Nashville

Day 1 · ~2 km

1. 

   1

   Downtown Presbyterian Church

   Strickland's 1851 Egyptian Revival church, its sanctuary painted in the 1880s as a temple on the Nile

   Midday · 30 min · free

   Step inside the sanctuary and look at the walls: the painted columns and the view into a painted Egyptian temple, adapted from Karnak, are trompe-l'oeil, flat plaster. Outside, compare the twin tapering towers and lotus columns with Strickland's capitol up the hill.

2. 

   2

   Lower Broadway

   Four blocks of honky-tonks between First and Fifth Avenue, with live bands playing through open windows all day

   Evening · 90 min · free

   Walk it from the river at First Avenue up to Fifth and back on the other pavement, stopping at doorways rather than going straight in: every bar has a band, and the sound changing every few metres is the point. Pick one room whose music you actually like and stay for a full set.

3. 

   3

   Historic Second Avenue

   Cast-iron Victorian warehouse row, fully reopened in December 2025 after the Christmas 2020 bombing

   Morning · 45 min · free

   Walk the middle block between Commerce and Church slowly, reading the granite pavers set into the new pavement, then stop at the AT&T building and look back along both sides of the street: restored fronts, bare shells and new infill stand next to each other.

4. 

   4

   Fort Nashborough

   An open-air history centre of log buildings on First Avenue, marking the 1779 stockade where the city began

   Morning · 30 min · free

   Walk between the log buildings reading the panels, then go to the plaza at the south end devoted to the Native nations who hunted this land, and read the Cumberland Compact marker. Finish at the rail over the Cumberland to see why settlers chose this bluff.

5. 

   5

   Acme Feed and Seed

   An 1890 river-end warehouse that sold farm supplies for decades, now bars under a rooftop deck

   Any time · 60 min · $$

   Skip the ground-floor crowd and go straight up to the roof deck for the view across the Cumberland to the stadium and the pedestrian bridge. On the way down, stop on the second floor, which is quieter and more local.

6. 

   6

   John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge

   A 1909 river truss bridge given over to walkers, with the whole downtown skyline laid out from midstream

   Any time · 40 min · free

   Walk it end to end from the Schermerhorn side to the East Bank and turn round at the far landing for the view back. Stop at the midpoint overlooks: the Batman-eared AT&T tower, the Broadway rooftops and the river bend line up in one frame, best as the lights come on.

7. 

   7

   Shelby Street Bridge Overlook

   The East Bank end of the pedestrian bridge, where downtown sits framed across the Cumberland

   Any time · 20 min · free

   Get off the bridge deck at the East Bank end and use the landing as your tripod spot: the truss frames the skyline, and the river sits below with Riverfront Park across it. Stay past sunset for the blue hour, when office windows and the bridge lights come up together.