Honky-Tonk Highway: A First-Timer’s Guide to Lower Broadway
Lower Broadway is loud, bright and gloriously over the top, and on a first visit every open door seems to be calling your name. Under all that neon, though, the block between Fourth and Fifth avenues still holds a run of classic honky-tonks where bands trade sets on small stages and the music rarely stops.
This guide is built for your first night. Start at the building that made Nashville Music City, then work your way down the row. Carry small bills for the tip jar, wear shoes you can stand in all night, and don't try to see everything. Three good rooms beat a blur of ten.
Ryman Auditorium
Downtown, a block off Broadway · 116 Rep. John Lewis Way N, Nashville, TN 37219
Begin at the Mother Church of Country Music. The Ryman opened in 1892 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle and was home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974, and Broadway's honky-tonks grew up in its shadow. Catch an evening show if your dates line up, or take the daytime self-guided tour and get your photo on the famous stage before the bars fill up.
Tip: Do the tour by day and Broadway by night. When you leave, walk the alley behind the Ryman; Tootsie's back door is just across it.
Tootsie's Orchid Lounge
Lower Broadway · 422 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
You'll know it by the purple paint. Tootsie's has been pouring since 1960, and because its back door sits just steps from the Ryman, it became the unofficial green room for Opry performers. Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson are part of its lore. Today bands play on three floors, topped by a rooftop bar added above the original building.
Tip: Come early in the evening for a better shot at a spot near the stage, then use the stairs to find the floor whose band suits your mood.
Robert's Western World
Lower Broadway · 416B Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
For straight-ahead traditional country, Robert's is the room. The building housed a steel guitar company in the late 1950s and later a boot and Western wear store before the music took over. It still feels like a time capsule, with no TVs and bands devoted to country's golden era, so come here for shuffles, waltzes and old-school harmonies.
Tip: Order the fried bologna sandwich off the flat-top grill. It's a Broadway rite of passage and good fuel for a long night.
More on Nashvegas.com: The Boot Wall Is Crossing the River: Robert’s Western World Is Opening Inside the New Stadium
Layla's Honky Tonk
Lower Broadway · 418 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
Right next door, Layla's is a scrappy, no-frills room where the bill swings between country, bluegrass, rockabilly and Americana. It's a good bet when you want something a little rowdier and rootsier than the straight country next door, with pickers who like to show off.
Tip: Hop between Robert's and Layla's to hear two sides of country in one stretch of sidewalk; the doors sit side by side.
Legends Corner
Lower Broadway, near Bridgestone Arena · 428 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
Legends Corner has been a Broadway mainstay since 1997, a few steps from Bridgestone Arena. Its walls are lined with vintage country album covers, which makes it a fun place to play name-that-record between songs, and the memorabilia includes a signed 12-string guitar that once belonged to Johnny Cash. The live country rarely lets up.
Tip: Before you leave, step around the corner from the entrance; the side of the building is one of downtown's favorite photo spots.
The Stage on Broadway
Lower Broadway · 412 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
When you're ready to dance, head to The Stage. The main room has a real dance floor watched over by a big mural of music icons, and there's a second-floor stage plus a rooftop when the ground floor gets packed. It's a reliable pick for a group that wants to two-step rather than stand and stare.
Tip: Each floor books its own band, so check the day's lineup online and pick the room that fits your mood.
Nudie's Honky Tonk
Lower Broadway · 409 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203
Across the street, Nudie's is part bar, part museum, named for Nudie Cohn, the tailor whose rhinestone suits dressed country's biggest stars and who made Elvis Presley's famous gold lamé suit. Stage costumes and memorabilia fill the century-old, three-story building, his custom Cadillac hangs on the wall, and the main bar stretches more than 100 feet, inlaid with silver dollars.
Tip: Arrive before the late-night crush to see the costumes up close; once the bands get rolling, you'll be watching the stage.
Plan it
A good first-night route: tour the Ryman, cut through the alley to Tootsie's, work your way along the 400 block one doorway at a time, then cross Broadway to finish at Nudie's. Linger wherever the band is hot and move on when it isn't.
The classic honky-tonks cluster on Broadway between Fourth and Fifth avenues, a short walk from the Ryman and Bridgestone Arena. Downtown parking fills fast on busy nights, so take a rideshare or a WeGo bus, or stay within walking distance. If you drive, head straight for a garage instead of circling.
Weekend nights and arena or stadium event nights are the most crowded, so a weeknight or a late afternoon gives you room to breathe. Many rooms switch to 21-and-up in the evening; bring ID, and plan family visits for earlier in the day. Tip the band if you stay for a few songs, and check current hours before you go.
More Nashville guides: Hot Chicken and Meat-and-Threes: Nashville's Classic Plates · Free Things to Do in Nashville: Museums, Parks and Views · Beyond Broadway: Nashville's Best Listening Rooms · all guides
Last checked October 2026. Places change: if something in this guide has, tell us at press@j3media.vip and we will update it.
