10 Luxury Hotels Near Broadway in Nashville: Close to the Bars, Not Above Them

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Don’t book a room on the honky-tonk strip. Lower Broadway runs loud on weekend nights, and the bass carries up into hotel rooms. Sleep a few blocks off it instead. Here’s where I’d book, and the room to ask for at each.

Broadway Hotels

Quietest Places to Stay Near Lower Broadway

The honky-tonks run along Lower Broadway between 1st and 5th Avenue, and the bands play until the bars close in the small hours. How well you sleep comes down to which direction you walk home.

• North Toward the Capitol: Union Street and 6th Avenue North sit a few blocks up from the strip, in the business district around the State Capitol, and the streets there go quiet at night. The Hermitage Hotel and Fairlane Hotel Nashville are both up here.
• Printers Alley Is the Exception: The alley runs one block north of Broadway and has late bars of its own. Hotels with windows on the alley pick up the weekend noise, so heading north only helps if you’re not sleeping right above it.
• What Does South of Broadway Trade for Quiet? The side streets around Music City Center and the Country Music Hall of Fame keep you a short walk from the bars without putting you on the strip itself. The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Nashville, Omni Nashville Hotel, JW Marriott Nashville, 1 Hotel Nashville and Four Seasons Hotel Nashville all sit south of Broadway.
• Head West Toward the Gulch: Grand Hyatt Nashville and The Union Station Nashville Yards, Autograph Collection face each other at 10th Avenue, roughly halfway between the honky-tonk blocks and the Gulch. The Gulch itself, home to Thompson Nashville, by Hyatt, has a laid-back feel and stays calmer at night than downtown.

Getting Back From Broadway Late at Night

Weekend nights on Lower Broadway end with a big crowd all trying to leave at once. Plan the trip home before you head out.

• Walk a Block Before You Call a Ride: Pickups on Broadway itself get chaotic late on weekend nights. Walk a block or two off Broadway first, then request your car.
• Prices Jump After Big Shows: Rideshare fares surge when a stadium concert or major event lets out downtown. On those nights, either book your ride before the crowd spills out or stay close enough to walk.
• Which Hotels Can You Walk Back To? From the strip, it’s a straight walk south to The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Nashville on Korean Veterans Boulevard and Omni Nashville Hotel on 5th Avenue South. The Hermitage Hotel sits a few blocks north on 6th Avenue North.

Do You Need a Car Near Broadway?

No. Downtown, SoBro and the Gulch are all walkable, so a car spends most of the trip parked.

• From BNA to Downtown: The drive on I-40 takes 15 to 25 minutes outside rush hour. Rideshare pickups are on Level 1 of the terminal garage, so head there before you request a car.
• WeGo’s Route 18 Costs the Least: The Route 18 bus runs from the airport to WeGo Central downtown. It’s slower than a car, but it’s the cheapest way in.
• Bringing a Car Anyway? Self-park in a garage near Music City Center instead of using hotel valet, which costs well above garage rates downtown.

Is Midtown or West End Walkable to Broadway?

Broadway keeps its name for well over a mile west of the honky-tonks. A Broadway address doesn’t mean a short walk to the bars.

• Hotels in the 1800 and 2000 Blocks: Hotel Fraye Nashville, Curio Collection By Hilton at 1810 Broadway sits in the Music Row area, and Kimpton Aertson Hotel by IHG is further out at 2021 Broadway. Both are more than a mile from the honky-tonk blocks in a straight line, and further on foot.
• West End Is Its Own Neighborhood: Conrad Nashville at 1620 West End Avenue sits 1.1 miles from Broadway, closer to Music Row and Vanderbilt University than to the honky-tonks.
• Plan on a Ride Each Way: From these blocks, the bars are a rideshare away rather than a stroll. The ride home lands in the same late-night rush as everyone leaving Broadway.

Walking to the Ryman, Nissan Stadium and East Nashville

Downtown’s biggest venues are all a walk from the hotels, including the stadium across the river.

