Free Things to do in Nashville, Like 20+ Things

Are there free things to do in Nashville? Oh, yea! Plenty!! The Music City has free music, museums, parks, festivals, and even art galleries. But honestly, that only scratches the surface of all the cool free attractions that Nashville has to offer.

There are lots of free things to do in Nashville! There is also plenty of cheap things to do as well. Your visit to Nashville does not have to break the bank.

Here at Things In Nashville, we are going to give you the information you need to save you money while visiting the Music City.

1. Free Music on Lower Broadway

To visitors who visit Nashville, this is the #1 reason why people come here. So, Also known as “The District”, this area is the mecca for free live music! Both sides of Broadway, 2nd ave, and other alleys nooks, and crannies have live music. There is country music, pop, blues, bluegrass, and even rock.

You don’t even have to walk into the bars to enjoy the music. Simply walking down the sidewalk is like changing radio stations. There are often street performers playing instruments, tap dancing, and even the musicians that drum on buckets. They are awesome!! This is the most popular of the free things to do in Nashville.

What are some of the most popular places to enjoy free music on Lower Broadway In Nashville?

• Kid Rocks’s Big Honky Tonk & Steakhouse
• Robert’s Western World
• Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge
• Legends Corner
• AJ’s Good Time Bar (Alan Jackson)
• Dieks Bently Whiskey Row
• Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge
• Ole Red (Blake Shelton’s Place)

Honestly, this is just a tiny drop in the bucket of free music that Nashville has to offer. I will build a dedicated page of the different districts to find free music to jam out to. Of all the free things to do in Nashville, this is the most popular for tourists.

2. Free Things to do at Night in Nashville

The First Saturday Art Crawl

This item on the free things to do in Nashville is for the people who love art. On the first Saturday of each month, many of Nashville’s most prestigious art galleries open their doors free admission. The Music City isn’t all about just music. There are fine art galleries all over the downtown area of Nashville ranging from the historic district such as “Arcade Alley” to Vanderbilt University. On this first Saturday, your art gallery hopping time is from 6pm to 9pm.

Be sure to check out the Frist Museum where they have art being displayed from established local and international artists. Their art displays rotate on a regular basis so check their website to see if what they have on display fits your tastes.

Honky Tonk Highway

Yes .. I know I mentioned this above. But hey .. welcome to the Music City capital of the world! Walking down Lower Broadway during the day you will encounter lots of great music. At night .. the transformation happens! As the sun sets, The District is just starting to wake up! More clubs, more bars, and lots more people to chill and/or party with. Don’t forget about the rooftop bars! Honky Tonk Highway is the area that made Nashville known across the world.

Wanna know more? Click here to check out the article about rooftop bars.

SoBro

Located right across the street from The District. Here you will find .. yep .. you guessed it .. more clubs, bars and lots of free music. Periodically, you will find an event going on behind the Hilton Inn at the Walk of Fame Park. In the park, they have several events scheduled throughout the year that could be added to the free things to do in Nashville list. I’ve been to several free concerts and festivals there. It is lots of fun!!

3. Free Nashville Parks

Parks in Nashville

Of the free things to do in Nashville, the locals utilize the parks the most. As well they should because there are many great parks to enjoy. When I’m visiting downtown Nashville I usually take a stroll down Riverfront park and Cumberland Park. Both of these places give you a different visual perspective of this beautiful city.

Centennial Park

Nashville’s premier park with its 132 acres of beautiful landscape, and Lake Watauga to take a romantic stroll around. Of all the free parks in Nashville, Centennial Park is one I visit the most. Call it my chillout happy place I guess. There are so many places where I will either chill with a book or I’ll have my Canon DSLR to take pictures of the flowers or ducks. Or, maybe a squirrel or two if the little critters will sit still long enough.

Love Circle Park

A little hidden gem is a place that only the locals know about. As the name implies you will find love-struck couples at the top of this hill all cozied up enjoying the awesome view of Nashville.

Love Circle is located right smack in the middle of a neighborhood on top of a big hill. The road going up to it kinda winds back and forth as you get to the top look to your left you will see Mount Richmore, the home of John Rich of the famous Big and Rich country music band.

The Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park

This 11-acre park is just over the hill from the state capital building. Just across the street towards Rosa L Parks Blvd will be the Nashville Farmers Market and Tennessee State Museum.

I’ve been to this park many times to take a casual stroll with friends. There is so much to learn about Tennessee by simply walking the paths here.

How you ask? There is the Pathway of History that gives you tidbits of history about Tennessee. A 200-foot granite map of Tennessee, a WWII Memorial, and then the fountain garden known as the Rivers of Tennessee Fountains. Can’t forget about the 95-foot bell tower. Go check out one of the nicest parks that’s one of the free things to do in Nashville.

That’s not all of the parks

These parks mentioned are only a few of the parks that Nashville has to offer. I will later be writing a dedicated article to showcase these wonderful places.

4. Free Attractions

Fort Nashborough Interpretive Center

Fort Nashborough is a replica of the first settlement led by James Robertson in Nashville in the late 1700s. For a free self-guided tour go to the bank of the Cumberland River at the end of Lower Broadway then look left .. you will see it. Weather permitting it is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 am – 4 pm.

Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center

It is hard to believe that this is one of the free things to do in Nashville because this isn’t just another run-of-the-mill hotel. It is practically a little city inside of a hotel. There are about 20 restaurants and bars, plus shopping and places for entertainment. But .. so what .. many hotels have that. Come visit the huge awesome atriums and you will see why this place is such a big deal.

There are about 9 acres of atrium with live plants and walking paths. There is even a little river called the Delta that has a flat bottom boat. Yep, you sure can take a ride in the boat! After the boat ride, go check out the water fountain show.

One little caveat. The hotel parking is expensive. If you’re just going in to walk around and explore, park by the movie theater at Oprymills shopping mall, which is free. Walk across the street and follow the sidewalk that will lead you right into the hotel and then into the first atrium.

Wanna know more? Click here to check out this article about walking around the Opryland Hotel.

What about parking at the hotel? Click here to learn about free parking at the Opryland Hotel.

Nashville Public Library

Located at 615 Church Street this one VERY nice library! There have been several times that I find myself a corner to chill while getting work done on my laptop.

The Nashville Library has free year-round events and classes for children and adults. Seasonal events and classes such as Courtyard Concerts, Festivals, Lego contests, and even puppet shows. I got lucky enough to accidentally catch one of the puppet shows once. It was fun. Yes, I’m still a kid at heart :-).

5. Free Nashville Museums

Tennessee State Museum

Located at 1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd. The Tennessee State Museum has 137,000 sq. ft consisting of gallery space and administration offices. The gallery floor holds 13,000 years of Tennessee art and history. As you walk down the time tunnel you will encounter 6 permanent exhibitions, a hands-on children’s learning gallery, and a digital learning center.

Cooter’s Place Museum

Name one of the most popular TV shows ever!?! I would be referring to the Dukes of Hazzard. Take a drive to McGavock Pike, you can’t miss it. Usually, you will see Cooters tow truck outside and often General Lee as well. Go inside and see LOTS of show props, clothes (yes there is a pair of Daisy’s shorts .. well several actually), and lots of the history about the TV show. Also inside will be Daisy’s Jeep CJ and Rosco’s P Coletrain patrol car. If you were a Duke Boys fan, this is a must-see as one the free things to do in Nashville.

6. Free Sight-Seeing Tours

Street Art Tour

Nashville has so much GREAT street art! In fact, there are 39 Nashville murals created by local and international-renown artists. Street art in Nashville has exploded into a phenomenon. When people think of the “coolest Nashville murals”, the most popular one that comes to most people’s minds is the “Wings” or “What Lifts You Mural”. This mural is probably the most photographed mural in Nashville. You can purchase paid “riding” tours through various tour companies. But, you can make this one of the free things to do in Nashville as you visit each district and tour the murals while you are there.

Music City Walk of Fame

This is a very popular item on the free things to do in the Nashville list. Check out the Music City Walk of Fame located at 121 4th Ave S known as the SoBro area just across the street from all the famous Nashville bars. The Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville’s tribute to all genres of music artists that have contributed to everyone’s love for music around the world!!

