Nashville, Tennessee
Music City, still writing the songs while the cranes go up
Nashville is Tennessee's capital and the centre of the country-music business, a city that has doubled its ambitions in a generation without quite deciding what it wants to be. It is friendlier than it needs to be and busier than it used to be.
James Robertson and John Donelson led settlers to the bluffs of the Cumberland River in the winter of 1779–80 and built Fort Nashborough, named for the Revolutionary general Francis Nash; the town became Tennessee's permanent capital in 1843. It fell to Union forces early in the Civil War, in 1862, and stayed occupied, which spared it the ruin other Southern cities suffered and left it a railway and printing hub. Religious publishing, insurance and the universities earned it the 'Athens of the South' nickname and a full-size Parthenon, built for the 1897 centennial exposition. The music came later: WSM's Grand Ole Opry broadcast from 1925, the studios on Music Row from the 1950s. The lunch-counter sit-ins of 1960 made it an early, and relatively peaceful, front of the civil-rights movement. Since around 2010 it has been one of the fastest-growing metros in the United States.
The Cumberland loops through the middle, and downtown sits on its west bank: the honky-tonks of Lower Broadway, the Ryman Auditorium, the state capitol on its hill and the Country Music Hall of Fame. The Gulch, just south-west, is the glass-and-brunch district built on old rail yards; Music Row, further out along 16th and 17th Avenues, is where the labels and studios still are, though the bungalows keep coming down. Midtown and Hillsboro Village belong to Vanderbilt; 12 South, Germantown and East Nashville — across the river, a different city in temperament — are where people under forty live. Beyond the inner ring the county is the city: Nashville and Davidson County merged in 1963, so the suburbs, the airport and a good deal of farmland are all technically Nashville, and interstates 24, 40 and 65 tie it together in a knot downtown.
Country music is the industry but not the whole story. The city has a serious songwriting culture — writers' rounds at the Bluebird Café, where the audience is expected to keep quiet — and a rock, Americana and gospel scene around it, with Jack White's Third Man Records and the Fisk Jubilee Singers at opposite ends. Hot chicken is the signature dish, invented at Prince's and now everywhere; meat-and-three cafeterias and biscuits are the everyday food, and the restaurant scene has grown with the money. The Predators fill Bridgestone Arena for hockey, the Titans play in the NFL at Nissan Stadium while a new domed stadium goes up next door, and Nashville SC has a purpose-built soccer ground at the fairgrounds. It is a churchgoing city — the Southern Baptist Convention and dozens of denominational headquarters are here — and a hard-drinking one, and both are sincere.
The hard parts are growth and what it costs. House prices have roughly doubled in a decade, the traffic is bad and the transit is thin — voters rejected a rail plan in 2018 and only approved a bus-and-sidewalks programme in 2024 — so a car is close to essential. The bachelorette parties on Lower Broadway are a civic joke that stopped being funny to the people who live nearby. Tennessee's politics are firmly conservative and the state legislature overrides the liberal city often; the summers are hot and humid, and tornadoes are a genuine spring hazard. What it offers is a mid-sized, warm, affordable-by-coastal-standards city with live music on every corner, a strong job market in healthcare and entertainment, and hills, lakes and the Smokies within a few hours' drive.
Where People Live
Downtown & Lower Broadway
The honky-tonks, the Ryman, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the state capitol on its hill. Tourists, bachelorette parties and Predators crowds; locals pass through on the way to somewhere else.
The Gulch
Old rail yards turned into hotels, rooftop bars and the mural everyone queues for — and the Station Inn, the bluegrass room that survived it all.
East Nashville
Across the river around Five Points: musicians, coffee, dive bars, record shops and Shelby Park on the Cumberland. The city's Brooklyn, with the same complaints about rent.
12 South & Belmont
A boutique-and-mural strip that draws Instagram traffic, Belmont University's campus and Sevier Park. Pleasant, and expensive for what it is.
Midtown & Hillsboro Village
Vanderbilt's campus and hospital, the Parthenon in Centennial Park, the Belcourt cinema and the edge of Music Row. Students and medical staff.
Germantown
Brick 19th-century streets north of downtown with some of the best restaurants, the Saturday farmers' market and the Sounds' ballpark at First Horizon Park.
Nolensville Pike & Antioch
The immigrant south: Kurdish (said to be the largest community in the country), Mexican, Vietnamese and Ethiopian, in strip malls with the best cheap food in the city.
Must-see attractions
Grand Ole Opry
2804 Opryland Drive Nashville, TN 37214
Eat & drink
Hattie B's
Restaurant
Jason Aldean's Kitchen + Rooftop Bar
Restaurant
Martin's Ber-B-Que
Restaurant
Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, Nashville
Restaurant
The Stage on Broadway
Bar — 412 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
Acme Feed & Seed
Bar — 101 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201
Restaurants & places to go
Redneck Riviera
John Rich, Big & Rich · redneckrivieranashville.com
Slumerican
barbershops, retailers · slumerican.com
Airports
Nashville International Airport (BNA) 5.5 mi to the centre
Nashville, TN, US — You board from the indoor waiting area — no need to plan for the weather. ✈ 14 airlines (Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, US Airways…) · direct flights to 47 destinations incl. Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Denver… (OpenFlights route data).
