What Is the Best Thing to Do in East Nashville?

February 19, 2026

The best thing to do in East Nashville is to spend a morning walking around Five Points with no particular agenda. That answer resists the instinct to give a specific attraction with an address and a Yelp rating, but it’s accurate.

East Nashville’s value as a place to spend time is not concentrated in a single attraction. It’s distributed across the texture of the neighborhood: the bookstore you weren’t planning to visit, the record shop with an in-store show, the coffee on the porch at Bongo Java East, the walk through the residential blocks of Lockeland Springs where you see what Nashville looks like before the bachelorette parties showed up.

That said, here are the specific things worth doing, ranked roughly by how distinctive they are.

See Live Music at The Basement East or The 5 Spot

The Basement East at 1604 Woodland Street books national touring acts in a room small enough that you’re 40 feet from the stage. The 5 Spot at 1006 Forrest Avenue books local music on weeknights for minimal or no cover. Both of these are things you can only do in East Nashville. You can see live country music anywhere in Nashville; these venues offer something different.

Eat at Bad Idea

1021 Russell St. A Laotian wine bar inside a rebuilt tornado-damaged church. Named one of the 50 Best Restaurants in America in 2024 by the New York Times. James Beard Award semifinalist in 2025. The late-night menu runs until 12:30 a.m., which is a bonus if you’re arriving after a show. This restaurant is doing something that doesn’t exist anywhere else in Nashville, and the wine list operates at a level that should be incongruous with a neighborhood restaurant and isn’t.

Walk the Shelby Bottoms Greenway

The 960-acre natural area along the Cumberland River is the best outdoor experience in the inner neighborhoods of Nashville. Flat, long, scenic, and genuinely disconnected from the city’s tourism infrastructure. Bring comfortable shoes and a water bottle and walk east until you can see the river clearly, then turn around. The whole experience costs nothing.

Browse the Vintage Stores

The Hip Zipper at 1008 Forrest Ave has been here since 1999. Black Shag Vintage at 1220 Gallatin Ave occupies a converted historic fire station and has dressed Miley Cyrus and Drake. The Five Points Alley Shops cluster Goodbuy Girls, Defunct Books, Raven & Whale gallery, and a dozen other locally-owned shops in one complex on Woodland Ave. The Fatherland District at 129 S. 11th Street has Rusty Rats Antiques, Daydream Records, and an assortment of odd and specific shops.

The vintage shopping in East Nashville is the best in Nashville and is not particularly close.

Have a Meal at Margot Cafe & Bar

1017 Woodland St., still operating after two decades, still seasonally-driven and worth your attention. French-Italian-Southern. Reservations recommended.

Attend the Tomato Art Fest (August)

If you’re visiting in August, the Tomato Art Fest in Five Points is not optional. Tomato-themed art, live music, a Bloody Mary Garden Party, parade with tomato costumes, and a genuine demonstration of what a neighborhood with a functioning identity does with a summer weekend. This event has nothing to do with tourism and everything to do with the people who live there having a specific sense of humor about themselves.

The Honest Summary

East Nashville is better experienced than ticked off a list. Arrive with a reservation at one restaurant, plan to walk from there, and let the rest of the day fill itself in. The neighborhood rewards that approach.

Sources

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