Ryman Auditorium

Most of the time there is a fee of about $26 for a self-guided tour. Yea yea .. I know that isn’t free as this portion of the article is supposed to be about but hear me out. There are times that the Ryman does allow the public to come in for free to check out the inside, I’ve done it a couple of times. Now, on these “free” days there is still a small fee to do the backstage tour. If you opt for the backstage tour, there are NO pictures allowed because everything in the back is protected! It is a great tour if you get the chance to do it. If you are a die-hard country music fan, whether you make this one of your free things to do in Nashville, or you have to pay for the tour. I do highly recommend it!

Wanna know more? Click here for the schedule of events for the Ryman.

John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge

Or also known as Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge or at one time the Sparkman Street Bridge. Whatever name you decide to call the bridge there is one thing that can not be disputed, no matter where you stand on the bridge, the views of Nashville are awesome! There have been a few music videos created on and under this bridge.

I will create a free walking tour itinerary that will give you the best highlights of downtown Nashville. I’ll link it up here when it is ready.

7. Free Arcade

HeadQuarters Beercade

Whether you are young or young at heart, free games being one of the free things to do in Nashville is simply awesome!! Yes!! Free games!! We are talking old-school Pac-Man, Centipede, Galaga, Donkey Kong and so many more!! There are 2 floors of these retro old-school games. It is located just across the street from The District of downtown at 114 2nd Ave.

Wanna know more? Click here to check out HeadQuarters Beercade.

Game Terminal

Come check out Nashville’s largest arcade with over 10,000 square feet of games, pinball, bars, lounge, and special rooms. Outside there are 8,000 square feet of covered patio area and outside games. Oh, they have food trucks on schedule very often. I can tell you firsthand that Nashville has some awesome food trucks!

Wanna know more? Click here to check out Game Terminal.

The Rabbit Hole VR

Above I mentioned old-school games and pinball. Here at The Rabbit Hole, they are new-school .. they go VR as in Virtual Reality gaming. Have a fun night out with your date or hang with the fellas or a ladies’ night out. Switch games as much as you like … play single or with friends. Either way, it will be a fun night out immersing in virtual reality.

Wanna know more? Click here to check out The Rabbit Hole VR.

8. Check out Popular Nashville Neighborhoods

Downtown

Be it, locals or tourists, this is the most popular “neighborhood” in Nashville for the party crowd. This is where all the bars and clubs are located. Well, a particular part of downtown is better known as “The District” or “Lower Broadway” Also, many museums and a few of Nashville’s parks are located in this area. If you enjoy a variety of great music, just walking down the sidewalks is one of the best free things in Nashville you can do.

SoBro

Just across the street from Lower Broadway is SoBro. There are even more bars, clubs, and museums, and a couple more of Nashville’s parks. There is also Ascend Ampitheater where the really big famous music acts put on some great shows.

The Gulch

The Gulch is home to some of the best restaurants in Nashville. No, I’m not just referring to high dolla suit and tie places. Well, The Gulch does have that as well. I was also referring to low-key but VERY cool places that include breweries, BBQ, hot chicken, famous old-school country meat and three, and biscuits .. yes I said biscuits. I’m referring to a little place called Biscuit Love. It is good, I’ve been there a few times.

West End

This is where Centennial Park is located with the Parthenon right in the middle. West End not only has great scenery but there are also great eateries and small music venues as well.

Music Valley

Free things to do in Nashville in the Music Valley area. The Opryland Hotel has the atrium inside which is a great site to behold in itself. There are lots of unique shops to check out. You gotta eat eventually, the food isn’t free but if you go to Scoreboard bar and grill they have great food, free live music, and free games outside in the yard.

Wanna know more? Check out the article about the Music Valley area.

9. Free Things to do in Nashville with Kids

OK … I’m gonna be real with you here. My kids are grown and gone and have been for many years. They no longer even live in the same state as I do. Raising them as a single father, I DID NOT have the money to do the really cool things such as Disney World or vacations on the beach.

