Where To Stay In Memphis
Where to stay in Memphis comes down to a simple trade-off: downtown puts you inside walking distance of Beale Street and the Civil Rights Museum, while the other neighborhoods trade some convenience for quieter streets or a specific theme.
Downtown, Beale Street, and South Main
This is the obvious choice for a first visit. You’re within walking distance of Beale Street, the National Civil Rights Museum, and the riverfront, and the Main Street Trolley covers this stretch for $1 a ride. It’s also the busiest and priciest part of the city on weekend nights.
Midtown: Overton Square and Cooper-Young
A short drive or rideshare from downtown, Midtown trades some of that walkability for a quieter, more residential feel, with its own restaurant and bar scene around Overton Square and Cooper-Young. It works well if you want a base that isn’t right on top of Beale Street’s weekend noise.
Harbor Town
A planned residential neighborhood on Mud Island, Harbor Town sits close to downtown geographically but feels distinctly separate, with river views and a slower pace. It’s a smaller, less obvious option worth knowing about if quiet matters more than proximity to nightlife.
East Memphis and the suburbs
East Memphis, along with the Germantown and Collierville suburbs further out, trades city-center convenience for more standard suburban lodging, often at a lower nightly rate. This makes sense if you’re renting a car regardless and don’t mind a longer drive into downtown each day.
Near Graceland
If Graceland is the centerpiece of your trip, the on-site Guest House at Graceland hotel in Whitehaven runs a shuttle to downtown, Beale Street, and the airport, which removes some of the need for a car on days built around Elvis sights specifically.
A themed option
Inside Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid downtown, Big Cypress Lodge offers treehouse-style cabin rooms, a genuinely unusual overnight option if you want something different from a standard hotel room and don’t mind being inside a retail complex.
What it costs
Expect roughly $121-136 a night on average across the city, though this shifts significantly around Elvis Week (Aug 8-16, 2026) and the string of May festivals, when Graceland-area and downtown hotels both fill up and prices climb. Book well ahead for either window.
Getting around from wherever you stay
Outside downtown’s walkable core, a car or rideshare is effectively required everywhere on this list. See our travel tips guide for more on getting around, or the main Memphis guide for how it all fits into a full trip.