Things to Do in Memphis
Memphis rewards visitors who plan by geography rather than by checklist, since its landmark music and civil rights sites sit in four separate pockets rather than one walkable core. Anchor a day downtown around Beale Street and the riverfront, then set aside a second run south for Graceland in Whitehaven and Stax in Soulsville.
The top 15, ranked
Ranked by how consistently each pick appears across official Memphis sources, the local destination marketing organization, and recent independent roundups.
- Top pick
1Best for Music history · #1 of 15
Graceland
Historic SiteWhitehavenOpen daily with the last mansion tour in the late afternoon, and reduced access on a handful of major holidays.TicketedElvis Presley's mansion is the single attraction most visitors build a Memphis trip around, and the self guided audio tour through the living rooms, the Jungle Room and the Meditation Garden takes far less time than the campus as a whole. Across the street, the Elvis Presley's Memphis complex holds car and costume museums plus the two preserved aircraft.
Local tipBook a timed mansion entry in advance and arrive early, because the shuttle queue from the visitor plaza grows steadily through the middle of the day.
- Top pick
2Best for History · #2 of 15
National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel
MuseumSouth MainOpen most of the week with one weekday closure, and last admission falls about an hour before the doors close.TicketedBuilt around the Lorraine Motel balcony where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, the museum traces the movement from the slave trade through the Montgomery bus boycott, the student sit ins and the Memphis sanitation strike. A second building across the street covers the investigation into the assassination, and most visitors find this the most demanding stop in the city.
Local tipAllow at least two hours and start on the upper floor of the main building so the chronology reads in order.
- Top pick
3Best for Music history · #3 of 15
Sun Studio
Historic SiteEdge DistrictTours run daily on a fixed hourly rotation, with the last departure in the late afternoon.TicketedThe one room studio where Sam Phillips recorded Howlin' Wolf, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis still works as a live room at night and runs guided tours by day. Guides play original acetates, walk visitors across the same floor tiles and pass around the microphone Presley used, which makes it the most tactile music stop in Memphis.
Local tipTours are first come and begin on the half hour, and small children below the posted minimum age are not admitted, so check before bringing toddlers.
-
4Best for Live music · #4 of 15
Beale Street
Neighborhood LandmarkDowntownVenues run daily into the small hours, with the street closed to traffic and busiest from Thursday through Saturday.Free with paid optionsThree blocks of clubs, neon and brass note sidewalk markers form the working center of Memphis nightlife, with blues bands starting in the late afternoon and running past midnight in most rooms. The street is best treated as a walk rather than a single venue, since covers, crowds and music styles change from door to door along the strip.
Local tipWalk the strip once end to end before choosing a room, and expect a street entry fee on the busiest weekend nights.
-
5Best for Music history · #5 of 15
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
MuseumSoulsvilleOpen most days with one weekday closure, and last admission falls about an hour before the doors close.TicketedRebuilt on the footprint of the studio that produced Otis Redding, Booker T. and the MGs, Isaac Hayes and the Staple Singers, the museum runs from a relocated delta church through the restored Studio A control room. Isaac Hayes' gold trimmed Cadillac anchors the final gallery, and the story of the label's integrated house band carries the whole visit.
Local tipPair it with Graceland on the same southbound run, since both sit away from downtown and driving between them is straightforward.
-
6Best for Music history · #6 of 15
Memphis Rock and Soul Museum
MuseumDowntownOpen daily with last admission in the late afternoon.TicketedCreated by the Smithsonian, this compact gallery at the top of Beale Street explains how delta field hollers, gospel and country met in Memphis to produce rock and soul. A digital audio guide carries more than a hundred songs, so visitors move at their own pace and can play full tracks beside the instruments and jukeboxes on display.
Local tipThe audio guide comes with entry, so allow time to actually play the tracks rather than skimming the wall text.
-
7Best for Families · #7 of 15
Memphis Zoo
Family AttractionMidtownOpen daily year round with shorter hours and an earlier last entry through the colder months.TicketedSet inside Overton Park, the zoo holds several hundred species across themed areas including Zambezi River Hippo Camp, Teton Trek and a walk through aviary. Its scale suits a half day rather than a quick loop, and the Midtown location makes it easy to combine with the surrounding park trails and the Overton Park Shell.
Local tipTennessee residents get free general admission on a designated weekday, though reservations are required and those slots fill early.
