Memphis: 9 Things Actually Worth Doing

Memphis sits in the far southwest corner of Tennessee, on a bluff above the Mississippi River, right where Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas meet. That tri-state position is a big part of why it works as more than a weekend stop, but the city itself is the reason to come first: this is where rock ’n’ roll, blues, and soul all trace back to the same few blocks. (It’s named after Memphis, Egypt, both cities on great rivers; Memphis, Tennessee has no UNESCO designation of any kind, that’s the Egyptian one.)

The honest safety note. Memphis’s citywide violent-crime rate runs higher than the US average, but 2026 has actually been the lowest violent-crime half-year on record here, down roughly 31.5% year over year, and what crime there is concentrates well outside the areas visitors spend time in. The real risk to a tourist isn’t violence, it’s car break-ins. Memphis police run an actual campaign around it: “Stow It, Don’t Show It.” Don’t leave anything visible in the car, and use a garage rather than a street spot or lot at night. Downtown/Beale/South Main, Midtown (Overton Square, Cooper-Young), Harbor Town, East Memphis, and Germantown/Collierville are all fine to walk normally. Graceland’s complex itself is safe and self-contained; just don’t wander the surrounding Whitehaven blocks after dark.

Money and getting around. Everything runs on USD, and sit-down tipping is the standard US 18-20% since there’s no built-in service charge. Worth knowing before you look at a check: Memphis sales tax is a steep ~9.75% combined, and unlike some states, Tennessee applies it to restaurant food too. The airport is Memphis International (MEM), about 8 miles southeast of downtown, Delta’s biggest hub and also the FedEx World Hub. Downtown, Beale, and South Main are walkable and served by the Main Street Trolley ($1/ride, $2 day pass, Main line only, the Riverfront and Madison lines have been suspended, so verify it’s actually running before you plan around it). Everywhere else, Graceland, Sun Studio, Stax, Shelby Farms, you’ll want a car or rideshare.

When to go. April through early June and mid-September through early November dodge the worst of the heat and humidity. Summers run hot and humid, regularly past 90°F, and spring brings real tornado and severe-storm risk, so it’s worth glancing at a weather-radar app if you’re here March through May. On events: Beale Street Music Festival’s 2026 return isn’t confirmed, so don’t plan around it. The real early-May anchor is RiverBeat Music Festival, May 1-3 2026 at Tom Lee Park, and the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest runs May 13-16 2026 at Liberty Park, the world’s largest pork BBQ contest. Elvis Week runs August 8-16 2026, with the Candlelight Vigil on the 15th, and it spikes hotel prices anywhere near Graceland, book ahead if you’re coming that week.

9 Things Actually Worth Doing in Memphis

  1. Graceland (3717 Elvis Presley Blvd, Whitehaven, about 9 miles south of downtown, needs a car). Book ahead, it’s timed entry. The standard Elvis Experience tour, mansion plus the entertainment complex and jets, runs around $85 for adults and $49 for youth; the entry-level Elvis Presley’s Memphis tier (no mansion access) is about $53; VIP and Archives tiers climb to $148-260. Prices move, check the official site before you go.

  2. Sun Studio (706 Union Ave). The actual “Birthplace of Rock ’n’ Roll,” where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and B.B. King all recorded, and it’s still a working studio today. Guided tours run 40-50 minutes, roughly $15 adult / $10 for ages 5-11.

  3. Stax Museum of American Soul Music (926 E. McLemore Ave, Soulsville, on the original Stax Records site). Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T., the whole Memphis soul lineage. About $20 adult / $16 concession, 10am-5pm Tuesday through Sunday. Closed Mondays.

  4. Beale Street. Free to walk, and worth doing both by day (you can actually read the historical markers) and at night for the live music. Weekend nights after 9pm there’s a $5 security fee at some entrances, plus ID and bag checks and metal detectors, it’s genuinely more secure than its reputation suggests. Verified venues worth your time: B.B. King’s Blues Club (the original, since 1991), Rum Boogie Cafe and its attached Blues Hall, Silky O’Sullivan’s (dueling pianos, and yes, a goat pen), King’s Palace Cafe, and Alfred’s on Beale.

  5. National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel (450 Mulberry St). Built around the preserved motel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, Room 306 and the balcony are part of the exhibit. This traces the movement from slavery through 1968 and into the present, and the new “Legacy Experience” exhibit reopened May 16, 2026, extending that story further. Give it real time, not a rushed hour, it’s one of the most significant history museums in the country, not a quick photo stop. About $25 adult / $22 child / $23 senior-student, 9am-6pm, last entry 5pm. Closed Tuesdays.

  6. Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid. The 32-story former arena downtown is now a store (free to walk through, indoor cypress swamp and all) with “The Lookout” observation deck, about $8-10 for the elevator ride up, and the Big Cypress Lodge hotel built inside it.

  7. The Peabody Duck March (149 Union Ave). Free, running since 1933. Ducks march a red carpet from the elevator to the lobby fountain at 11am, then back up at 5pm, daily. Arrive about 30 minutes early if you want a real view.

  8. Shelby Farms Park (East Memphis). At 4,500 acres, it’s one of the largest urban parks in the country, roughly five times the size of Central Park, with 40-plus miles of trails.

  9. Big River Crossing. A free, roughly one-mile pedestrian and bike bridge over the Mississippi from downtown Memphis into West Memphis, Arkansas, the easiest way to add a second state to your trip without a car.

A few things that used to be worth adding to this list aren’t anymore: Memphis Zoo hasn’t had pandas since 2023, and Mud Island River Park has been in redevelopment limbo for a while now (its monorail closed in 2018 and a planned relaunch got postponed), so treat it as “check current status” rather than a normal open attraction.

Food

Memphis barbecue means dry-rub ribs, spice rub first, sauce on the side if at all, alongside pulled-pork sandwiches usually topped with slaw. It’s a genuinely different style from Kansas City, Texas, or Carolina barbecue. Verified spots worth seeking out: Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous (52 S 2nd St, in a downtown alley, since 1948, the famous one), Central BBQ, Cozy Corner (known for its tingly hot sauce), Payne’s Bar-B-Q (cash-only, an institution), and Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken, which actually originated in Mason, Tennessee, near Memphis, and now has a downtown location too. Soul food and fried catfish round out the local table.

If you have more time

Two to three days genuinely covers the city core. If you’re staying longer, the 2-day , 3-day , 4-day , and the 5-day , 6-day , and 7-day itineraries lay out exactly how the days stack, including where the longer trips start pulling in Mid-South day trips once the city itself is done. For a closer look at what’s worth doing beyond the marquee 9, see things to do in Memphis .