Sightseeing OverviewMemphis spreads eastwards from its position on the banks of the
Mississippi River and the best place for visitors to begin any sightseeing tour is
Downtown, the
oldest part of the city and the part nearest the river.
This is the location of
Beale Street, always busy with tourists exploring its shops, lively clubs and restaurants and the famous
Peabody Hotel. It is a short walk from here to the bank of the lazy Mississippi, where a
monorail slides high above the river and onto
Mud Island and the
River Museum.
While Downtown can
be explored on foot, other attractions are
scattered throughout the city, which is so spread out that transport (preferably a car) is needed to reach them.
Graceland, for instance, Elvis Presley’s mansion and the city’s top visitor attraction, lies 16km (10 miles) to the south of the city, while the best shops are to be found in the
gleaming malls of
East Memphis.
A good introduction to the city is a trip on the
Main Street Trolley, which runs along the river and through the
heart of Downtown. On the last Friday of each month, the Main Street Trolley runs tours through the shops, restaurants and galleries of the
South Main Arts District.
Tourist InformationMemphis Convention & Visitors Bureau 47 Union Avenue
Tel: (901) 543 5333
or 1 888 633 9099.
Website:
www.memphistravel.comOpening hours: Daily 0900-1700 (Oct-Mar); 0900-1800 (Apr-Sep).
Tennessee Welcome Center 119 North Riverside Drive
Tel: (901) 543 6757.
Opening hours: Daily 0700-2200.
PassesPasses and discounts depend on vendor and attraction site.
MATA (Memphis Area Transit Authority) offers discounts to seniors, students and the disabled. The
Memphis CVB also has downloadable discount coupons on its website.
Key Attractions:Graceland The home of Elvis Presley, Graceland is the most famous attraction in Memphis. Elvis purchased the mansion in 1957 and lived there until his death in 1977. His rags to riches story embodies the American Dream and Graceland has plenty to interest the casual visitor as well as the devoted fan. A tour of the mansion includes the gloriously tasteless ’jungle room’, with its floor-to-ceiling carpets that Elvis designed himself. In the
Meditation Garden, visitors can see Elvis’ grave, which is always covered with bouquets and wreaths, sent by sobbing and adoring fans from all over the world. At Graceland Plaza, opposite the mansion, are a number of exhibitions dedicated to different areas of the singer’s life and obsessions. These include an
Automobile Museum, containing his famous pink Cadillac.
3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard
Tel: 1 800 238 2000 (reservations)
or (901) 332 3322.
Website:
www.elvis.comOpening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1700, Sun 1000-1600 (Mar-Oct); daily 1000-1600 (Nov-Feb); no mansion tours Tues (Dec-Feb). Last tour begins at above ticket counter closing times.
Admission charge.
Beale Street Historically the center for black music and culture in the city, Beale Street is still the musical heart of Memphis and worth visiting just for its atmosphere. It is known as the birthplace of the blues, because it was here that W C Handy wrote
Memphis Blues, so marking the very first time a blues tune had been put onto paper. His house is now a museum, the
W C Handy House Museum, filled with photographs, memorabilia and some of the original sheet music written by the man who popularized blues. Beale Street is still the best place in the city for fans to hear live music, with bars such as
B B King’s Blues Club. It is also the location of
A Schwab, the oldest shop in the city, which has been run by the Schwab family since 1876. The general store sells everything from size 74 men’s trousers to various voodoo potions.
Beale Street Historic District Tel: (901) 526 0110.
Website:
www.bealestreet.com B B King’s Blues Club 143 Beale Street
Tel: (901) 524 5464.
Website:
www.bbkingclubs.com W C Handy House Museum 352 Beale Street
Tel: (901) 522 1556
or 527 3427.
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1700 (summer); Tues-Sat 1100-1600 (winter).
Admission charge.
A Schwab 163 Beale Street
Tel: (901) 523 9782.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1700.
Free admission.
Sun Studio This small recording studio fully deserves its title as ’the birthplace of rock ’n’ roll’, for it was here that Elvis Presley made his very first recording, ’My Happiness’. Sun Studio looks much as it did in the 1950s and contains musical memorabilia, such as a microphone used by Elvis. The tour includes outtakes of recordings made there by the King and other Sun artists, such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. It is still a working studio and artists like Billy Bob Thornton, the Judds, Maroon 5 and Vertical Horizon have recently made recordings here. The adjacent Sun Studio cafe has an old-fashioned fountain where sodas and milkshakes are served.
706 Union Avenue
Tel: (901) 521 0664
or 1 800 441 6249.
Website:
www.sunstudio.comOpening hours: Daily 1000-1800.
Admission charge.
Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum This museum tells the story of Memphis music and how it influenced various genres. It explains how rock ’n’ roll (and later soul) grew out of the blues, gospel and country music of poor rural sharecroppers from Mississippi. The collection includes early films of Elvis and memorabilia such as Ike Turner’s piano and Carl Perkins’ guitar. CD players are distributed to each visitor, so they can listen in on the songs related to each exhibit. These range from scratchy recordings of old blues numbers to famous songs from Memphis’ Stax Records, including
Dock of the Bay and the theme from
Shaft. The museum no longer shares the same building as the Gibson Guitar Factory, the manufacturing base for the world-famous guitars, but has moved to the plaza of the FedExForum in the Beale Street Entertainment District.
191 Beale Street, Suite 100, Plaza of the FedExForum
Tel: (901) 205 2533.
Website:
www.memphisrocknsoul.orgOpening hours: Daily 1000-1900.
Admission charge.
National Civil Rights Museum This museum is housed in what was formerly the Lorraine Motel, the site of the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, in 1968. The museum traces the history of the civil rights movement in America, from slavery to the present day. There are various tableaux, such as one demonstrating Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a bus to a white man - sparking a whole wave of protests. The most poignant sight of all is Dr King’s motel room, which has been preserved as it was on the day of the shooting.
450 Mulberry Street
Tel: (901) 521 9699.
Website:
www.civilrightsmuseum.org Opening hours: Mon, Wed-Sat 0900-1800, Sun 1300-1800 (Jun-Aug); Mon, Wed-Sat 0900-1700, Sun 1300-1700 (Sep-May).
Admission charge.
Mud Island River Park Mud Island is just what its name says it is - an island made from the mud and silt from the Mississippi River. It first appeared in 1900, was washed away and then reappeared as a permanent feature in 1913. Attractions include a scale model of the Mississippi River, which is filled with flowing water. The main draw for visitors is the Mississippi River Museum, which covers 10,000 years of river history. Canoe, kayak, bike and pedal-boat hire is also available.
125 North Front Street
Tel: (901) 576 7241
or 1 800 507 6507.
Website:
www.mudisland.comOpening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700 (spring and autumn); Tues-Sun 1000-1800 (summer); closed (winter).
Free admission. Charge for guided tours and museum admission.
Pink Palace Museum The Pink Palace Museum was built in the 1920s by entrepreneur and founder of the
Piggly Wiggly grocery chain, Clarence Saunders. He lost his fortune and the pink stone and marble mansion on Central Avenue, nicknamed the ‘Pink Palace’, was given to the City of Memphis for use as a museum. Today it is a regional landmark with displays on local history, culture, medicine, music, natural history and science. It also contains a replica of Saunders’ first
Piggly Wiggly supermarket, as well as a state-of-the-art planetarium and 3D IMAX theater. The museum offers many educational programs for children.
3050 Central Avenue
Tel: (901) 320 6320.
Website:
www.memphismuseums.orgAdmission charge.
Further Distractions:Peabody Ducks Possibly the city’s most unusual attraction, the Peabody Ducks live on the roof of the elegant Peabody Hotel. Every morning at 1100, the birds leave their enclosure and are led into a lift (elevator) by the hotel’s Duckmaster. With great fanfare, they emerge downstairs and waddle across a red carpet to the marble fountain in the lobby, where they spend the day. In the evening, at 1700 precisely, the performance is repeated when they return to the roof.
The Peabody Hotel, 149 Union Avenue
Tel: (901) 529 4000.
Website:
www.peabodymemphis.comDucks parade at 1100 and 1700.
Free admission.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art Established in 1912, the Brooks holds an astonishing world-class collection of art and often showcases exhibitions from major museums and private collections around the world. Highly regarded for its medieval and Renaissance works, the museum also offers tours and creative workshops to over 20,000 students a year. Wine tastings and lunches are popular in the museum’s
Brushmark Restaurant (see
Restaurants).
1934 Poplar Avenue
Overton Park
Tel: (901) 544 6200.
Website:
www.brooksmuseum.org Opening hours: Tues, Wed, Fri 1000-1600, Thurs 1000-2000, Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1130-1700.
Admission charge.
The Dixon Gallery and GardensThe former home of cotton tycoon Hugo Dixon, set in a seven-hectare (17-acre) English country garden, houses an impressive collection of French and American impressionist and post-impressionist art works. Stroll through the gardens or learn the history of each exhibition on self-guided or volunteer-led tours.
4339 Park Avenue
Tel: (901) 761 5250.
Website:
www.dixon.orgOpening hours: Tues-Fri 1000-1600, Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1300-1700.
Admission charge.
Full Gospel Tabernacle Church The Full Gospel Tabernacle is the church where the Reverend Al Green preaches on most Sundays. The music is loud and the Reverend Green’s sermons are energetic and uplifting. The congregation dance (and frequently faint) in the aisles. Although attracting tourists, these are genuine religious services and should be respected.
787 Hale Road
Tel: (901) 396 9192.
Website:
www.algreenmusic.comSunday services run 1100-1400.
Free admission.
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