Nashville Neighborhoods in Brief

While there are plenty of neighborhoods throughout the city, few are of real interest to most visitors. There are, however, named areas of the city that you’ll want to be familiar with. There are also several outlying bedroom communities that may be of interest.

Downtown With the state capitol, the Tennessee State Museum, the Tennessee Center for the Performing Arts, the Tennessee Convention Center, and the Ryman Auditorium, downtown Nashville is a surprisingly vibrant area for a small Southern city. However, this is still almost exclusively a business and government district, and after dark the streets empty out, with the exception of the area known as The District.

The District With restored buildings housing interesting shops, tourist restaurants, nightclubs, and bars, this downtown historic district (along Second Ave. and Broadway) is the center of Nashville’s nightlife scene. With each passing year, it becomes a livelier spot; pickup trucks and limousines jockey for space at night along Second Avenue. On Friday and Saturday nights, the sidewalks are packed with partiers who roam from dive bar to retro-disco to line-dance hootenanny.

The Gulch Just south of downtown lies this once-abandoned industrial area that’s become the hottest real estate in town. Old warehouses are being razed and revamped, and gleaming high-rise condos and lofts are being developed, as upscale new hotels, restaurants, and clubs compete for space here.

Eighth Avenue South Just south of downtown and The Gulch, Eighth Avenue is an emerging district lined with antiques shops, corner cafes, and family-friendly eateries. If you’re into leisurely bargain-shopping or are on a hunt for a one-of-a-kind antique, this no-frills, non-touristy area is great for browsing.

12South What would have been unthinkable only a few years ago has come to pass. A once-blighted area south of downtown and The Gulch is enjoying a renaissance. Idealists, entrepreneurs, and young adults with dreams have been buying up and restoring old houses to set up shop. As a result, an interesting, off-the-beaten-path array of quirky boutiques and happening restaurants and night spots now dot the area roughly bordered by Linden and Kirkwood avenues.

Music Row Recording studios and record companies make this neighborhood, located around the corner of 16th Avenue South and Demonbreun Street (pronounced “De-mon-bree-in”), the center of the country music recording industry. The old Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum moved out of this neighborhood in the spring of 2001, leaving many of the country music souvenir shops vacant. However, if driving down the tree-lined boulevards to see stately homes converted into the offices of country music publishers, public relations agents, and the occasional gated recording studio excites you, by all means take a spin through the neighborhood.

The West End While tourists and barflies congregate in The District, the moneymakers and musicians of the Nashville scene gather in the West End, referred to by locals as the intellectual side of town. Located adjacent to Vanderbilt and Belmont universities, this upscale neighborhood is home to many small shops, lots of excellent (and often expensive) restaurants, and several hotels. Also known as Hillsboro Village, the area has a lively late-night dining scene fueled by the college crowd and well-heeled locals looking to see and to be seen. At the edge of the West End is the affluent Belle Meade community. Mansions abound in Belle Meade, and country stars own many of them. Two such historic mansions — Belle Meade Plantation and Cheekwood — are open to the public.

East Nashville Across the Cumberland River from downtown Nashville is this laid-back neighborhood of affordable restaurants, bars, coffeeshops and funky boutiques. Many homes in the area, which date back to the early 1900s, are being preserved and renovated by young families attracted to the area.

Music Valley This area on the east side of Nashville is where you’ll find the Opryland Hotel, the Grand Ole Opry House, Opry Mills shopping center, and numerous other country-themed tourist attractions. There are very few decent restaurants in the area (except within Opry Mills and the Opryland Hotel itself).

Green Hills, South Nashville and Berry Hill Upscale shopping, trendy restaurants, affluent residential areas, and shiny new SUVs help define the suburban enclave of Green Hills. Among Nashvillians, Green Hills is considered to be a lively, happening neighborhood. Tourists might visit the vast Green Hills Mall that anchors the area.