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Top 10 Best Things to do in Memphis, Tennessee

emphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, located along the Mississippi River. Memphis, Tennessee’s largest African-American city, played an important role in the American civil rights movement.

Memphis, a vibrant, culturally diverse city with a rich cultural history and a thriving arts scene, is home to a plethora of museums and attractions.

Memphis is always grooving, whether to Elvis Presley’s songs echoing throughout the city or to the tunes of up-and-coming musicians on Beale Street.

Are you looking for things to do in Memphis? We have a few ideas.

The following are the ten best things to do in Memphis, Tennessee.

1. You can’t visit Memphis without visiting Graceland

Graceland mansion Picture By Joseph Novak –

Graceland is a mansion on a 13.8-acre (5.6-hectare) estate in Memphis, once owned by singer and actor Elvis Presley located at 3764 Elvis Presley Boulevard in the vast Whitehaven community. On June 7, 1982, it was opened to the public as a museum.

The museum was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1991, becoming the first site related to rock and roll to be entered therein. On March 27, 2006, it was declared a National Historic Landmark also a first for such a site.

It is the second most-visited house in the entire US after the White House.
Explore the gold records, the jewelled jumpsuits, the classic cars, and interactive exhibits that let you experience Elvis like never before.

2. Visit the Victorian Village

The Victorian Village District is a small enclave of 19th-century mansions, several of which have been converted to museums in the eastern quadrant of downtown Memphis. The homes in Victorian Village were built from 1846 into the 1890s, and range in style from Neo-classical through Late Gothic Revival.

In 1979 the Victorian Village neighbourhood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Lowenstein-Long House (1901) at 217 N. Waldron Blvd. and the Lee-Macintyre House in Victorian Village are considered to be endangered by Memphis Heritage, a non-profit preservationist group based in the city.

Explore the six sites; Mallory-Neely House Museum, Woodruff-Fontaine House Museum, The Massey House (home to Memphis City Beautiful), Mollie Fontaine Lounge, and The James Lee House learn of how the business elite lived in the 19th-century.

3. Sign the night away at Beale Street

Beale Street Photo By Curt Hart –

Beale Street runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately 1.8 miles (2.9 km) in Downtown Memphis.

Beale Street was created in 1841 by entrepreneur and developer Robertson Topp who named it after a forgotten military hero of the Mexican–American War.

In the 1860s, many black travelling musicians began performing on Beale. The first of these to call Beale Street home was the Young Men’s Brass Band, which were formed by Sam Thomas in 1867.

Today Beale Street is renowned for music streaming from every open door, tributes to music legends along its cobblestone walkways and reminders of the city’s rich heritage everywhere you look.

4. Gorge at Central BBQ

Memphis-style barbecue is one of the four predominant regional styles of barbecue in the United States.

This style of barbecue is slow-cooked in a pit and ribs can be prepared either “dry” or “wet”. “Dry” ribs are covered with a dry rub consisting of salt and various spices before cooking and are normally eaten without sauce. “Wet” ribs are brushed with sauce before, during, and after cooking.

Central BBQ was founded in 2002 by partners Roger Sapp and Craig Blondis and is placed in the top 3 for barbecue categories in the Memphis Flyer’s annual “Best Of Memphis” contest, as voted for by Memphis residents, every year since its inception.

Enjoy tender and sweet BBQ all around from Ribs to Brisket and Pork which has been described by so many as the best thing they have ever eaten in their life.

5. Peabody Rooftop Party & Ducks

The Peabody Memphis is a historic luxury hotel in Downtown Memphis that opened on September 1, 1925.

The hotel is known for the “Peabody Ducks” that live on the hotel rooftop and make daily treks to the lobby. It is a member of Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The custom of having live ducks in the hotel dates back to the 1930s.

The General Manager of the time, Frank Schutt, had just returned from a weekend hunting trip in Arkansas. He and his friends found it amusing to leave three of their live English call ducks in the hotel fountain.

The guests loved the idea, and since then, five Mallard ducks (one drake and four hens) have played in the fountain every day.

6. See the stories past in Orpheum Theatre

The Orpheum Theatre is located in downtown Memphis on the southwest corner of the intersection of South Main and Beale streets. In 1890, the Grand Opera House opened and was hailed as the most classy theatre outside New York City.

The Grand became part of the Orpheum Circuit in 1907, and the theatre became known as the Orpheum. On August 15, 1977, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Orpheum’s two venues also host performances by Ballet Memphis, various concerts, comedians, a summer movie series, a family series of educational programs, and local cultural and community events such as Memphis in May, International Blues Challenge, and special Elvis Week events.

7. Sing into Elvis’s mike at Sun Studio

Sun Studio exterior Photo By Egghead06 –

Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis on January 3, 1950.

It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business.

Reputedly the first rock and roll single, Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats’ “Rocket 88” was recorded there in 1951 with song composer Ike Turner on keyboards, leading the studio to claim status as the birthplace of rock & roll. Elvis Presley recorded at least 24 songs at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, between 1953 and 1955.

Because of the recordings’ historical significance in the foundation of rock and roll music, they were inducted into the U.S. Congress’s National Recording Registry in 2002.

8. Reflect at National Civil Rights Museum and Lorraine Motel

The National Civil Rights Museum is a complex of museums and historic buildings in Memphis built around the former Lorraine Motel, which was the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. The museum exhibits trace the history of the civil rights movement in the United States from the 17th century to the present.

In 2016, the museum was honoured by becoming a Smithsonian Affiliate museum. It is also a contributing property to the South Main Street Historic District of the National Register of Historic Places.

The museum allows you to learn and engage in civil rights history to better understand how this history impacts them today.

The museum also provokes thoughtful debate with its public forums, book talks, distinguished speakers, and one-on-one conversations with civil rights icons and new movement makers.

9. Tour Memphis Zoo

The Memphis Zoo, located in Midtown, Memphis was established on April 4, 1906. It is set on 76 acres (31 ha), of which approximately 55 acres (22 ha) are developed. The Memphis Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

Memphis zoo is home to more than 3,500 animals representing over 500 different species. In April 2003, the Zoo became one of only four U.S. zoos to exhibit the giant panda. One male and one female giant panda (“Ya Ya” and “Le Le”) share their 3-acre (1.2 ha) home with several other species native to China.

10. Ride the Downtown Memphis Trolley

Downtown trolley Memphis Photo By Thomas R Machnitzki –

The MATA Trolley is a heritage streetcar transit system operating in Memphis which began operating on April 29, 1993. Since opening the system has been extended twice and now consists of three lines; the Main Street Line, the Riverfront Loop and the Madison Avenue Line.

The trolleys used are almost all restored, vintage streetcars. These cars are each 30 feet 6 inches (9.3 m) long, 7 feet 10 inches (2.39 m) wide and weigh 25,820 pounds (11,710 kg) without passengers.

No feeling is greater than rolling around Memphis aboard a vintage trolley car sporting an antique-looking interior and wooden seats