Music City Night Trolley Tour Nashville

Lower Broadway at night

Lower Broadway is the neon-lit street where Nashville's live music is on show every evening, with open doors, guitarists on stage and queues outside the best-known music venues from late afternoon until the early hours. Seen from a trolley, the street is easier to enjoy than on foot: you take in the signs, the crowds and the sound without squeezing along the pavement, and your guide tells you which venues made which careers.

It is also the best way to decide where to come back to. Many visitors take the Nashville night trolley tour first, then return to Broadway on foot to pick their favourite venue. If you wonder what to do in Nashville at night, an evening ride that includes this street is a sensible place to start, especially on a weekend.

The Ryman Auditorium and downtown Nashville

The Ryman Auditorium, built in the 1890s as a gospel tabernacle, is known as the Mother Church of Country Music. For decades it hosted the Grand Ole Opry radio show, and its curved wooden pews and stained glass still make it one of the most loved concert halls in the United States. At night the red-brick front is lit, and the trolley passes it while the guide explains the building's history.

Close by are the towers of downtown, the old courthouse buildings and the pedestrian bridge across the Cumberland River, all of which look different after dark. This part of the tour gives you the layout of the city centre, which helps you plan your next days, and the photographs from the open evening air are among the best you will take in Nashville.

Music Row and the sounds of Music City

Music Row, the quiet district of studios and publishing offices south-west of downtown, is where much of Nashville's recorded music has been made since the 1950s. A night trolley tour drives through it in the dark, when the old houses turned into offices are lit and the empty streets leave room for stories about songwriters, session players and the producers who shaped the Nashville sound.

The performer guide is what sets this tour apart. Instead of only talking, they sing, play and tell the history of the genres that met in Nashville: country, bluegrass, gospel, blues, rock and pop. Both adults and children enjoy it, and it works as a short course in Music City, so it is a good Nashville tour for first-time visitors who are not sure which part of the music scene they like best.

Planning the evening: departures, seating and the best time

The tour lasts about an hour and a half and leaves in the late afternoon or in the evening, so the light changes during the ride. The earlier departure shows the city at sunset before the lights come up; the later one is darker and has the liveliest atmosphere downtown. Spring and autumn evenings are mild, summer evenings are warm, and winter ones can be cool, so dress for the weather.

The trolley is a shared vehicle with a professional driver, and the route can change with events, road closures and traffic. Dinner is not included, so plan to eat before or after, and bring a camera. Because you stay on the vehicle and the stops are limited to what the driver and guide decide, this tour is a relaxed way to see Nashville at night.