-
8Best for Families · #8 of 15
The Peabody Duck March
Neighborhood LandmarkDowntownThe march happens twice daily, late morning and late afternoon, every day of the year.FreeTwice a day a small troop of mallards rides the elevator down from a rooftop palace, walks a red carpet to a marble lobby fountain and spends the day there before marching back up. The ritual has run since the 1930s and costs nothing to watch, which makes the grand lobby of this landmark hotel one of the easiest wins downtown.
Local tipArrive at least twenty minutes early and stand on the mezzanine balcony, because the lobby floor fills quickly before each march.
-
9Best for Families · #9 of 15
Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid
Family AttractionPinch DistrictThe store opens daily with long hours, while the observation deck and restaurant keep their own shorter schedule.Free with paid optionsThe glass pyramid on the riverfront was built as a sports arena and now holds a cypress swamp, alligator and fish tanks, an underwater themed bowling alley and a wilderness lodge hotel. A freestanding elevator climbs to an observation deck with the broadest public view of the Mississippi River and the downtown skyline.
Local tipWalking the ground floor is free, but the observation deck elevator is ticketed separately at the base of the ride.
-
10Best for Outdoors · #10 of 15
Shelby Farms Park
ParkEast MemphisOpen daily from early morning to evening, with the playground and rental desks keeping shorter seasonal hours.Free with paid optionsOne of the largest urban parks in the country covers several thousand acres of lake, meadow and forest about twenty minutes east of downtown, with a resident bison herd, paddle and bike rentals and the Woodland Discovery Playground. The paved Shelby Farms Greenline runs from the park most of the way back toward Midtown for riders who want a longer route.
Local tipPark at the visitor center on Hyde Lake for the shortest walk to rentals, the playground and the main loop trail.
-
11Best for Outdoors · #11 of 15
Tom Lee Park
ParkDowntown riverfrontOpen daily from early morning until evening, with the welcome center keeping shorter seasonal hours.FreeA thirty acre stretch of the Mississippi bluff reopened in 2023 after a full redesign, adding a sunset canopy, an elevated bird watching walkway, a river themed playground and native plant gardens along the cutbank. It is named for a Black river worker who pulled dozens of people from the water in 1925 despite not being able to swim.
Local tipCome in the last hour before sunset, when the west facing bluff gets the best light and the shade structures matter least.
-
12Best for Outdoors · #12 of 15
Big River Crossing
Neighborhood LandmarkDowntown riverfrontOpen daily from sunrise until late evening, with the lighting display running after dark.FreeA boardwalk bolted to the 1916 Harahan Bridge carries walkers and cyclists nearly a mile across the Mississippi from downtown Memphis into Arkansas, making it the longest public pedestrian bridge over the river. It costs nothing, the return view of the skyline is the best in the city, and a programd light display runs along the span after dark.
Local tipWalking out and back takes about an hour, so budget the round trip rather than treating it as a quick photo stop.
-
13Best for Gardens · #13 of 15
Memphis Botanic Garden
GardenEast MemphisOpen daily with longer hours in the warm months and an earlier close through winter.TicketedNearly a hundred acres east of downtown hold about thirty specialty gardens, including a Japanese garden with a koi pond, a rose garden, an arboretum and a tropical plant house. My Big Backyard is a dedicated children's area with climbing structures and water play, which makes this one of the few Memphis stops that suits every age at once.
Local tipThe garden sits directly across Cherry Road from the Dixon, so the two pair naturally into one east side morning.
-
14Best for Families · #14 of 15
Museum of Science and History
MuseumMidtownOpen most days of the week, with the planetarium and theater running on their own show schedule.TicketedHoused in the pink marble mansion built for the founder of the Piggly Wiggly grocery chain, MoSH pairs regional natural history and Memphis social history with a planetarium dome and a giant screen theater. Exhibits cover the Mississippi delta, the city's civil rights era and a rotating slate of touring shows, which makes it a reliable option in bad weather.
Local tipPlanetarium and theater shows are ticketed on top of general admission, so check the day's screening list when buying entry.
-
15Best for Art · #15 of 15
Dixon Gallery and Gardens
MuseumEast MemphisOpen Tuesday through Sunday, with a shorter Sunday afternoon window and one extended evening each month.FreeA former private estate in East Memphis pairs a strong French and American Impressionist collection with seventeen acres of formal and woodland gardens, plus a large holding of German porcelain. With the Brooks collection between homes, the Dixon carries most of the city's fine art programming, and general admission is free.
