Memphis

Home of the blues and birthplace of rock 'n' roll: Elvis's Graceland, live music on Beale Street, the National Civil Rights Museum and Memphis barbecue.

Memphis sits in the southwest corner of Tennessee on the east bank of the Mississippi River, facing Arkansas across the water. It is known as the "Home of the Blues" and the "Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll". Downtown stretches along the river: live music on Beale Street, the Peabody Hotel's duck march, the National Civil Rights Museum (at the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated), the South Main Arts District, the Pyramid and the riverfront parks can all be linked on foot or by vintage trolley. South of the city are Elvis's Graceland and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music; Midtown has Sun Studio, Overton Park and the Memphis Zoo, and the Cooper-Young neighbourhood; to the east are the Memphis Botanic Garden, the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, and Shelby Farms Park. The best times to visit are Apr–May and Sep–Oct; in May, Memphis in May brings the Beale Street Music Festival and the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. Summers are hot and humid, and winters see occasional ice and snow. Getting there: Memphis International Airport is about 15 km from downtown, with plenty of domestic connecting flights; Amtrak's City of New Orleans stops at Central Station; by car it's about 3 hours from Nashville and about 6 hours from New Orleans. Allow 2–3 days, including half a day for Graceland. Tips: at night, stick to the busy main stretch of Beale Street and take a taxi when you leave rather than walking alone through quiet blocks; some museums close on Mondays or Tuesdays.

Top sights

• Graceland – Elvis Presley's former estate, one of the most visited private homes in America and a National Historic Landmark.
• Beale Street – The Home of the Blues, with neon-lit bars and live music packed side by side. It was recognized by the U.S. Congress as the birthplace of t…
• National Civil Rights Museum – Housed in the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, the museum tells the history of the American civil rights move…
• Sun Studio – The Birthplace of Rock and Roll, where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis recorded their first records.
• Stax Museum of American Soul Music – A soul music museum rebuilt on the original site of Stax Records, featuring Isaac Hayes's gold-plated Cadillac.
• The Peabody Ducks March – The signature ritual of this century-old hotel: twice a day, mallard ducks walk down a red carpet between the lobby fountain and the roofto…
• Memphis Pyramid (Bass Pro Shops) – A stainless-steel pyramid about 97 meters tall. The former arena has been converted into a giant outdoor-gear store, and there is an observ…
• Mud Island River Park – A peninsula park across from downtown, famous for its scale model of the lower Mississippi River, the “River Walk.”
• Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum – A music museum with exhibits curated with the Smithsonian Institution, telling how cotton-field sharecroppers gave birth to the blues, rock…
• Blues Hall of Fame Museum – A hall of fame run by the Blues Foundation, using interactive screens, manuscripts, and records to introduce hundreds of blues musicians wh…
• Memphis Zoo – A long-established zoo in Overton Park, famous for its Egyptian-style gates and themed areas such as the China Pavilion.
• Overton Park & Levitt Shell – An old city park in the center of town that preserves original broadleaf forest. It includes the Levitt Shell, where Elvis Presley gave his…
• Dixon Gallery and Gardens – A mansion museum in East Memphis, known for its French and American Impressionist collection and roughly seven hectares of English-style ga…
• Memphis Botanic Garden – A botanic garden of about 39 hectares. The Japanese Garden, the Iris Garden, and the children's garden “My Big Backyard” are the most popul…
• Shelby Farms Park – One of the largest urban parks in the United States, covering about 1,800 hectares, with lakes, a bison herd, and long greenways.
• Big River Crossing – The longest public pedestrian and bike bridge on the Mississippi River, allowing you to walk from Tennessee to Arkansas.
• Tom Lee Park – A riverfront park on the Mississippi in downtown Memphis. After a full redevelopment in 2023, it added a sports field, lookout pavilions, a…
• Orpheum Theatre – A luxurious theater completed in 1928, with crystal chandeliers and gilded decor, hosting Broadway tours and concerts.
• Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum – The Burkle Estate, said to have been a station on the Underground Railroad, presenting the history of the slave trade and of escape.
• Cotton Museum at the Memphis Cotton Exchange – A museum housed in the former trading floor of the Memphis Cotton Exchange, telling the story of the 'Cotton Kingdom' and the rise and fall…
• Metal Museum – The only museum in the United States dedicated to metal arts and crafts, housed in a former naval hospital building on the bluffs above the…
• Withers Collection Museum & Gallery – A photography gallery on Beale Street showing images by photographer Ernest Withers of the civil rights movement and Black music.
• Mason Temple – Headquarters of the Church of God in Christ, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech, 'I've Been to the Mountaintop,' in 19…
• Pink Palace Museum – A science and history museum housed in the pink marble mansion of supermarket tycoon Saunders, featuring a planetarium and a giant-screen t…
• Crystal Shrine Grotto – A man-made grotto inside Memorial Park Cemetery, studded with quartz crystals and decorated with biblical scenes. It is a truly quirky attr…
• Elmwood Cemetery – A Victorian-style landscaped cemetery opened in 1852, home to yellow fever victims and figures from Memphis history.
• Cooper-Young Historic District – A bohemian neighborhood in Midtown with old bungalows, independent bookstores, breweries and restaurants, popular with locals for eating an…
• South Main Arts District – An old warehouse district near the National Civil Rights Museum, with galleries, bars and vintage streetcars, and Central Station as its ga…
• Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous – An old-school favorite hidden in a basement off an alley, open since 1948, famous for its dry-rubbed pork ribs that define Memphis barbecue.

Where to eat

• Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous – A historic basement barbecue joint in an alleyway opened in 1948, famous for its charcoal-grilled dry-rub ribs, a signa…
• The Four Way – A historic soul food restaurant opened in 1946, which also served as a gathering place for civil rights leaders.
• Central BBQ (Central Ave) – A local barbecue brand started in 2002; this location on Central Avenue is the original branch and offers budget-friend…
• Cozy Corner BBQ – A neighborhood barbecue joint in North Memphis opened in 1977, famous for its whole smoked Cornish game hen.
• Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken (Downtown) – A spicy fried chicken brand originating from the small town of Mason, Tennessee; the Downtown location draws constant l…
• Flight Restaurant & Wine Bar – A highly-rated downtown restaurant famous for its three-course "flight" menus and wine pairings.

Itineraries

• US Southern Civil Rights Trail Tour – Trace the historic sites of the Civil Rights Movement from Atlanta through Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham to Memphis.
• Deep South Music Road Tour – Drive from Nashville along Highway 61 through the Delta, passing Natchez to New Orleans.