Yes, with geography and time factored in. “Downtown” covers a lot of ground, and safety on lower Broadway at 10 p.m. on a Saturday is a fundamentally different situation from a parking garage attached to a hotel at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday.
Lower Broadway: The Heavily Managed Zone
Lower Broadway, the honky-tonk strip from First to Fifth Avenue, operates under what is effectively a tourism security apparatus. Metro Nashville Police Department deploys dedicated entertainment district officers every Thursday through Sunday. On peak nights, weekend foot traffic hits tens of thousands. There is almost always a cop within eyeshot.
Tourist after tourist reports the same experience: you feel safer on Broadway than in many comparable entertainment districts in other cities. Visitors from London, Chicago, and New York regularly note that the police visibility is unusually high. The risks here are consistent with any dense, drunk crowd: phones and wallets, not personal safety.
Broadway itself gets physically closed to vehicles at peak times. There are camera systems covering most of the strip. The bars employ their own security at the door. For violent crime against tourists, it is exceptionally rare.
The Side Street Issue
The line changes when you step off Broadway. Head north of Church Street and foot traffic thins quickly. A couple of blocks west or east of the main strip and the police presence evaporates. This is not a danger zone, but it is a different environment, less monitored, less populated, and more variable by time.
Locals give a consistent piece of advice: Broadway yes, side streets at 2 a.m. no. Sticking to main, well-lit corridors after midnight is not paranoia, it is just city sense.
The Parking Garage Problem
This comes up in visitor accounts repeatedly and is worth addressing directly. The parking structures adjacent to the entertainment district, particularly in the hours just after last call, attract a different crowd than the streets themselves. Multiple visitors specifically mention feeling uneasy in these garages rather than on the streets. Car break-ins occur in downtown Nashville garages at a rate above national norms. Leave nothing visible in a parked vehicle.
Using rideshare to return to where you parked, rather than walking through a deserted garage at 2:30 a.m., is a reasonable precaution that costs a few dollars.
Riverfront and Second Avenue
The area around the riverfront and Nissan Stadium is generally safe but quieter. Second Avenue has been in a long recovery since the 2020 Christmas Day bombing, with blocks still partially rebuilt. The area functions during events but feels more isolated outside of them.
Bridgestone Arena Corridor
The blocks around Bridgestone Arena, particularly on event nights, function similarly to Broadway: dense foot traffic, visible police presence, low personal risk. Post-game crowds disperse quickly and the area quiets fast, but the walk back to nearby hotels is not a concern.
Solo Travel at Night
Solo female travelers report broadly positive experiences in the core tourist zone. The consensus is that company helps, that Broadway itself is fine, and that the key variable is time, with post-midnight in remote areas carrying more uncertainty than the main strip at any hour.
The Honest Summary
Downtown Nashville after dark is safe for visitors operating in the main tourist corridor. The risks that exist are largely property crime (phone theft in crowds, car break-ins in garages) rather than violent crime against visitors. Apply the same judgment you would in any American city’s entertainment district, stay on lit main streets, use rideshare for late-night returns, and watch your phone in dense crowds.
Sources:
- Nashville Banner: Violent Crime Drops by Nearly 10 Percent (July 2025)
- District Attorney General Glenn R. Funk: Nashville Crime Rate Dipping to Historic Lows (October 2025)
- Fox 17: Mixed reactions for safety on Broadway (May 2023)
- Nashville Todo: Tourists Flooded Us With Responses on walking Nashville at night (November 2025)
- Nashville Roam: Is Nashville Safe to Visit (February 2025)
- Metro Nashville Police Department: Entertainment District patrol deployment records