Downtown Nashville: Honky Tonks, History and Country Music

Nashville packs more music history into a few city blocks than almost anywhere else in America. On this walking tour, you'll trace the story of country music from its radio roots to its rhinestone heyday. You'll also discover how the city's honky-tonks, record shops, and recording studios shaped American music far beyond country's boundaries.

The tour starts at the Ryman Auditorium, the building that began as a church in the 1890s and became the Grand Ole Opry's home for 31 years. From there, you'll head down Broadway – Nashville's honky-tonk strip – past bars and venues owned by artists like Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, and Jason Aldean, before reaching the Cumberland River. You'll cross the Siegenthaler Walking Bridge for sweeping views of the downtown skyline, then loop back via the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Music City Walk of Fame.

Along the way, you'll hear how Elvis Presley was told his music didn't belong at the Opry, how the Everly Brothers were discovered singing in an alley, and how a 2020 Christmas Day bombing left much of historic Second Avenue in ruins. The tour ends at Nudie's Honky Tonk, named after the Ukrainian immigrant who designed the rhinestone suits and gold lamé outfits worn by country's biggest stars.

On this 75-minute tour, you'll have a chance to:

• Hear the story of Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, where Opry performers snuck out mid-show for a drink
• Learn how the Fisk Jubilee Singers' 1873 performance for Queen Victoria helped earn Nashville its nickname
• Spot the sabre-tooth tiger fossils at Bridgestone Arena, discovered during construction in 1971
• Visit the Johnny Cash Museum and Patsy Cline Museum, housed in the same building on 3rd Avenue
• Walk the Music City Walk of Fame, where plaques honor everyone from Dolly Parton to Jimi Hendrix
• Learn about the 2010 flood that submerged Broadway up to Fifth Avenue and caused over $2 billion in damage

Nashville's music scene is living history – and this tour puts you right at the heart of it.