Nashville
Downtown / Lower Broadway
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The honky-tonk epicentre — neon bars, live music seven nights a week, the Ryman, and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
The honky-tonk epicentre — neon-lit bars, live music seven nights a week, the Ryman Auditorium, Johnny Cash Museum and Country Music Hall of Fame all within a few blocks. The most convenient base but also the loudest and most expensive. Friday and Saturday nights are wall-to-wall bachelorette parties; Sunday to Thursday are significantly more manageable.
Scores
Walkability
Transit
Price
Local feel
Nightlife
Family-friendly
Centrality
What you gain
- ↑Lower Broadway's honky-tonks provide the finest live music access of any city in the world at zero cover charge: Robert's Western World, Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, and Legend's Corner have live bands seven days a week from noon onward, and the musicians are professionals playing for tips — the music quality significantly exceeds what the tourist context implies
- ↑The Country Music Hall of Fame is the finest dedicated music museum in America: 350,000 artefacts from Elvis's gold Cadillac to Taylor Swift's stage costumes, and the Hatch Show Print archive (the letterpress poster printer producing country music promotion since 1879)
- ↑The Ryman Auditorium — the original Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974 — is the finest listening room in America: the Victorian Gothic church building with extraordinary acoustics hosts 200+ shows per year across genres, and the history on the walls makes every performance feel significant
What you sacrifice
- ↓Lower Broadway is the most overtly touristy district in Nashville: the bachelor and bachelorette party economy dominates Thursday to Sunday, and the authentic Nashville of the recording industry has largely moved to other neighbourhoods
- ↓The noise level on Broadway from 7pm onward is extreme: accommodation within earshot of the strip is difficult to sleep in without ear protection on weekend nights, and the area attracts a significant volume of very intoxicated visitors
Best for
Avoid if
Other Nashville neighbourhoods
Nashville's upscale new neighbourhood — boutique hotels, rooftop bars, the What Lifts You mural, and 10 minutes from Broadway.
Nashville's oldest neighbourhood — restored Victorian homes, the finest restaurants in the city, and 20 minutes' walk from Broadway.
Nashville's most genuinely local neighbourhood — Five Points, indie music venues, craft beer, and a world apart from Broadway.
Know where to stay — now find when to go.
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