One of two hostels in Nashville, Music City Hostel (1809 Patterson St., 615/692-1277, www.musiccityhostel.com, $25) is located among doctor’s offices and commercial buildings in between downtown Nashville and Elliston Place. The low-slung ’70s-style building looks like nothing much on the outside, but inside it is cheerful, welcoming, and a comfortable home base for budget travelers. Music City Hostel offers the usual dorm-style bunk-bed accommodations, as well as a handful of private apartments, which rent for $75–85 a night.

You can also have a private bedroom with private bath plus shared kitchen and common room for $60 a night. Common areas include a large kitchen, dining room, reading room, cable TV room, computer with Internet access, and a coin laundry. The entire facility is smoke-free. Parking is free, and the hostel is within walking distance of restaurants, a bus stop, car rental agency, post office, and hospitals. It would be a hike to get downtown on foot from here.