Nashville Murals: The Complete Self-Guided Route Guide
- Chase Gillmore
- 4 days ago
- 16 min read
Nashville murals are concentrated in a handful of walkable pockets, mainly 12 South, The Gulch, East Nashville, and downtown's alley corridors, with Kelsey Montague's What Lifts You wings and Adrien Saporiti's I Believe in Nashville serving as the two most photographed anchors. Most self-guided routes can be completed in a half-day by car or a full day on foot and scooter.
Key Takeaways
Nashville's mural scene took off around 2016 and now includes an estimated 30 to 40 prominent large-scale pieces, with well over 100 murals citywide once smaller works are counted.
The two biggest photo draws are Kelsey Montague's What Lifts You wings mural in The Gulch and Adrien Saporiti's I Believe in Nashville at 2700 12th Avenue South.
12 South alone holds at least five must-see murals within a six-block walk, making it the most efficient single neighborhood for a mural walk.
Some listings show conflicting street addresses for the same mural (the What Lifts You wings appear as both 230 11th Ave S and 302 11th Avenue South in different guides), so this article flags known discrepancies to verify on-site.
Nashville welcomed 17.39 million visitors in 2026, according to Visit Music City, and murals have become a standard stop for group trips looking for free, quick photo content between honky tonks.
Several murals sit inside or on the exterior walls of private businesses, meaning access hours depend on that business being open, not on 24-hour public art status.
If you are organizing a bachelorette weekend, a girls trip, or a family visit and want a free afternoon activity that photographs well and costs nothing, Nashville murals solve that problem better than almost anything else in the city. This guide covers the mural map neighborhood by neighborhood, flags the addresses that conflict across other guides, and answers the specific questions people ask before they show up with a camera.
Unlike a lot of the mural roundups already online, this one focuses on what actually goes wrong on the day of your visit: wrong addresses, murals hidden behind parked cars or inside businesses with limited hours, and confusion about whether you need a car or can walk the whole thing. As of 2026, the mural map keeps shifting slightly as buildings change ownership and walls get repainted, so treat exact locations as a strong starting point rather than gospel.
What Is the Most Famous Mural in Nashville?
The most famous Nashville mural is What Lifts You, Kelsey Montague's oversized angel wings painted on a brick wall in The Gulch. The wings mural has become the default "welcome to Nashville" photo op for millions of visitors, appearing in guides ranging from bachelorette itineraries to national travel features.
The wings mural sits in The Gulch, a converted warehouse district south of downtown known for its exposed brick buildings and boutique retail. Different guides list the address as either 230 11th Ave S or 302 11th Avenue South; both point to the same general block, so if one address doesn't match what you see, walk the block rather than assuming the mural moved. Montague has painted versions of the wings design in other cities too, and Kelsey Montague's Nashville wings remain one of the originals that made the concept popular for interactive public art. A second version of the design, a hot-air-balloon variation of What Lifts You, sits at 1034 West Eastland Avenue in East Nashville. As a result, if the Gulch location is crowded, the Eastland balloon version gives you a quieter alternative with the same interactive concept: stand in front, spread your arms, and the wings appear to be yours.
Expect a short line on weekend afternoons, especially between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. when tour groups and bachelorette parties tend to cluster. Early morning, before 9 a.m., is the best window for an empty shot with soft light. There is no fee and no reservation system; the wings mural is simply a public-facing wall.
Why Was Taylor Swift Removed From a Mural in Nashville?
Murals featuring specific celebrities on private or commercial buildings in Nashville have occasionally been altered or repainted over time as building ownership changes, business branding shifts, or the artist and property owner reach new agreements about the artwork. This kind of change is common with any mural depicting a recognizable public figure, since the artwork exists at the discretion of whoever owns the wall.
If you're hunting for a specific celebrity-themed mural you saw on social media, confirm its current status before building your route around it. Murals on private buildings change more often than the large-scale artist-commissioned works like I Believe in Nashville or What Lifts You, which have stayed in place for years because they function as semi-permanent neighborhood landmarks. If a specific piece has been removed or repainted, nearby businesses can usually confirm what replaced it, since foot traffic to that wall doesn't disappear even when the art does.
This situation also points to a broader access issue that most mural guides skip: several Nashville murals live on the exterior of active retail or restaurant buildings, and if that business closes, renovates, or repaints its facade, the mural can disappear with little notice. Treat any address in this guide, or any competing guide, as accurate as of its last verification, not as permanent.
Where Are the Best Murals in 12 South?
