Even on a hot summer afternoon, you hear Music City before you see it, with bands playing in the honky-tonks on Lower Broadway from midday onward. Visitors do the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Johnny Cash Museum, and stroll to the Parthenon at Centennial Park. About 720,000 people live in the city, and neighborhoods like East Nashville, 12 South and Germantown are where locals eat and hang out.
Growth has been fast and housing costs climbed with it, though prices have cooled from the 2021 to 2022 peak and are moderate compared with the coasts. Summers are hot and humid, spring brings tornado risk and the pollen is heavy. Lower Broadway at night, especially on weekends, means pickpockets and drunken fights, so use the designated rideshare zones and watch for overpriced party-bus tours. Violent crime is above average but has trended down since 2023.
