The list of mistakes Nashville visitors make is remarkably consistent. Not because tourists are careless, but because the city’s reputation sets up certain expectations that conflict with how Nashville actually works. These are the things worth avoiding.
Spending Your Entire Trip on Broadway
Broadway deserves one evening. Two if you’re committed. Spending your whole trip within four blocks of Lower Broadway means you went to Nashville and saw the part built for people who’ve never been to Nashville. The neighborhoods worth your time are East Nashville, Germantown, 12 South, and The Gulch. Every local interviewed by HuffPost says the same thing: the food, the real music, and the version of the city that actually exists are not on Broadway.
Wearing Unworn Cowboy Boots
This is the single most universal piece of advice from Nashville locals. Tourists show up in brand-new cowboy boots, walk six to eight hours on concrete, and spend the second day limping. Nashville is a walking city, and the mileage adds up fast. If you own broken-in boots, wear them. If you bought them for this trip, pack them as a costume for one honky-tonk night and bring real shoes for everything else.
Ignoring the Music That Isn’t Country
Nashville’s recording studios cut everything from gospel to indie rock to hip-hop. Jack White lives here. The Black Keys recorded here. Kings of Leon formed here. Confining yourself to country music means missing Station Inn (bluegrass), 3rd and Lindsley (soul, jazz, R&B), Exit/In (rock, indie), and the Listening Room Cafe (singer-songwriters). Multiple Nashville locals note that tourists who skip all of this leave with a narrow version of what Music City actually contains.
Skipping Reservations and Online Orders
Famous Nashville spots have real lines. Hattie B’s offers online to-go ordering that lets you skip the queue entirely. Most popular brunch spots take reservations or have waitlist apps. Walking up to Josephine, City House, or any top-tier Nashville restaurant on a Saturday night without a reservation and expecting to get in is a plan that will not work.
Eating and Drinking Only at Chain Venues
Hard Rock Cafe and Margaritaville are on Broadway. Both are mediocre and overpriced and exist at every airport in America. The Loveless Cafe has a long wait for food that locals widely consider underwhelming. The celebrity-owned mega-bars (Jason Aldean’s, Luke Bryan’s) are concerts for people who want a stadium experience inside a bar. None of these represent Nashville cooking. Arnold’s Country Kitchen, Prince’s Hot Chicken, City House, and The Pharmacy in East Nashville are the actual options.
Treating Nashville Like One Walkable Downtown
Nashville’s best neighborhoods require transportation between them. East Nashville is across the river from downtown, 12 South is two miles south of Broadway, Germantown is north of downtown. You cannot walk between these areas in any reasonable time. Tourists who rely entirely on walking end up stuck in a two-block radius. Budget for rideshares or rent a car; the city only makes sense when you move around it.
Booking a Hotel Near the Grand Ole Opry Without a Car
The hotel cluster near Opry Mills and the Grand Ole Opry sits in Music Valley, roughly six miles from downtown Nashville with no practical transit connection. Hotels there are cheaper, which explains why they keep getting booked. What visitors discover is that every trip downtown takes 20-25 minutes and costs money, and Music Valley itself has almost nothing to do beyond the Opry and a mall. If the Grand Ole Opry is your primary reason for visiting, this works. Otherwise, stay closer to downtown.
Assuming Everyone You Talk to Is a Local
Nashville’s born-and-raised population has been diluted by years of rapid growth. The person giving you advice on the street may have moved from Ohio six months ago. The bartender on Broadway is probably from somewhere else too. For authentic local knowledge, look for people who work at independent businesses in East Nashville or Germantown, because these neighborhoods attract people with actual investment in the city’s character.
Harassing Celebrities
Nashville has a higher celebrity-per-capita ratio than almost any American city. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Chris Stapleton, Dolly Parton, and many others live here. Nashville celebrities chose the city specifically because locals leave them alone. Tourists who break this norm make themselves unwelcome fast and contribute to the erosion of something that makes Nashville livable for the people who built it.
Sources:
- HuffPost, “Mistakes Tourists Make While Visiting Nashville” (March 2022): huffpost.com/entry/mistakes-tourists-nashvillel621d66f1e4b0d1388f195d32
- Signature Transportation Nashville, “How to NOT Look Like an Inexperienced Tourist”: nashvillelimo.com/blog/visiting-nashville-how-to-not-look-like-an-inexperienced-tourist
- Nashville Experience Tours, “4 Things NOT TO DO on Your Trip to Nashville”: nashvilleexperiencetours.com/4-things-not-to-do-on-your-trip-to-nashville
- Wild Hearted, “Nashville Tourist Attractions: 10 Do’s and Don’ts”: wild-hearted.com/dos-and-donts-nashville-tennessee
- Wolters World, “What Not to Do When Visiting Nashville”: woltersworld.com/what-not-to-do-when-visiting-nashville
- Nashville Todo, “Expert Warns Nashville Tourists to Avoid These Common Mistakes” (October 2024): nashvilletodo.com