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 14 airlines, 47 direct destinations
- Southwest Airlines WN (737-700, 73C, 737-300, 737-800, 735, 737-800) · 30 routes: Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Greenville, Houston, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Newark, Orlando, Panama City, Pensacola, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh-durham, San Antonio, San Diego, St. Louis, Tampa
- American Airlines AA (737-800, CRJ-700, ERJ-145, CRJ, A319, ERD…) · 9 routes: Charlotte, Chicago*, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York*, New York*, Philadelphia, Washington
- Delta Air Lines DL (CRJ-900, 737-800, A320, CRJ, A319, 717…) · 9 routes: Atlanta, Cincinnati*, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis*, New York*, New York*, Orlando*, Salt Lake City*
- US Airways US (737-800, CRJ-700, ERJ-145, CRJ, A319, MD-80…) · 9 routes: Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York*, New York, Philadelphia, Washington
- AirTran Airways FL (737-700, 737-300, 735, 737-800, 73C) · 8 routes: Baltimore*, Charleston*, Chicago*, Houston*, Orlando*, Pittsburgh*, Providence, Tampa*
- United Airlines UA (ERJ, CRJ) · 6 routes: Chicago*, Cleveland*, Denver*, Houston*, Newark*, Washington*
- Alaska Airlines AS (737-800, A319, A320, 717, MD-88) · 2 routes: Atlanta*, Los Angeles*
- Frontier Airlines F9 (A319, A320) · 2 routes: Denver, Trenton
- SeaPort Airlines K5 (CNC) · 2 routes: Athens, Jackson
- Air Canada AC (CRJ) · 1 route: Toronto*
- Air France AF (A319, A320, 717, MD-88) · 1 route: Atlanta*
- Alitalia AZ (717, MD-88) · 1 route: Atlanta*
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL (A319, A320, 717, 737-800, MD-88) · 1 route: Atlanta*
- Virgin Atlantic Airways VS (A319, A320, 717, 737-800, MD-88) · 1 route: Atlanta*
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Smyrna/Rutherford County Airport (MQY) 17 mi to the centre
278 Doug Warpoole Rd, Smyrna, TN 37167 — Indoor waiting areas, but some gates board by bus or on foot across the apron — plan for the weather on the day.
John C Tune Airport 6.8 mi to the centre
Nashville, TN, US
Oakley Airport 10 mi to the centre
Nashville, TN, US
Powder Mill Field 19 mi to the centre
Ashland City, TN, US
Local transit
WeGo
Bus · Nashville's bus network from WeGo Central downtown. · Fares: QuickTicket app · Airport: WeGo bus 18 from the airport
Trains & rail
Amtrak
National rail
Coaches & shuttles
Greyhound
Intercity coach
Jefferson Lines
Intercity coach
MegaBus
Intercity coach
Trailways
Intercity coach
Private aviation
On-demand charter, jet cards and the semi-private scheduled carriers that serve this city.
Aero
Semi-private scheduled · Embraer 135 (16 seats) · First-class-only scheduled flights from Van Nuys to Aspen, Sun Valley, Cabo and Europe in summer.
Clay Lacy Aviation
Charter, management, FBO · Managed fleet, light to ultra-long-range · Charter, management and FBOs at Van Nuys and Orange County; the original Hollywood jet operator.
Surf Air
Semi-private scheduled · Pilatus PC-12, King Air · Subscription and per-seat regional flights in California, Texas and Hawaii.
Airshare
Fractional, jet card · Embraer Phenom 300, Challenger 350 · Fractional and jet card programme centred on the US Midwest and East.
XO
Charter, shared flights · Light to large-cabin via partner fleet · Vista Global's on-demand charter and by-the-seat shared flights, app-based.
Tours & experiences
Old Town Trolley Tours Nashville
Bus Tour
Historic Tours of Nashville
Cultural
Living Here
Getting about
- WeGo Public Transit runs the buses from the WeGo Central station downtown and the WeGo Star commuter train to Lebanon; pay with the QuickTicket app or card. Service is honest but thin outside the core, and most residents drive.
- Nashville International (BNA) is around 15 minutes east of downtown on I-40; WeGo route 18 runs there, or take a rideshare. There is no passenger rail to other cities — Greyhound and Megabus fill in, and Atlanta, Memphis and Louisville are each about three hours by road.
- Downtown, the Gulch and Germantown are walkable; the rest of the city is not built for it. BCycle bike share exists and the greenways along the Cumberland and through Shelby Bottoms are good riding.
- Interstates 24, 40 and 65 converge downtown and the rush-hour knot is the daily complaint; scooters and pedal taverns are the downtown hazards to watch for.
Health
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the region's leading hospital and Level 1 trauma centre, with Monroe Carell Jr Children's Hospital alongside; TriStar Centennial and Ascension Saint Thomas are the other big systems. Nashville is home to HCA and much of the US hospital industry.
- Dial 911. Walgreens and CVS are everywhere; urgent-care clinics handle minor problems without an appointment.
- Visitors need travel insurance — American hospital bills are large. Heat and humidity are real from June to September, and spring brings tornado warnings; take the sirens seriously and know where the interior room is.
Work & study
- Vanderbilt is the research university and the largest private employer; Belmont, Lipscomb, Tennessee State (the historically Black land-grant university), Fisk and Meharry Medical College add a big student population.
- Healthcare is the biggest industry — HCA and dozens of hospital companies are headquartered here — then music and entertainment, tourism, finance (AllianceBernstein moved its head office from New York), publishing and a growing tech and automotive presence.
- Tennessee has no state income tax on wages, which is part of the draw; sales tax is high to make up for it. Hospitality wages lean on tips.
Money & manners
- US dollars; cards everywhere. Tip 20% in restaurants, a dollar or two a drink, and put cash in the band's bucket — the musicians on Broadway are mostly playing for it.
- Combined sales tax is around 9.75%, added at the register. Southern manners apply: 'sir', 'ma'am' and 'y'all' are normal, strangers talk to you, and impatience reads as rudeness.
- Summers are hot and humid; spring and autumn are the good seasons; winters are short, with the occasional ice storm that shuts everything for a day. It is a Bible Belt city with a loud nightlife, and both are sincere.