Top Things To Do In Memphis
Memphis rewards a plan built around four things: music, civil rights history, the riverfront, and food. Here’s how to prioritize when time is short.
Music heritage comes first
Start with Beale Street, free to walk by day, and a National Historic Landmark. Verified clubs still operating include B.B. King’s Blues Club, Rum Boogie Cafe and its own Blues Hall, Silky O’Sullivan’s, King’s Palace Café, and Alfred’s on Beale. From there, Sun Studio at 706 Union Ave, the self-described birthplace of rock ’n’ roll, runs a 40-50 minute guided tour for about $15 adult. Graceland, about 9 miles south in Whitehaven, needs a booked, timed ticket and a car; the standard Elvis Experience tour runs roughly $85 adult, and prices shift, so check graceland.com directly. Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Soulsville, built on the original Stax Records site, runs about $20 adult and is closed Mondays.
Give the Civil Rights Museum real time
The National Civil Rights Museum, built around the preserved Lorraine Motel at 450 Mulberry St, marks the site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968, with Room 306 and the balcony intact. It traces the movement from slavery through 1968 to today, and the reimagined “Legacy Experience” exhibit reopened May 16, 2026. Entry runs about $25 adult, open 9am-6pm with last entry at 5pm, and closed Tuesdays. This is one of the most significant history museums in the country. Give it a full morning or afternoon, not a rushed hour between other stops.
The riverfront and parks
Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid, inside the 32-story former arena on the riverfront, is free to browse, with an indoor cypress swamp and an observation deck called The Lookout for about $8-10. The Peabody Duck March at 149 Union Ave is free and happens twice daily, ducks marching to the lobby fountain at 11am and back at 5pm; arrive about 30 minutes early. Shelby Farms Park in East Memphis covers 4,500 acres with 40-plus miles of trails, and Big River Crossing is a free roughly 1-mile pedestrian bridge into West Memphis, Arkansas, an easy way to set foot in a second state.
One quick disambiguation
Memphis, Tennessee has no UNESCO status of any kind. The UNESCO-listed “Memphis and its Necropolis” is Memphis, Egypt, on the Nile, a different place that only shares the name.
Eat while you’re at it
Memphis barbecue means dry-rub ribs and slaw-topped pulled pork, distinct from Kansas City, Carolina, or Texas styles. For specific spots, see our best places to eat guide .
Plan your days
For a full day-by-day plan built around everything above, start with our 2-day itinerary or the main Memphis guide for context on how it all fits together.