The best murals in 12 South cluster along a six-block stretch of 12th Avenue South, giving the neighborhood the highest concentration of Instagram-friendly murals in Nashville, with at least five distinct pieces within easy walking distance. 12 South mixes converted bungalows, boutique storefronts, and coffee shops, which makes it easy to combine mural-hunting with lunch or shopping in a single stop.
Start at I Believe in Nashville, attributed to Adrien Saporiti, listed at 2700 or 2702 12th Avenue South depending on the source. This block-letter mural in red, white, and blue has become one of the most reproduced Nashville images on social media, largely because the bold typography reads clearly even in a small phone photo. Weekday mornings before 10 a.m. offer the best light and the fewest people waiting for their turn.
Walk south and you'll pass the Draper James blue-and-white striped wall at 2608 12th Avenue South, tied to Reese Witherspoon's Nashville-based lifestyle brand, and worth a stop even if you're not shopping the store. A few doors down, Nashville Looks Good On You sits at 2509 12th Avenue South, tucked behind Frothy Monkey, a longtime neighborhood coffee shop known for its patio seating and strong cold brew.
Continue to 12 South Flowers at 2900 12th Avenue South and Looking Pretty Music City, attributed to Emily Eisenhart, at 2709 12th Avenue South. Nearby, the Make Music, Not War mural at 2902 12th Avenue South is listed under two different artist credits across guides (Epice in one, Relax Max Apparel in another), so don't be surprised if the signage on-site differs from what you read elsewhere. Finish with I Heart Donuts at 1110 Caruthers Avenue, associated with Five Daughters Doughnuts, a Nashville bakery known for its 100-layer croissant-donut hybrid; grab one after your photo.
Parking in 12 South is street-only and fills up fast on weekend afternoons, so arrive before noon on Saturdays if you're driving. The whole loop takes about 45 minutes on foot if you're not stopping to shop, closer to two hours if you are.
Which Nashville Murals Are Best in The Gulch?
Beyond the What Lifts You wings, The Gulch's best additional murals form a smaller but still notable cluster worth building into the same visit, since the neighborhood's compact grid means everything sits within a five-minute walk. The Gulch itself is a former rail yard converted into a walkable district of exposed-brick lofts, boutique gyms, and cocktail bars, which gives its murals a more polished, gallery-adjacent feel compared to the scrappier East Nashville pieces.
Because the wings mural draws the heaviest foot traffic in this part of the city, plan your Gulch stop for a weekday if your group wants photos without waiting behind other tourists. Weekend evenings after 6 p.m. get busy with the district's bar and restaurant crowd, which is great for people-watching but not ideal for an uncrowded photo.
If your group is staying at Underwood Manor, a farmhouse-style rental about five to seven minutes from downtown, you're already close enough to treat The Gulch as a quick pre-dinner detour. Underwood Manor's dining room even has its own wing-style wall mural next to the seven-person table, which past guests have used as a stand-in photo spot to skip the line at the public version entirely.
What Murals Should You See Downtown and in Printers Alley?
Downtown Nashville's most notable murals honor the city's music history and cluster in Bank Alley and the Printers Alley corridor rather than spreading across open storefronts like 12 South. For example, the Gibson Tribute mural, honoring Gibson Guitars, is listed on the north wall of Bank Alley near 213 3rd Avenue North, though at least one guide places a similar tribute piece in Metro Alley near 3rd Avenue and Printers Alley, suggesting there may be more than one Gibson-themed piece in this immediate area.
A few blocks over, the Rone Portrait mural covers the east wall of the Cornerstone building at 530 Church Street, a large-scale black-and-white face piece that reads dramatically different depending on the time of day; late afternoon shadows add depth that flattens out under midday sun. This stretch of downtown sits close enough to Broadway that you can fold it into an evening out without a separate trip.
Downtown parking runs $15 to $25 at most garages near Ryman Auditorium and Bridgestone Arena, so if you're already staying near Broadway, walk this section instead of driving. Groups based at Luxe Loft SoBro 916, three blocks from Broadway, or Luxe Cowgirl 538, also three blocks out, can knock out the entire downtown mural cluster on foot before heading to dinner.
Can You Take a Walking Tour of Nashville Murals?
Yes, guided walking and van tours of Nashville street art exist for visitors who don't want to drive between neighborhoods or plan their own route. These tours typically combine mural stops with general street-art history and neighborhood context, which adds value if you want the backstory behind pieces like I Believe in Nashville rather than just a photo checklist.
