Downtown Nashville has more parking than most cities its size, spread across dozens of garages, surface lots, and street meters. The challenge is not finding parking so much as knowing which options are worth the money, which fill early on event nights, and how to avoid paying hotel rates when you do not have to.
The Best General-Use Garages Near Broadway
Library Garage, 151 6th Ave N is the most consistently recommended garage by locals for a Broadway visit. It sits two blocks from the heart of the honky-tonk strip, is open 24 hours, and is a Metro-operated facility, meaning its rates are lower than private alternatives. Metro-owned garages charge between $3 and $20 for all-day parking, with evenings and weekends running $5 to $10. The Library Garage maxes out at $20 for a full 24-hour period. The primary entrance is on 6th Avenue between Church and Commerce. A secondary entrance off 7th Avenue also exists, though it closes at night.
Metro Courthouse/Public Square Garage, 101 James Robertson Pkwy is useful if you are heading toward Nissan Stadium, Riverfront Park, or the 2nd Avenue corridor. Weekday evenings and weekends cost $5. Titans game days bump the rate to $15. Entrances on both James Robertson Parkway and Gay Street.
Fifth + Broadway Garage, 598B Broadway is the most convenient option if Assembly Food Hall, the National Museum of African American Music, or the retail at Fifth + Broadway is your destination. It sits directly underneath the building. On a weekend night this is the most crowd-prone garage on Broadway because it is where people who do not want to walk end up. Expect it to fill on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Music City Center Garage, 701 Demonbreun St is Nashville’s largest covered downtown garage with 1,800 spaces. It has 24-hour roving security and is a short walk to Broadway, Bridgestone Arena, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. As of June 2025, rates are $15 for up to 5 hours, $20 for up to 9 hours, $25 for up to 12 hours, and $45 overnight. Event rates apply when the convention center has events.
One Nashville Place, 158 4th Ave N offers a centrally located six-story covered garage a few blocks from Broadway, the Ryman, and the Country Music Hall of Fame. Two entrances: one on 4th Avenue and one on 3rd Avenue between Church and Commerce.
Street Parking
On-street meters throughout the Central Business District run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including evenings and Sundays. This changed in February 2023 when NDOT eliminated free evening and Sunday parking downtown. As of April 2025, the CBD rate is $2.00 per hour for the first two hours, $5.00 per hour for hours three and four, and $6.00 per hour beyond that, up to a 10-hour maximum.
Non-CBD meters (Midtown, Germantown, 12 South, Hillsboro Village) run from 6 AM to midnight, seven days a week, at $2.00 per hour for the first two hours with the same tiered structure above that.
Street spots on and around Broadway are typically full by early evening on weekends. They are worth checking on weekday afternoons.
A Note on Private Lots
Private garages and surface lots typically charge $10 to $25 per day and can spike to $30 to $50 during large events at Bridgestone Arena or Nissan Stadium. Lots clustered on side streets one block off Broadway often undercut the garages on Broadway itself by $5 to $10. The variability is high, and the price is often posted only at the entrance. Apps like SpotHero and ParkWhiz let you pre-book spots in specific garages at locked-in rates, which matters on event nights.
Event Nights Change Everything
When Bridgestone Arena has a sellout or Nissan Stadium has a Titans game, downtown parking prices in private lots surge and garages fill quickly. On those nights, arriving an hour before you need to be somewhere is more important than finding the cheapest option. The Metro Courthouse Garage charges $15 on Titans game days versus its usual $5 weekend rate.
The Practical Strategy
For a casual daytime or evening visit: park at the Library Garage, pay Metro rates, and walk. It is a two-block walk to the strip from the 6th Avenue entrance and the price is among the lowest downtown.
For a night with heavy bar activity: pre-book on SpotHero to lock in a garage rate before surge pricing kicks in. The Music City Center Garage is a good default for its size, security, and central location.
For a weeknight visit with limited time: street meters are your cheapest short-stay option at $2/hour for the first two hours. Downtown side streets often have open spots on weeknights, though CBD meters run around the clock so you are always paying.
The worst move is parking in a surface lot directly on Broadway advertised at event-night rates. You will pay $40 or more for the convenience of walking 30 fewer feet.
Sources
- Metro Nashville paid parking rates: nashville.gov/departments/transportation/traffic-and-parking/parking/paid-parking
- WSMV: “Free Sunday, overnight parking eliminated in Downtown Nashville,” February 2023
- WSMV: “Major changes being rolled out across Nashville’s street parking system,” April 2025
- NashvilleDowntown.com: “On-street paid parking within downtown Nashville is enforced 24/7”
- Nashville Downtown Partnership, parking directory: nashvilledowntown.com/get-around/nashville-parking
- Music City Center Garage rates (effective June 2025): nashvillemcc.com/maps-and-parking
- NashvilleSMLS, “Where can you find Parking in Downtown Nashville?” (January 2024): nashvillesmls.com
- TripAdvisor Nashville Forums, Library Garage and Broadway parking discussion: tripadvisor.com