I would save up throughout the year for us to take a “cool” vacation and even then it was a budget-type vacation that rarely left the state of Tennessee. But nonetheless, we had a great time even though I was usually flat broke!!

So, again .. being real with you. When we visited Nashville we usually went to one of the parks to have a good time. Every so often we would go to the Adventure Science Center .. no it wasn’t free.

So what free things to do in Nashville are for kids? Well, I had to do some research to see what was available as of this writing. I found where adults paid to get in and the little ones got in for free. Places such as wine vineyards, country music museums, art museums, and other places like this.

To be honest .. my boys would have been bored out of their skulls with these places! This is called “kid-friendly” … NOT … Kid enjoyable!!! So, true FUN places for kids that are FREE … I haven’t found much as of yet.

Check out this article about Awesome things to do with kids.

Free Nashville Parks

So, here is what I can tell you right off the top of my head. There are great parks in Nashville that little ones would enjoy. During the hot summer months, Cumberland Park, which is within a short walking distance from Lower Broadway has a GREAT kid area that includes a climbing wall, very cool slides, a sort of an obstacle course, and even a small water park. See even the little ones get free things in Nashville perks!!

I’m still a kid at heart and I would have loved this as a child. Late at night, when all the little ones are at home asleep, I have a few times climbed the walls, slid down the slides, and checked out the neat little obstacle course … shh .. don’t tell anyone.

Then there is Centennial Park. This isn’t really a kid playground per se. But there are lots of squirrels, ducks, and geese that my boys used to enjoy. There is even a lake where the ducks and geese hang out. Occasionally they can see fish come to the surface. It is a great peaceful place to experience some nature in the middle of the big city of Nashville. This is one of my top places on the free things to do in Nashville to just sit back and chill or take a peaceful walk.

Farmers Market

OK look, it is free to visit, it only costs you money if you buy something. I have on occasion just wandered around checking out the cool merch or chatting with the vendors or even a friendly stranger. In the middle of the Farmers Market is the food court. There is a wide variety to choose from and it is all GOOD!! For the kids, there is Jeni’s Ice Cream … just oh yea!!

I’ll be going to Nashville soon to talk to some people about this. If I find some more cool places I’ll drop in and edit this.

10. Cheap or almost free things to do in Nashville

I realize this post is titled “Free things to do in Nashville”, but staying with the saving money theme, I’ll add some cheap stuff as well. Cheap as in keeping the admission price below $20 per person. Don’t think that is cheap .. keep in mind there are places where the admission price is $50 or more. Just saying 🙂

The Parthenon

This really cool attraction is located in Centennial Park which I mentioned above. It is a full-scale replica of the real Parthenon located in Athens Greece. Inside there are many pictures of the replica’s creation, and several sculptures relating to Greek Mythology. The most awesome attraction of all is the 42-foot tall sculpture of Athena. You really should check it out. I’ve been there several times, I enjoy it each and every time.

Wanna know more? Click here to check out the Partenon article.

Cheekwood Gardens

This is a 55-acre botanical garden and art museum. There are at least 300,000 visitors (no that isn’t a typo) a year making this one of Nashville’s top attractions. Cheekwood has something for the whole family with year-round attractions. You should check out the Christmas attraction, it is amazing!!

Wanna know more? Click here to check out Cheekwood Gardens.

11. Adults pay but kids are free

Frist Art Museum

Heads up! Some of the sculptures I’ve seen here will mess with your head!! Can you say .. optical illusion? The artwork on display at the Frist Museum rotates on a regular basis. So you can go back periodically to see something new. I’ve seen displays from the Civil War era, Mongolian, and even really cool cars.

Wanna know more? Click here to check out Frist Art Museums’ current display.

12. Free Nashville Parking

Yes, free Nashville Parking can be had at the right time and in the right place. In other areas at least the parking can get cheaper. You would never think that parking would be one of the free things to do in Nashville. But, it is possible!

Wanna know more? Click here to learn more about Downtown Nashville Parking.

Other articles of interest for anyone visiting Nashville