A guided option makes the most sense for solo travelers, first-time visitors without a rental car, or groups who want a narrated experience rather than a self-directed scavenger hunt. In contrast, for a mural-focused itinerary, most groups find a self-guided route works just as well, since the murals cluster tightly enough in 12 South and The Gulch that transportation between every stop within a neighborhood isn't necessary.
If your group prefers to build its own custom experience rather than book a fixed-route tour, Stay Nashville's Modern and More Bike Tour lets you cover more ground between neighborhoods than walking alone. This bike tour option works well if you're trying to connect 12 South and The Gulch murals in a single outing without driving.
What Murals Are Worth Seeing in East Nashville and Wedgewood-Houston?
East Nashville and Wedgewood-Houston hold Nashville's grittier, more independent mural work, generally found on industrial buildings and side streets rather than polished retail corridors. Notable pieces include Stay Tuned in East Nashville and Love Y'all in Wedgewood-Houston, both reflecting looser, more experimental styles than the tightly curated 12 South pieces. East Nashville in particular has a reputation as the city's more bohemian, artist-driven neighborhood, and its murals reflect that character.
Stay Tuned, at 625 Main Street in East Nashville, anchors this side of the river with bold lettering visible from the street. A short drive northeast, the hot-air-balloon variant of What Lifts You at 1034 West Eastland Avenue gives East Nashville its own version of the iconic wings without the downtown crowds.
In Wedgewood-Houston, an industrial pocket increasingly known for its art galleries and small breweries, Love Y'all by Joseph Ernst, dated 2020, sits at 2020 Lindell Avenue. Nearby, Life Can Be Sweet at 1512 8th Avenue South is painted on the exterior of Baked on 8th, a bakery worth pairing with your photo stop. The Clay Lady Campus Wall at 1416 Lebanon Pike rounds out this cluster, a large-format piece on a ceramics studio building that gets far less foot traffic than downtown murals, making it one of the easier stops for an unhurried photo.
Wedgewood-Houston is more spread out than 12 South, so plan to drive between stops here rather than walk. Street parking is generally easier to find than downtown, and there is no meter enforcement on most blocks, though that can change as the neighborhood continues to develop.
What Should You Know About Hillsboro Village and West End Murals?
Hillsboro Village, a small commercial strip near Vanderbilt University, has two notable murals within a block of each other: Drippy Lips by Donald "Drawbertson" Robertson at 1814 21st Avenue South, and the Hillsboro Village Dragon Mural at 2102 Belcourt Avenue. This neighborhood carries a college-town energy, with independent bookstores, ice cream shops, and a movie theater mixed in among the boutiques, making it a natural stop if your itinerary already includes Centennial Park or the Parthenon nearby. Groups staying at The Herman Haven, a boho-chic house just 1.2 miles and about four minutes from the Parthenon at Centennial Park, are perfectly positioned to combine a Hillsboro Village mural stop with a Centennial Park visit in the same afternoon.
West of downtown, artist Guido Van Helten is credited with a large-scale piece called Nashville Nations Native at the intersection of 51st Avenue North and Centennial Boulevard, a more remote stop that requires a car and is best treated as a dedicated destination rather than a walkable add-on to another neighborhood.
How Do You Plan an Efficient Self-Guided Mural Route by Car?
An efficient self-guided Nashville mural route by car groups stops by neighborhood proximity rather than chasing individual addresses across the city. Start in 12 South (45 minutes to 2 hours depending on stops), drive 8 to 10 minutes to The Gulch (20 to 30 minutes), then downtown (30 to 45 minutes on foot), finishing with either East Nashville or Wedgewood-Houston depending on which side of the river you're already closer to.
Neighborhood | Key Murals | Best For | Time Needed |
12 South | I Believe in Nashville, 12 South Flowers, Nashville Looks Good On You | Walking, shopping combo | 45 min to 2 hrs |
The Gulch | What Lifts You wings | Quick photo stop, pre-dinner | 20 to 30 min |
Downtown/Printers Alley | Gibson Tribute, Rone Portrait | Combine with Broadway night out | 30 to 45 min |
East Nashville | Stay Tuned, balloon wings variant | Less crowded alternative | 30 to 45 min |
Wedgewood-Houston | Love Y'all, Life Can Be Sweet, Clay Lady Wall | Off-the-beaten-path, industrial vibe | 45 min to 1 hr |
Hillsboro Village | Drippy Lips, Dragon Mural | Pairing with Centennial Park | 20 to 30 min |
Total driving between all six clusters runs roughly 30 to 40 minutes if you sequence them geographically rather than jumping back and forth. Most groups can cover 12 South, The Gulch, and downtown in a single half-day; adding East Nashville or Wedgewood-Houston pushes the outing into a full day.
