The answer is Lower Broadway itself, with one qualifier that matters.
Broadway is not overrated as a place to visit once. It’s overrated as the centerpiece of a trip. The problem is that most tourists treat it as the destination rather than one block on a much larger map, and the city’s marketing encourages this because Broadway is the easiest thing to photograph and describe. The result is that millions of visitors fly to Nashville, spend three nights within four blocks of honky-tonks, and leave having experienced the part of the city that locals actively avoid.
What Broadway Has Become
Lower Broadway sees up to 230,000 people on busy weekend nights, according to figures cited by tourism observers tracking Nashville’s entertainment district. On those nights, the bars are mostly celebrity-owned large-format venues, including Garth Brooks’ Friends in Low Places, Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Bar, Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge, Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa, where drinks run $12-15, the music is performed by cover bands to tourists, and the experience more closely resembles a Times Square bar than a honky-tonk. One Frommer’s critic called the celebrity-owned Broadway bars the defining feature of “New Nashville”, alongside pedal taverns and mediocre barbecue, noting that they undermine the thing tourists came to find.
Tootsies Orchid Lounge is the most cited example of a legendary spot diminished by its own success. Nashville locals who remember it before the tourist boom describe it now as overcrowded and overpriced. The building has genuine history: Patsy Cline, Kris Kristofferson, and Waylon Jennings all passed through. But that history is now mostly commodified. Visiting Tootsies during peak hours is a different experience than the bar it used to be.
The Grand Ole Opry Gets Closer Scrutiny
Frommer’s Nashville guide calls out the Grand Ole Opry directly: a fun variety show for people who grew up listening to it on the radio, but otherwise a $35-60 ticket to a format that can feel slow and dated. The counterargument, which has merit, is that the Ryman Auditorium downtown offers a superior acoustic experience, a better-curated lineup, and a building with more tangible history. For first-time visitors trying to understand country music’s roots, the Ryman delivers more per dollar.
The Pancake Pantry Is Not Worth the Wait
Narcity collected unfiltered local opinions on Nashville’s most overrated spots, and the Pancake Pantry came up repeatedly. It has operated in Hillsboro Village since 1961 and built a genuine reputation over decades. The current version, according to locals who have gone back recently, has higher prices and inconsistent food. One longtime patron wrote that she had been going since the early ’70s and can no longer recommend it. The line forms before the door opens on weekends. The pancakes are not worth 45 minutes on a sidewalk.
The Loveless Cafe: Charm Without Proportionate Quality
Located 30 minutes outside Nashville on Highway 100, the Loveless Cafe has been a Nashville landmark since 1951. It serves biscuits, country ham, and Southern breakfast in a roadside setting that has real charm. The problem, which Frommer’s states plainly, is that Nashville now has multiple places serving comparable or better biscuits without the drive or the line. The Loveless deserves its history. It does not deserve to displace East Nashville or 12 South from a short trip.
The Actual Overrated Thing
The deeper overrated quality in Nashville is the assumption that country music equals Nashville and Nashville equals country music. The city’s recording studios work on hip-hop, pop, gospel, and rock. Robert’s Western World on Broadway, Station Inn in The Gulch, and Exit/In in Midtown exist in the same city as the celebrity mega-bars and serve completely different audiences. Visitors who arrive expecting one version of Music City and explore only that version leave having missed most of what the city does well.
The most overrated thing in Nashville is the version of Nashville that Nashville sells to people who haven’t been there yet.
Sources:
- Frommer’s Nashville, “Most Overrated Experiences”: frommers.com/destinations/nashville/things-to-do/most-overrated-experiences
- Narcity, “7 Overhyped Things To Do In Downtown Nashville That Are Tourist Traps” (April 2022): narcity.com/nashville/7-overhyped-things-to-do-in-downtown-nashville-that-are-tourist-traps-according-to-locals
- Traveling Canucks, “Unpopular Opinion: Broadway Street in Nashville is Overrated” (June 2024): travelingcanucks.com/2024/06/broadway-street-in-nashville
- HuffPost, “Mistakes Tourists Make While Visiting Nashville” (March 2022): huffpost.com/entry/mistakes-tourists-nashvillel621d66f1e4b0d1388f195d32
- Grand Ole Opry official ticket pricing: opry.com