Local tipLeave time for the gardens as well as the galleries, since the grounds are the reason many locals keep coming back.
Where things cluster
Memphis spreads out, so use these four clusters to keep each day inside one part of town.
- Downtown and the riverfrontBeale Street, the Peabody lobby, the Rock and Soul Museum, the Pyramid and the National Civil Rights Museum all sit inside a walkable grid between Main Street and the Mississippi. Tom Lee Park and Big River Crossing extend the same cluster along the water.
- Soulsville and WhitehavenStax sits in Soulsville about ten minutes south of downtown, and Graceland is another ten minutes further out in Whitehaven. Neither is walkable from the center, so drivers usually pair them into a single southbound half day.
- Midtown and Overton ParkOverton Park holds the zoo, an old growth forest and an outdoor amphitheater, with the Museum of Science and History and Crosstown Concourse a short drive away. This is where Memphis feels residential rather than touristic.
- East MemphisTwenty minutes east of downtown, the Dixon and the Botanic Garden face each other across Cherry Road, and Shelby Farms Park opens out beyond them. Plan on driving, because transit connections this far out are thin.
Make it a day
Downtown and the music core
Start at the National Civil Rights Museum when it opens, then walk up to the Rock and Soul Museum and Beale Street for lunch. Take a Sun Studio tour in the afternoon and finish on the riverfront at Tom Lee Park for sunset.
Split the city north to south
Spend the first day downtown on the civil rights and music core, ending with live blues on Beale Street. Use the second day for Graceland and Stax in the morning, then the east side gardens or Shelby Farms in the afternoon.
Animals, water and a duck parade
Give the morning to the Memphis Zoo inside Overton Park, then drive east to My Big Backyard at the Botanic Garden or the playground at Shelby Farms. Time the return downtown for the afternoon duck march in the Peabody lobby.
Map
Best time to visit
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Spring and fall bring mild days and the fullest calendar of riverfront programming, though spring storms move through quickly and can flatten an afternoon. Summer is hot and humid enough that outdoor stops work best early or late in the day, while winter is quiet and cheap but shortens hours at the gardens and the parks.
Staying over? Compare hotels in Memphis at Expedia.
Deep Arrival earns a commission when you buy through partner links. It does not change the price you pay.
Memphis things to do FAQ
Parking, timing, cost, and weather answers for a smoother visit.
How many days do you need in Memphis?
Two full days covers the essentials without rushing. One day handles the downtown core of the National Civil Rights Museum, Beale Street, Sun Studio and the riverfront, and the second gives Graceland and Stax the time they need. Add a third day if you also want the east side gardens, Shelby Farms or the Midtown museums.
Do you need a car to get around Memphis?
For most itineraries, yes. The downtown cluster is walkable and the Main Street trolley links its ends, but Graceland, Stax, the Botanic Garden and Shelby Farms all sit well outside the center. Rideshare works for a single trip, though a rental is cheaper once you are visiting more than two outlying sites in a day.
What is the single most important stop in Memphis?
The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel. It is the most substantial museum in the city and the most emotionally demanding, so it deserves a fresh morning rather than a tired afternoon. Graceland draws bigger crowds, but it is an experience rather than an education.
Is Beale Street worth visiting with children?
In daylight it works fine as a walk, and the Rock and Soul Museum sits at its western end. After dark the strip turns into an adult nightlife district, many rooms enforce age limits, and a street entry charge often applies on busy weekend nights. Families usually do better catching live music earlier in the evening.
What can you do in Memphis for free?
The Peabody duck march, Tom Lee Park and Big River Crossing all cost nothing, and the Dixon Gallery and Gardens does not charge general admission. Walking Beale Street outside peak weekend hours is free as well, and the ground floor of the Pyramid can be browsed without a ticket. Together those fill most of a day.
Which Memphis attractions are closed to visitors?
The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art has vacated its Overton Park building while a replacement is built downtown, so the collection is not on view at the old site. The Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum has been closed since a fire damaged the historic house, the Mississippi River Museum on Mud Island is shut, and the Metal Museum is between locations. Confirm any of these directly before planning around them.
Keep planning
Use these nearby guides to extend your Memphis trip with a different pace and a clear next stop.
Hero image: Graceland, photograph by JLHJets, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped to 16:9.