Seven days is the full Mid-South version of this base itinerary: it takes the 6-day plan (Memphis core, Tunica, a Clarksdale overnight, Oxford) and closes with a full day at Shiloh National Military Park to the east. By this point, more of the week sits outside Tennessee than in it, which is the whole idea behind treating Memphis as a base rather than the destination itself. For the city-first version of a week, see the city-only 7-day itinerary instead.

Six days is where this itinerary stops rushing the Delta: it takes the 5-day plan (Memphis core, Tunica, Clarksdale, Oxford) and turns the Clarksdale day into an overnight at the Shack Up Inn, a former sharecropper-shack lodging on an old cotton plantation, rather than a rushed round trip. Our 7-day itinerary adds a Shiloh battlefield day on top of this same spine. Book these before you go Graceland’s timed-entry ticket at graceland.

Five days is where this itinerary really becomes a Mid-South regional trip rather than a city stop with a day trip attached: it takes the 4-day plan (Memphis core, Tunica, Clarksdale) and adds Oxford’s literary-and-college scene as a third day trip. Our 6-day itinerary goes further still, adding an overnight in Clarksdale itself. Book these before you go Graceland’s timed-entry ticket at graceland.com A rental car, essential from Day 3 onward A place to stay downtown or in Midtown, check rates on Booking.

Four days lets the Mid-South side of this trip really open up: it takes the 3-day plan (Memphis core plus Clarksdale) and adds a Tunica casino day on the way south. This is where the base concept starts to feel different from a straight city trip, more of the schedule is now outside Tennessee than in it. Book these before you go Graceland’s timed-entry ticket at graceland.com A rental car, essential for Days 3 and 4 A place to stay downtown or in Midtown, check rates on Booking.

Three days is the pattern this whole base itinerary series follows: two days for the Memphis music-and-history core, then a full day south into the Mississippi Delta. It’s the baseline version of Memphis, Tennessee: A First-Timer’s Base ; our 4-day itinerary adds Tunica’s casinos on top of this same spine. Book these before you go Graceland’s timed-entry ticket at graceland.com A rental car, essential for Day 3 A place to stay downtown or in Midtown, check rates on Booking.

Two days is the minimum version of Memphis as a Mid-South base: compress the city’s music core into a single full day, then spend Day 2 across the state line at Clarksdale, the true Delta blues pilgrimage. If that feels rushed, our 3-day itinerary gives the city core its own two days before the Delta trip. If you’d rather stay in the city the whole time, see the city-only 2-day itinerary instead.

Seven days is deep Memphis plus one honest step into the Delta: it takes the 6-day plan (the full city core, Tunica, and the smaller museums) and adds a closing day trip to Clarksdale, Mississippi, if blues history is pulling you further south. With less time, drop this last day; if the Delta is actually the point of your trip rather than an add-on, build outward instead from Memphis, Tennessee: A First-Timer’s Base and its own 7-day itinerary , which spends far more time in Mississippi.

Six days keeps this trip city-first: it takes the 5-day plan (the full city core plus a Tunica day trip) and adds a sixth day rounding out Memphis’s smaller museums, rather than turning the whole back half of the trip into day trips. If the Delta is what actually pulls you, Memphis, Tennessee: A First-Timer’s Base and its 6-day itinerary build the trip the other way around. Book these before you go

Let’s be honest about five days in Memphis: the city’s own sights, Beale Street, the Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, Sun Studio, Stax, Midtown, Shelby Farms Park, are genuinely done by the end of Day 4. Rather than inventing a fifth day of city filler, this itinerary takes the 4-day plan and adds a single Mid-South day trip. If you’d rather build a whole trip around the Delta and the region instead of the city, see Memphis, Tennessee: A First-Timer’s Base and its own 5-day itinerary .

Four days lets you finish the entire Memphis city core without rushing: it takes the 3-day plan (Beale Street, the Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, Sun Studio, Stax) and adds a Midtown and green-space day. Beyond four days, the city’s own sights are essentially done, our 5-day itinerary honestly pivots to a Mid-South day trip instead of inventing more in-city stops. Book these before you go Graceland’s timed-entry ticket at graceland.com A rental car, needed most days on this itinerary A place to stay downtown or in Midtown, check rates on Booking.

Three days is the sweet spot for a first Memphis trip: it takes the 2-day plan (Beale Street, the Civil Rights Museum, Graceland, Sun Studio) and adds a third day of soul music and the riverfront. With less time, drop Day 3’s afternoon; with more, our 4-day itinerary adds Midtown and Shelby Farms Park. Book these before you go Graceland’s timed-entry ticket at graceland.com A rental car for Days 2 and 3 A place to stay downtown or in Midtown, check rates on Booking.

Two days is a realistic minimum for a first Memphis trip: Day 1 covers downtown’s walkable cluster, Beale Street, the National Civil Rights Museum, and a barbecue dinner, and Day 2 belongs to Elvis and Sun Records. Want more once you land? Our 3-day and 4-day itineraries build on exactly this same route. Book these before you go Graceland’s timed-entry ticket, book online at graceland.com rather than risking a walk-up queue A rental car, since Day 2 needs one; compare options before you land A place to stay downtown or in Midtown, check rates on Booking.

Memphis sits at the exact spot where Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas meet on the Mississippi River, which is precisely why it doubles as a base rather than just a city stop. Fly into Memphis International Airport (MEM), spend a day or two on the music-and-history core, Beale Street, Sun Studio, Graceland, the National Civil Rights Museum, and then let the Mid-South do the rest: Tunica’s casinos 30-45 minutes south, Clarksdale’s Delta blues pilgrimage 75-95 minutes south, Oxford’s Ole Miss and Faulkner sites 80-90 minutes southeast, and Shiloh’s Civil War battlefield 2-2.

Memphis sits in the far southwest corner of Tennessee, where the state meets Mississippi and Arkansas on the banks of the Mississippi River, and it’s the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll, blues, and soul. Two to four days covers the music-and-history core comfortably: Beale Street, Sun Studio, Stax, Graceland, and the National Civil Rights Museum. Rent a car or budget for rideshares, since almost everything worth seeing beyond downtown needs wheels.