Plan

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

Bright downtown espresso bar that takes the coffee seriously. It closes at 6, so plan an earlier stop.

Open until 6 PM

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

Built 1933 to 1934 as Nashville's main post office: cast aluminum doors and colored marble floors, Art Deco stonework throughout. Opened as an art museum in 2001. The building is worth the visit even without the exhibition. Closes at 5:30pm.

Thu to Mon, until 5:30 PM. Closed Tue and Wed

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

Founded 1879 by the Hatch brothers. 145 years old and still running letterpress presses, some over 100 years old. Created posters for Earl Scruggs and Led Zeppelin. Now inside the Country Music Hall of Fame complex. Thirty minutes here earns whatever comes after.

Open until 5 PM

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

Opened in 2021 at Fifth + Broadway, tracing more than 50 genres and sub-genres that African Americans created or shaped. Admission is free on the first Wednesday of each month.

Open until 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

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

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

The rooftop is the reason. Panoramic views of the Cumberland and Nissan Stadium, out over Riverfront Park, with retractable panels overhead. Best rooftop bar in Nashville per Nashville Scene readers. Sushi and Southern food on the same menu, which works better than it sounds.

Open late

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

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

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

Layla Vartanian opened it in 1997, the only female-owned independent bar on Lower Broadway. While everything around it plays country radio, Layla's books bluegrass, hillbilly, rockabilly, Americana. Vintage license plates on the ceiling. Better drink prices than anything near it.

Open late

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

The best honky-tonk on Lower Broadway. No cover. Whoever's playing is probably incredible.

Open late

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

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

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