Can You Walk Between Nashville Neighborhoods?

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You can walk between some Nashville neighborhoods, mainly the ones next to downtown: the Gulch and SoBro are short walks from Lower Broadway, and Germantown and the east bank across the Pedestrian Bridge are longer but doable. Beyond that, distances of 2 miles or more between neighborhoods make walking a commitment of 40 minutes or more each way, so most cross-town trips work better by rideshare, bus, or BCycle e-bike. Walking within a neighborhood is the easier part; the Walk Score ranking shows which ones are built for it.

Distances Between Common Pairs

Road distances by OSRM routing, calculated October 24, 2026, between approximate points. Walking routes can be a little shorter than driving routes because of one-way streets. Walking times assume an average pace of about 3 miles an hour, an assumption rather than a measurement, applied to the distances shown.

From To Road distance Walking time at 3 mph
Lower Broadway the Gulch about 1.1 miles about 22 minutes
Lower Broadway Germantown about 1.5 miles about 30 minutes
Lower Broadway East Nashville, Five Points about 2.2 miles about 44 minutes
Hillsboro Village Vanderbilt about 1.1 miles about 22 minutes
12 South Hillsboro Village about 1.6 miles about 32 minutes
The Gulch 12 South about 2.0 miles about 40 minutes
Lower Broadway Vanderbilt about 2.4 miles about 48 minutes
Germantown East Nashville, Five Points about 2.6 miles about 52 minutes

The River Crossing

The walk to the east side uses the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, 3,150 feet long, from downtown to the east bank, where Nissan Stadium sits (Wikipedia). Nissan Stadium also points walkers to the Woodland Street and Korean Veterans Boulevard bridges (Nissan Stadium).

When Walking Is the Wrong Choice

  • Summer afternoons. July highs average about 91°F under NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals; walk early or late.
  • Late at night. Long walks after dark are a good time for a rideshare instead.
  • Big roads. Some routes between neighborhoods follow wide arterial streets; check a map for sidewalks and crossings first.

Which neighborhoods are most walkable once you arrive is in which Nashville neighborhoods are walkable. For the trips that are too long to walk, see how to get around Nashville without a car.

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