Nashville’s free offerings are strong, not a compromise. The honky-tonks are as good as anything in the paid-admission entertainment world. The Tennessee State Museum is better than most paid museums in comparable cities. Radnor Lake is one of the best urban nature preserves in the South. The list below is ranked roughly by quality, not by the order in which most guides present them.
The Tennessee State Museum
Free. Always. No exceptions. Located at 919 Broadway, the Tennessee State Museum covers the full history of Tennessee in a 137,000-square-foot facility opened in 2018. The permanent collections include Civil War artifacts, First Nations history, musical history of the state, and presidential material including Andrew Jackson’s hat. Hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10 AM-5 PM, Sunday 1-5 PM. Free highlight tours run Fridays and Saturdays at 2 PM.
Walk out the back and you’re standing in Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, an 11-acre state park that functions as an outdoor history museum. A 200-foot granite map of Tennessee, a 95-bell carillon, fountain jets representing major bodies of water, and WWII memorial installations. The combination of museum and park easily fills three to four hours and costs nothing.
Broadway’s Honky-Tonks
No cover charge at any of them. Robert’s Western World, Legends Corner, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, and Layla’s all run live music from 10 AM to 3 AM, 365 days a year. The musicians are working for tips, so drop a few dollars each time you stay for a set. Robert’s Western World has the most consistent quality among the smaller venues and serves a fried bologna sandwich ($4-6) that many regulars eat standing at the bar.
This is live music with real musicians in a real room, every single day. No other city in the country offers this at zero cost.
Centennial Park and the Parthenon Exterior
The 132-acre Centennial Park on West End Avenue is free to enter. The Parthenon sits in the middle of it: the only full-scale replica of the original Parthenon in Greece, built in 1897 for Tennessee’s centennial exposition and rebuilt permanently in concrete by the 1930s. The exterior is free to walk around and photograph. The interior museum charges $10 for adults (holds a 42-foot gold-coated Athena sculpture, the largest indoor statue in the United States), but the exterior and park grounds are free.
Musician’s Corner at Centennial Park runs free outdoor concerts on weekends during warm months, typically April through October. Multiple musical genres, local food trucks, no admission. Check centennialpark.com for the season schedule.
Radnor Lake State Park
Radnor Lake is a 1,368-acre natural preserve about four miles south of downtown via Hillsboro Road. Six miles of hiking trails circle the lake through mature hardwood forest. The wildlife density is real: owls, osprey, great blue herons, deer, and occasional river otters have all been documented. The Dam Trail is ADA accessible and offers the best lake views.
No admission charge. Leashed dogs are not permitted to protect wildlife. Open daily during daylight hours. No pets allowed is not a typo and is strictly enforced.
The Mural Circuit
Nashville has accumulated a substantial collection of public murals over the past decade. The most photographed: the What Lifts You wings mural in the Gulch (intersection of 11th Avenue South and Division Street), the “I Believe in Nashville” mural on 12th Avenue South in the 12 South neighborhood, and numerous East Nashville works along Gallatin Avenue, Porter Road, and Five Points. All free to visit.
The full self-guided mural tour, if you attempted every notable work across neighborhoods, would require a car or multiple rideshares. The Broadway-adjacent murals and Gulch installations can be reached on foot from downtown.
Fort Negley and the Riverfront
Fort Negley is the largest inland stone Civil War fort in the country, built in 1862 on a hill near what is now the Adventure Science Center. Self-guided tours run from dawn to dusk, free. The fort explains Nashville’s surrender and subsequent occupation more concretely than any museum exhibit, because you’re standing inside the actual fortification.
John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, stretching 900 feet over the Cumberland River, connects downtown to East Nashville and offers unobstructed skyline views in both directions. One of the best vantage points in the city and free to walk at any hour.
The National Museum of African American Music (First Wednesdays)
The NMAAM at 501 Broadway costs $19.75 for adults on normal days. On the first Wednesday of each month, admission is free. This is a excellent museum documenting African American contributions to American music from African roots through gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, soul, hip-hop, and country. The collection is specific and substantive. If your visit includes a first Wednesday, this is the free experience to anchor your day around.
The Tennessee State Capitol
The Capitol building at 600 Charlotte Avenue, opened in 1859, is one of the oldest working state capitols in the United States. Free guided tours run on the hour on weekdays. The grounds include the tombs of President James K. Polk and his wife, accessible at any time. From the hill, there are clear views of the downtown skyline looking south.
Sources
- Visit Nashville TN official free activities: https://www.visitmusiccity.com/nashville-trip-ideas/free-things-to-do-nashville
- Lonely Planet Nashville free activities: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/free-things-to-do-in-nashville
- Travel Lemming free Nashville local guide: https://travellemming.com/free-things-to-do-in-nashville/
- Gypsy with a Day Job Nashville free guide: https://gypsywithadayjob.com/free-things-nashville/
- Elegance Nashville 18 free things: https://elegancenashvilletn.com/18-free-things-to-do-in-nashville/
- Tennessee State Museum official: https://tnmuseum.org
- Radnor Lake State Park official: https://tnstateparks.com/parks/radnor-lake
- NMAAM official: https://nmaam.org