A Broadway bar crawl does not need transportation.
It barely needs navigation.
The core honky-tonk district is compact enough that you can walk from the Ryman/Bridgestone side toward the Cumberland River while passing an unreasonable number of bars along the way.
The mistake is trying to create a route that jumps back and forth across downtown because somebody ranked one venue number three and another number seven.
I would do something simpler.
Start around the 400 block and keep walking east toward the river.
No backtracking.
No car.
No argument about whether the next bar is six or eight minutes away.
It is probably sixty seconds away.
One warning first:
A “stop” does not mean everybody needs a fresh drink.
You are adults.
Allegedly.
Go inside.
Hear a band.
Look around.
Drink when you actually want a drink.
This is a walking route, not a medical challenge.
Stop 1: Robert’s Western World
416 Broadway
Start with the old-school version.
Robert’s gives you traditional country, a compact room and the kind of honky-tonk atmosphere that existed before Broadway decided every building needed five floors and a celebrity partnership.
If you are hungry, the Recession Special is also one of the best-value food-and-beer combinations downtown.
I like starting here because everything after it becomes a comparison.
This is your baseline Broadway.
Optional Thirty-Second Detour: Layla’s and Tootsie’s
Before moving down the street, look next door.
Layla’s is at 418.
Tootsie’s is at 422.
You could spend two hours without traveling fifty yards.
Do not automatically enter both because this article mentioned them.
Listen first.
If the band sounds good, go inside.
That is the whole point of Broadway.
Stop 2: Friends in Low Places
411 Broadway
Cross the street and enter an entirely different era.
Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood’s Friends in Low Places is enormous compared with Robert’s.
Multiple floors.
Advanced production.
Food.
The Oasis rooftop.
This is why I deliberately pair these two early.
Robert’s shows you the compact traditional honky-tonk model.
Friends shows you what modern Broadway does with the same basic idea when given tens of thousands of square feet.
Stop 3: Tin Roof Broadway
316 Broadway
Continue east.
Tin Roof works well as a middle stop because it combines live music, food, multiple rooms and a smaller rooftop without being one of the absolute largest buildings on the street.
If you started earlier in the day, its current happy-hour window may also make this one of the smarter places to actually buy a round.
Best Cheap Bars Near Broadway Nashville: Where Your Money Goes Farther
If everybody is hungry, eat.
Do not keep marching toward the river because the route has developed authority over your body.
Stop 4: Ole Red
300 Broadway
Ole Red gives you another full Broadway combination:
Live music.
Food.
Multiple levels.
The Lookout rooftop.
By this point, I would seriously consider going upstairs somewhere.
A Broadway crawl should not be seven ground-floor bars in a row.
The rooftops change the geography and atmosphere too much to ignore.
Best Rooftop Bars on Broadway Nashville
Stop 5: Chief’s
200 Broadway
Continue east to Chief’s.
Eric Church’s venue is useful on this route because it changes the music/food emphasis again.
Chief’s focuses heavily on original music and incorporates Rodney Scott’s whole-hog barbecue into the building.
If the standard Broadway cover-band model is beginning to merge into one long medley in your brain, Chief’s can reset things.
Stop 6: Acme Feed & Seed
101 Broadway
Finish at the river.
This is the natural end point.
Acme sits where Broadway reaches 1st Avenue and the Cumberland River.
Go upstairs.
Look back toward the street you just walked.
Look toward Nissan Stadium.
The point of ending here is not merely another bar.
It gives the route an actual destination.
Broadway stops feeling like an infinite loop of neon and resolves into Nashville geography again.
Optional Final Detour: Category 10
If everybody still wants another stop, walk around the corner toward 2nd Avenue North.
Category 10 is at 120 2nd Avenue North.
Luke Combs’ giant venue gives you live music, line dancing, sports, The Still and The Eye rooftop.
This is an excellent optional ending because your group can fragment according to whatever it still has energy for.
Sports people disappear toward screens.
Dancers disappear toward Hurricane Hall.
People who have lost the ability to climb stairs seek an elevator.
Nature finds balance.
See the Broadway Geography Before You Go
Walking Nashville is useful here because a map exaggerates how complicated downtown feels.
It really is not.
Once you understand the basic Broadway corridor, the route is almost embarrassingly straightforward.
Where Does Broadway Nashville Start and End? A Simple Guide to Lower Broadway
How Long Should the Crawl Take?
That depends entirely on whether you are visiting bars or collecting bars.
You can physically walk the route quickly.
Actually experiencing six stops can consume an entire afternoon or night.
I would not set a strict schedule.
Two good bands can destroy your itinerary immediately.
Good.
Let them.
If everybody is enjoying a room, stay.
Daytime Bar Crawl vs. Nighttime Bar Crawl
Daytime is easier.
More room.
Easier entry.
Less crowd pressure.
Nighttime is the spectacle.
Neon.
Rooftops.
Bigger crowds.
More club-like upper floors at some of the giant venues.
If it is your first visit, I like starting before peak and letting the crawl become a nighttime crawl naturally.
What Time Does Broadway Nashville Get Busy? A Real Timeline From Morning to Midnight
How Many Drinks Should You Buy?
That is your business.
But six stops do not require six drinks.
Drink water.
Eat.
Skip rounds.
Tip bands.
Remember that Broadway will still be there tomorrow even if you fail to personally consume it all.
Check the Crowd Before Starting
Especially on a Friday or Saturday:
Watch the current On Broadway live feeds.
If the 400 block is already packed, maybe begin earlier.
If the street looks comfortable, go.
The route does not need reservations from the sidewalk.
The Practical Route
Robert’s Western World
Optional Layla’s/Tootsie’s
Friends in Low Places
Tin Roof
Ole Red
Chief’s
Acme Feed & Seed
Optional Category 10
That route gives you:
Traditional Broadway.
New Broadway.
Food.
Live music.
Rooftops.
Different building sizes.
Different artist brands.
And finally the river.
Most importantly, it keeps moving in one direction.
Your bar crawl should not require advanced cartography.