Downtown
Things to do in this neighborhood
Places
25 placesEverything we cover in Downtown, A to Z. Pick a stop for somewhere to be before or after.
Two dozen kitchens under one roof a block off Broadway. Useful when the group cannot agree or you need dinner without a reservation.
Open through dinner
Cocktail bar and restaurant at 218 3rd Avenue North, across from Printers Alley, in a building from the 1890s. The kitchen runs as late as the bar. Closed Sunday.
Until midnight, 1 AM Fri and Sat. Closed Sun
Bright downtown espresso bar that takes the coffee seriously. It closes at 6, so plan an earlier stop.
Open until 6 PM
A late bar at 210 Printers Alley inside the Dream Nashville hotel. Friday and Saturday only, 10 PM to 2 AM, with DJs rather than a band.
Fri and Sat, 10 PM to 2 AM
Local roaster Elegy's downtown counter, on the ground floor of an office tower on 4th Avenue North. Open 7 AM to 4 PM every day, so it works for a morning start or an afternoon break.
Open 7 AM to 4 PM daily
An English pub in the basement at 207 Printers Alley, with 14 beers on draft and a full food menu. It stays open later than almost anything else within walking distance.
Open until 1 AM, 3 AM Fri to Sun
All-day cafe on Rep. John Lewis Way North. Coffee from 7 AM, plus breakfast, lunch and dinner, with beer and wine. Table service and enough space to sit for a while.
Opens at 7 AM
Opened in 2013 at 119 3rd Avenue South, built around Bill Miller's private collection of Cash artifacts. Open 9 AM to 7 PM daily, later than most museums downtown.
Open 9 AM to 7 PM daily
Old-school counter-service downtown. A simple, good ice cream stop.
Open daily
On the ground floor of the Municipal Auditorium at 401 Gay Street. It honors the session players and backing bands behind the records rather than the names on the label.
Mon to Sat, 10 AM to 5 PM
The main library at 615 Church Street reopened in March 2026 after a nine-month closure caused by a fire in the garage next door. Free to walk in. A permanent civil rights exhibit overlooks the corner of Church and 7th, where Nashville's 1960 lunch counter sit-ins were organized.
Mon to Fri 9 AM to 6 PM, Sat to 5 PM, Sun 2 to 5 PM
A lawn and walking path in front of the Metro Courthouse at Union and 3rd, built on top of a parking garage. Fountains, an observation deck over the Cumberland, and benches. Free.
Open daily
Restaurant and bar with live music upstairs on weekends. A reliable sit-down dinner before a bigger show a few blocks away.
Open through dinner
Rooftop bar on top of the Noelle hotel at 200 4th Avenue North, looking out over the Cumberland and the AT&T tower. Draft and frozen cocktails. It closes at 10 PM, so it suits a show that ends early.
Open until 10 PM
Candy shop at 310 Broadway known for pralines and fudge. Open 9:30 AM to 10 PM every day, later than most of the shops on the strip.
Open 9:30 AM to 10 PM daily
222 Printers Alley, basement of the Southern Turf Building. Skull Schulman opened it in 1948. Elvis and Johnny Cash came through. Burlesque twice nightly Thursday through Sunday. Nashville's only downtown jazz lounge. The checkerboard stage is original.
Open late
A 38-seat diner at 107 3rd Avenue South themed around the Sun Records artists. Breakfast and lunch only, 7 AM to 3 PM every day.
Open 7 AM to 3 PM daily
Finished in 1859 to a design by William Strickland, who died during construction and is entombed in the north wall. Free guided tours run hourly on weekdays from the first-floor information desk. James K. Polk is buried on the grounds.
Mon to Fri, 9 AM to 4 PM
Six floors at 200 3rd Avenue South, with a menu that runs from breakfast plates to steaks, oysters and sushi. Each floor looks out over downtown.
Until 11 PM, 2 AM Fri and Sat
A cafe from Jean-Georges Vongerichten with its own street entrance at 6th and Union, inside the Hermitage Hotel, which opened in 1910. Barista bar and pastries in the morning, small plates and cocktails in the evening.
Open 6 AM to 9 PM daily
Dinner in an 1840s Italianate townhouse on Rosa L. Parks Boulevard. Prime steaks and seafood, Monday through Saturday from 5 PM. Reservations are worth making.
Mon to Sat, 5 to 9 PM
Three floors on Broadway at Fifth: a bar at street level, a supper club above it, and a rooftop on top. The rooftop is the reason to go.
Until 11 PM, 1 AM Fri and Sat