbilt rents its four tables by the hour, except for Sunday, when pool is free. Despite its popularity, Buffalo Billiards on Second Avenue doesn't draw many serious players. The scene is mostly college kids who shoot a game or two while they drink beer. For the professional shark, the JOB Billiard Club in Madison sponsors tournaments every week and brings in pros every month. Or try George's Elliston Place Pool Hall, where the locals hang out and have a good time. MTSU students go to the The Boro and the Murfreesboro Billiard Club.

Where is the scene to be seen?

These days, BarTwenty3 seems to be on everyone's mind. This chic two-story bar features modern furniture and a stark, white-and-gray color scheme that seems more New York City than Nashville. There is neither a television nor a stage, so you'll actually have to interact with people. DJs spin music, but they keep the volume low so you can carry on a conversation.

If you party with the Second Avenue crowd, Buffalo Billiards and Havana Lounge will become your weekend home. Half of Vanderbilt is packed into these establishments on Thursdays. This may or may not be a good thing. If you're gay, or friends with the gay crowd, you absolutely have to check out Tribe on Wednesdays, The Chute on Fridays and The Connection on Saturdays.

What if we're throwing the party?

Nashville has the best liquor store names around: J. Barleycorn's, Frugal MacDoogal's and Mr. Whiskers are just some of the great alcohol giants in the Bible Belt. If you've got a lot of money to spend, then you probably won't mind the mark-ups at the liquor stores around campus. If you're on a budget, though, your best bet is Frugal MacDoogal's at 701 Division. J. Barleycorn's on Harding Place carries just about anything you could want. Mr. Whiskers on White Bridge Road is a bit smaller, but the prices are reasonable and the staff is more than willing to help you pick out a wine. If you need a keg, try JJ's Market. In Murfreesboro, go to Davis Market.