Free Things to Do in Nashville

Nashville gives away an absurd amount of free entertainment. Live music on Broadway is free. Several excellent museums are free. Parks and greenways are everywhere. You could spend three days in Nashville without spending a dime on entertainment.

Free Live Music

Lower Broadway honky-tonks — No cover charge at any of the honky-tonks. Live bands from 10 AM to 3 AM, seven days a week. Tootsie’s, Robert’s Western World, Layla’s, and dozens more. This alone makes Nashville one of the best entertainment-value cities in America.

Musicians Corner (Centennial Park) — Free outdoor concert series on select weekends. Emerging Nashville artists perform in the park next to the Parthenon.

Yazoo Brewery taproom — Free live music on many evenings. Buy a beer, enjoy the show.

Free Museums & Attractions

The Parthenon (Centennial Park) — A full-scale replica of the Parthenon in Athens, complete with a 42-foot statue of Athena inside (the largest indoor sculpture in the Western Hemisphere). The exterior is free to view. Interior admission is $10, but the park and exterior are free and spectacular.

Tennessee State Capitol — Free guided tours of the Greek Revival capitol building. President James K. Polk is buried on the grounds.

Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park — A 19-acre park telling Tennessee’s history through a granite map, a World War II memorial, a 200-foot granite wall with Tennessee history, and a 2,000-seat amphitheater. All free.

First Saturday Art Crawl (downtown) — Monthly art walk through galleries on 5th Avenue. Free admission, wine, and live music at participating galleries.

Parks & Outdoors

Shelby Bottoms Greenway — 960 acres of natural area and paved trails along the Cumberland River. Walking, biking, and birdwatching. The eastern trailhead connects to East Nashville.

Percy Warner Park & Edwin Warner Park — 3,100 combined acres of forests, trails, and scenic overlooks. The Mossy Ridge Trail (4.5 miles) is one of the best hikes in Nashville. Free.

Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge (John Seigenthaler Bridge) — Walk across the Cumberland River with views of downtown and Nissan Stadium. The bridge itself is a Nashville landmark.

Street Art & Murals

Nashville has become a mural city. The most famous:

“I Believe in Nashville” (Basement East) — The most photographed mural in Nashville.

“What Lifts You” wings (The Gulch) — Kelsey Montague’s angel wings. The iconic Nashville selfie spot.

12South murals — Multiple murals along 12th Avenue South. The “NashVegas” and “Nashville Looks Good On You” walls are popular.

Germantown & East Nashville — Both neighborhoods have dozens of murals on buildings, alleys, and fences. Walk around and discover them.

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