What Practical Details Do Most Mural Guides Leave Out?
Most published Nashville mural guides skip three practical details that actually determine whether your visit goes smoothly: business-hours access, accessibility, and address accuracy. For example, several murals, including Nashville Looks Good On You behind Frothy Monkey and Life Can Be Sweet on Baked on 8th, are attached to active businesses. If that business is closed, you may still see the exterior wall from the sidewalk, but a nearby parked delivery truck or patio setup can block your shot during business hours.
Second, accessibility varies significantly. 12 South and The Gulch have flat, wide sidewalks suitable for strollers and wheelchairs, with curb cuts at most intersections. In contrast, Wedgewood-Houston and the West Nashville Nations Native mural location involve less consistent sidewalk infrastructure and more roadside parking, which is worth knowing if anyone in your group has mobility needs.
Third, address discrepancies are common enough that you should expect at least one mismatch during your visit. The What Lifts You wings address (230 versus 302 11th Ave S) and the Make Music, Not War artist credit (Epice versus Relax Max Apparel) are two documented examples. When in doubt, walk the block; Nashville's mural blocks are short enough that a wrong number rarely means more than a 60-second detour.
What Are Some Hidden Gem Murals in Nashville?
Nashville's hidden gem murals are the pieces that stay genuinely under the radar because they sit inside parking structures or public parks rather than on street-facing retail walls. Galactic Gardens, at 800 Fort Negley Boulevard, is a lesser-known piece near Fort Negley Park that most first-time visitors never find because it isn't on the standard 12 South or Gulch loop.
The Elliston Place Garage at 207 Louise Avenue is an even bigger surprise: the entire garage and its stairwells are covered in murals, turning a functional parking structure into an impromptu gallery. Because the Elliston Place Garage is a parking garage and not a boutique storefront, it draws almost none of the foot traffic that clogs the wings mural on a Saturday afternoon, making it one of the few spots on this list where you can genuinely shoot without waiting.
Both Galactic Gardens and the Elliston Place Garage fit well into a Wedgewood-Houston or downtown-adjacent loop, and neither requires an entrance fee or reservation. Bring a flashlight-equipped phone for the stairwell shots in the Elliston Place Garage, since the lighting inside is dimmer than an outdoor wall mural.
How Should You Photograph Nashville Murals?
The best light for photographing most Nashville murals falls in the early morning, generally before 9 a.m., or in the hour before sunset, when direct overhead sun isn't washing out the wall's color and creating harsh shadows across your subject. Murals facing east, like many along 12th Avenue South, catch soft morning light; west-facing walls in The Gulch photograph best in late afternoon. Weekday visits consistently mean shorter waits than weekends, and Sunday mornings before 10 a.m. are often the quietest window of the whole week at the wings mural. If your group is shooting with a phone rather than a dedicated camera, turn off flash entirely; painted walls reflect flash unevenly and flatten the mural's texture. For group shots at the wings mural, one person should hang back to shoot while others rotate in and out quickly, since the standard etiquette is to keep your turn to under a minute if others are waiting.
Practical Guidance: How to Build Your Own Mural Day
Building your own Nashville mural day comes down to sequencing stops by neighborhood proximity rather than by mural popularity, then layering in food breaks and flexible add-ons based on your remaining time and lodging location. Following this order, most groups can complete a full half-day core loop while leaving room to extend into a second neighborhood if energy and daylight allow.
Follow this order for the most efficient half-day loop:
Start in 12 South before 10 a.m. to beat both crowds and the midday heat, hitting I Believe in Nashville, the 12 South Flowers wall, and Nashville Looks Good On You in one walking loop.
Grab coffee or a pastry at Frothy Monkey or Five Daughters Doughnuts while you're already on the block.
Drive roughly 8 to 10 minutes to The Gulch for the What Lifts You wings, ideally arriving before 11 a.m. on a weekday.
Head downtown for the Gibson Tribute and Rone Portrait murals, folding this into lunch or an early dinner near Broadway.
If time allows, add either Wedgewood-Houston or East Nashville depending on which side of downtown your lodging sits.
Save Hillsboro Village for a day you're already visiting Centennial Park or the Parthenon, since the murals there are quick stops rather than a standalone destination.
