Five neighborhoods border or nearly border downtown Nashville, each with a distinct character and a legitimate claim to proximity. The differences between them matter more than the distances.
Germantown
Germantown is the most walkable from downtown. It sits just a few blocks to the northwest, bounded by Jefferson Street to the north, Rosa Parks Boulevard to the west, and Third Avenue North to the east. You can walk from the northern edge of downtown to Rolf & Daughters or the Nashville Farmers’ Market in fifteen minutes flat. Germantown earns a Walk Score of 75, and much of its walkability comes precisely from being this close to downtown while maintaining its own identity. It’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a city arboretum with more than 100 species of trees. It’s the closest neighborhood to downtown that actually functions as a neighborhood, with its own restaurant scene, coffee shops, and street life.
The Gulch
The Gulch sits immediately southwest of downtown, close enough that some people treat it as an extension of downtown rather than a separate neighborhood. It’s a former industrial zone converted into high-rise condos, boutiques, and upscale restaurants. The Walk Score is 78. The Gulch is LEED certified, making it one of the more deliberately designed urban environments in Nashville. Walking from the heart of the Gulch to Bridgestone Arena takes about ten minutes.
SoBro
SoBro (South of Broadway) barely counts as a separate neighborhood, but it’s commonly named as such. It’s the zone immediately south of the Broadway entertainment district, home to the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Music City Center convention hall, and a cluster of hotels and restaurants. Its Walk Score reaches 80. The 37201 zip code that covers much of this area is one of the most walkable in the entire city.
East Nashville
East Nashville is exactly one mile from downtown, separated by the Cumberland River. That one-mile number is slightly misleading because crossing the river requires either the pedestrian bridge at Riverfront Park or one of the road bridges. By bus, the journey takes about seven minutes. East Nashville’s proximity to downtown is real but it has a psychological distance: you cross water to get there, and the character of the two places is completely different. Downtown is tourists and honky-tonks; East Nashville is vintage shops, independent restaurants, and musicians who left downtown behind.
Midtown / Music Row
Midtown begins about a mile west of downtown along Broadway and West End Avenue. This is Music Row territory: recording studios, record labels, Demonbreun Street bars and restaurants. The walk from downtown to the heart of Midtown takes about twenty minutes. It’s not the same kind of spontaneous walkability as Germantown, but it’s on the same axis as Broadway and accessible enough that many hotel guests cover it on foot.
The Practical Answer
For visitors wanting to stay within walking distance of both Broadway and a neighborhood with actual local character, Germantown and The Gulch are the best answers. Germantown is older and more architectural; The Gulch is shinier and more expensive. East Nashville is close enough for regular crossings but far enough to feel like its own place, which is partly why it has the identity it does.
Sources
- Frommers, “Neighborhoods in Brief in Nashville”: frommers.com
- ApartmentGuide, “The 10 Most Walkable Neighborhoods in Nashville, TN”: apartmentguide.com
- Nashville Guru, Moving to Nashville Guide: nashvilleguru.com
- Rome2rio, East Nashville to Downtown Nashville distance: rome2rio.com