North America > United States > Nashville (BNA)
The Car or no Car advice for Nashville can be broken down into three similar questions - do you need a car in Nashville ; is it worth it (based on costs), and ultimately - should you rent one? (a balance of the two).🚆 🚌⛴️ Do we need to rent a car in Nashville ?
These scores are based on the quality of public transport and other travel options. If these are good enough to see the main points of interest, then you don’t need to rent a car.
💰💶💳 Is it worth hiring a car in Nashville?
These scores reflect the practical factors that affect whether renting a car is convenient, good value, and stress-free.
📍 Getting Around Nashville — the Reality
Nashville is spread out, even in areas that feel central.
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Downtown, Broadway, and The Gulch are walkable between themselves
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Many major attractions sit well outside the core
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Public transport is limited and slow
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Late-night options are especially thin
For a city built around live music, venues are often not clustered in a way that favours walking alone.
🚆 Nashville’s Commuter Rail: Music City Star
Nashville has a single commuter rail line called the Music City Star.
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It runs east–west between Lebanon and downtown Nashville (Riverfront Station)
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It is designed primarily for weekday commuters, not tourists
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Frequencies are very low (a handful of trains per day)
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Limited or no late-night and weekend usefulness
In practice, this means it’s not a general-purpose urban rail system.
🎤 Does It Serve Opryland?
No.
This is a common assumption, but:
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Opryland / Grand Ole Opry / Opry Mills are not on the Music City Star line
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There is no rail station serving the Opry complex
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Getting to Opryland is typically done by car, taxi, or shuttle
So even one of Nashville’s most famous attractions still assumes road access.
🚍 What About Other Transit?
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Buses do serve Opryland, but journeys are slow and indirect
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Services are not especially frequent
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Evening and weekend coverage is limited
This reinforces why visitors often find public transport frustrating rather than freeing.
🔑 What This Means in Practice
While Nashville technically has commuter rail, it:
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doesn’t function like an RER, S-Bahn, or Metro
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doesn’t link key visitor attractions
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doesn’t replace the need for a car
So it doesn’t really change the overall advice.
✅ Bottom Line
Yes, Nashville has a commuter rail line — but it’s narrow in scope and not tourist-oriented. And no, it does not serve Opryland.
🚗 Why Most Visitors End Up Renting a Car
For many travellers, renting a car quickly becomes the most practical option.
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Music landmarks are scattered across the city
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Neighbourhoods like East Nashville, 12South, and Music Row are not well linked by transit
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Ride-hailing works, but costs add up fast
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Day trips are a big part of the appeal
Nashville simply assumes you’ll move around by road.
🎸 Day Trips That Almost Require a Car
Some of Nashville’s best experiences lie outside the city proper.
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Franklin and historic towns
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Distillery trails
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Countryside and state parks
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Regional music history sites
Without a car, these either disappear from your itinerary or become expensive guided trips.
⚠️ When You Might Skip a Car
You could manage without one if:
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your stay is short
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you’re based right downtown
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you plan to use ride-hailing exclusively
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nightlife is your main focus
Even then, you’re trading flexibility for convenience.
🚦 Driving in Nashville
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Roads are generally easy to navigate
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Parking is available, though not always cheap downtown
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Traffic exists, but is manageable compared to larger US cities
Conclusion: should you rent a car in Nashville?
Yes — for most visitors, it’s the sensible choice.
If you want to see more than Broadway, move easily between neighbourhoods, or explore beyond the city, a car makes Nashville far more enjoyable. Only visitors staying very centrally, for a short time, and relying on ride-hailing will find renting unnecessary.
💡 Rule of thumb:
Nashville is a driving city with a musical soul — renting a car unlocks the full experience. 🚗🎶