Three mistakes come up often enough to call out directly. First, don't try to cover all six neighborhood clusters in one day unless your group genuinely enjoys a packed itinerary. Second, don't rely on a single guide's address without cross-checking, given the documented discrepancies above, such as the What Lifts You wings appearing at both 230 and 302 11th Ave S. Third, don't assume every mural is accessible 24 hours; several sit on private business exteriors, so foot traffic and visibility are tied to that business's operating hours rather than public art status.
For groups also building out a broader Nashville itinerary, pairing your mural route with a stop at the Frist Art Museum or the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum rounds out a full day of visual culture beyond street art. If your trip centers on a group celebration, our guide to bachelorette party house rentals covers how to pick lodging that keeps your whole crew together between mural stops and Broadway.
Conclusion
Nashville murals reward a little planning more than most city attractions, mainly because the best pieces cluster tightly by neighborhood, specifically 12 South, The Gulch, downtown, East Nashville, and Wedgewood-Houston, rather than spreading evenly across the map. For a first visit, anchor your day around 12 South and The Gulch, since together they hold the highest concentration of must-see murals, including I Believe in Nashville and the What Lifts You wings. Treat downtown and East Nashville as add-ons based on your remaining time, and double-check any address that conflicts across guides, such as the wings mural's 230 versus 302 11th Ave S listing, before you drive across town for it. As Nashville's mural scene keeps expanding in 2026, expect new walls to appear and older ones to shift, so this guide reflects the strongest, most established pieces rather than a fixed, unchanging list.
If your mural day includes Hillsboro Village or Centennial Park, The Herman Haven puts you about four minutes from the Parthenon and Centennial Park, with a private backyard hot tub waiting when you get back from a day of walking. Check availability at The Herman Haven.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where to stay in Nashville for a bachelorette trip that's safe and close to good restaurants and bars?
Neighborhoods within two to three miles of downtown, like the areas around The Gulch and Midtown, tend to work best for bachelorette groups wanting walkability without being directly on Broadway's busiest strip. Properties such as The Herman Haven, 2.1 miles from Broadway, and Underwood Manor, about five to seven minutes from downtown, both put you close enough to walk or take a short rideshare while staying in a quieter residential setting at night.
What is the most famous mural in Nashville?
Kelsey Montague's What Lifts You wings mural in The Gulch is the most photographed and widely recognized mural in Nashville. The wings mural functions as an interactive photo op where visitors stand in front of the wings with arms spread, and it has become a default stop on nearly every visitor's Nashville itinerary.
Can I take a walking tour of Nashville murals?
Yes, guided walking and van tours covering Nashville street art are available for visitors who prefer a narrated experience over planning their own route. Most groups, however, find a self-guided route through 12 South and The Gulch works just as well since the murals sit close enough together to cover on foot.
What are some hidden gem murals in Nashville?
Galactic Gardens near Fort Negley Park and the fully mural-covered Elliston Place Garage on Louise Avenue are two lesser-known spots that most visitors miss because neither sits on the standard 12 South or Gulch route. Both locations see far less foot traffic than the wings mural, making them easier to photograph without a wait.
What's included in a typical vacation rental in Nashville?
Most Nashville vacation rentals include a fully stocked kitchen, in-unit washer and dryer, and Wi-Fi as standard, with group-oriented properties often adding a hot tub, game room, or fire pit. Underwood Manor, for example, includes a seven-person hot tub, unlimited Nespresso coffee, and a speakeasy-style game room with an 8-foot pool table.
Where to buy cowboy boots in Nashville?
Broadway and the surrounding downtown blocks hold most of Nashville's boot retailers, ranging from national western-wear chains to smaller boutique shops mixed in among the honky-tonks. If you're already touring downtown murals near Printers Alley, you'll pass several boot stores within a few blocks without a special detour.
What's the most romantic type of vacation rental in Nashville?
Smaller one- or two-bedroom units with a private balcony or outdoor space tend to suit couples better than large group houses built for eight to twenty-four guests. Luxe Loft SoBro 916, a one-bedroom loft with a private balcony overlooking a saltwater pool just three blocks from Broadway, is a strong fit for a couple's weekend that still wants walkable access to downtown.
How many prominent murals does Nashville actually have?
Estimates put the number of prominent, large-scale Nashville murals at roughly 30 to 40, though the total climbs well past 100 once smaller pieces and interior murals are counted. New murals are added most years, so any fixed count is a snapshot rather than a permanent figure.
Written by Chase Gillmore, Owner & Operator at Stay Nashville
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