• The Ryman Sits Just Off the Strip: The Ryman Auditorium is a few steps from Lower Broadway, across the alley from Robert’s Western World on the 400 block. A show there and a night in the honky-tonks fit easily into the same evening.
• Crossing the River to Nissan Stadium: The John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge starts near 3rd Avenue South and crosses the Cumberland River to the East Bank, where Nissan Stadium sits. On Titans game days, fans stream across it from downtown.
• Is East Nashville Walkable? The same bridge lands on the East Bank, but East Nashville’s restaurant streets and Germantown both need a short ride from downtown hotels.

Where Locals Go for Live Music Near Broadway

Broadway gets the crowds, but some of the best music downtown plays in rooms without the neon.

• Robert’s Western World for Traditional Country: Robert’s books traditional country only, and the fried bologna sandwich deal at the bar is a local institution.
• Bluegrass Lives at the Station Inn: The Station Inn at 402 12th Avenue South in the Gulch has hosted bluegrass, classic country and roots music nearly every night for decades. It’s a small listening room, so every seat sits close to the stage.
• Pair Robert’s With Layla’s: Layla’s Honky Tonk sits right next door to Robert’s, so you can work through both without walking the whole strip.

FAQs

1. Are the honky-tonks on Broadway free to get into?

None of the honky-tonks on Lower Broadway charge a cover, day or night. The bands play from mid-morning until the bars close, so you can wander between them and stop wherever the music sounds right. The bigger bars have a band on more than one floor, so climb the stairs before you settle in. Walk the whole strip once before picking a favorite, because the lineup changes from bar to bar.

2. Is Lower Broadway family-friendly during the day?

During the day, yes. Most honky-tonks let under-21s in with an adult until early evening, then switch to 21 and over, and each bar sets its own cutoff, so check the sign at the door. Afternoons are calmer too, before the evening crowds arrive. For music after dark with kids, the Station Inn in the Gulch admits minors with an adult chaperone.

3. How many nights do you need in Nashville?

Three nights covers the essentials without rushing. That gives you the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Ryman by day, at least two nights on Broadway, and time for one neighborhood off the strip, like the Gulch or East Nashville. Two nights works for a quick weekend, but you’ll spend nearly all of it downtown. Add a fourth night if you want a show at the Grand Ole Opry, which sits outside downtown.

4. Is it worth staying downtown instead of near Opryland?

For Broadway, stay downtown. Opryland is about a 20-minute drive away, so every night out means a ride in and a ride back, and the trip home lands in the late-night rush. The Opryland area suits a trip built around the Grand Ole Opry or the Gaylord Opryland resort. If the honky-tonks are the point of the trip, a downtown room pays for itself in time saved.

5. Is Broadway worth visiting on a Sunday?

Broadway runs live music every day of the week, so Sunday works as well as any other day. In the fall, Titans home games fill downtown on Sundays, with fans walking the pedestrian bridge between Broadway and Nissan Stadium. On a non-game Sunday, the strip is easier to walk and you’ll find room at the bars. Go in the afternoon if you want to hear the bands without the late-night crush.

6. Is Printers Alley worth visiting?

Go for a drink, not a hotel room. The alley runs one block north of Broadway and was Nashville’s nightlife strip long before the honky-tonks took over, with clubs that opened when liquor laws were stricter. Its bars lean toward speakeasy-style rooms with live music rather than big multi-floor honky-tonks. Have a drink there, then walk back to a hotel a few blocks away from the alley.

7. Can you eat at the honky-tonks on Broadway?

Yes, and the food is better than you’d expect at some of them. Robert’s Western World serves cheeseburgers and cheese curds alongside its fried bologna, and Honky Tonk Central runs a kitchen behind its three floors of bands. Expect bar food rather than fine dining, so book dinner somewhere else if the meal matters. Eating at the bar also gets you a seat close to the stage.