Over the past decade, we’ve visited Memphis 16 times to hang with our family and explore the city. When my sister Kate & brother-in-law Will moved here from Los Angeles, everyone was a little skeptical. “Isn’t that the deep south?” “What’s there besides Graceland,” people scoffed.” Grind City is totally misunderstood by outsiders, and even those that visit, often just go to Beale Street for live music and BBQ, then leave without a clue. It isn’t trendy or polished like Nashville; it’s refreshingly raw and real.
Music runs deep in the city’s soul. It’s where entire genres were invented…rock n’ roll, soul, and the blues. Grind City was a lynchpin in the Civil Rights Movement and today it’s home to six sites on the US Civil Rights Trail. It is surrounded by nature, with the mighty Mississippi River and one of the biggest urban parks in the world. CNN Money recognized Memphis as one of the 10 best places in the U.S. for startups, and even big companies like Ford’s e-vehicle operations are setting up shop here. In our 10 years of visiting, we’ve watched the city hit its stride with more entrepreneurs, artists, chefs, brewers, and hoteliers creating so many cool spots. The arts are one of Memphis’ greatest strengths and the city has channeled it be their unifier and catalyst for change.
Memphis has been our family hub for holidays and a bit of a safe haven in our nomadic lives. After we got the obligatory visit to Graceland and the Civil Rights Museum under our belt, our Memphis trips became about hanging out and doing as the locals do. And when I say this, it doesn’t mean sitting in a rocker on the front porch. My sister and her husband are music lovers, foodies, outdoorsy, and social people, always looking to try the latest haps and share the best of them with us. We put our heads together for this guide on the best things to do in Memphis to travel like a local.
GET ORIENTED
Before we get into all the chill local spots, Memphis has a lot of layers to unpack…Civil War history, music legends, civil rights monuments, and a layer of grit that can make it hard to see Memphis clearly. These are the essential tours and museums to get your bearings.
Backbeat Tours
Forget those cheesy double-decker buses, and leave your Memphis introduction to the historians and musicians at Backbeat Tours. Started by Bill Patton (author of The Guide to Historic Downtown Memphis), this tour company knows how intrinsically tied Memphis history is to music, so the guide has a microphone and guitar to give a little context to each site. Like singing early Elvis tunes in front of Lauderdale Courts where The King of Rock n’ Roll spent his teenage years, and playing songs central to the civil rights movement in front of I AM A MAN Plaza, honoring the 1968 sanitation workers strike that brought MLK to town. We hit the city highlights of historic Cotton Row, the Victorian neighborhood of Court Square, Central BBQ (with a tasting), Lansky Brothers (clothier to Johnny Cash, BB King, and Elvis), and a bunch of other key sites. Fun and informative, Backbeat’s Memphis Discovery Tour is the best way to get oriented and have a great time. They also do walking and bike tours covering a variety of more Memphis-specific topics.
Ride the Vintage Street Cars
Memphis’ original streetcar network closed in 1947…but now the MATA trolley is back with gorgeous heritage cars. Sourced everywhere from Portugal to Australia, this is an impressive international collection of vintage cars with intricate woodworking, antique lighting, and chiming bells. When we came to speak at TravelCon Memphis, we piled in with a dozen blogger friends and had a selfie spectacular. Riding the Main Street Line and the River Front Loop during the day gives a great overview of town and a look into local life, and by night it’s a smart way to bar hop. Better still, it’s $1 a ride and a local experience! Make sure you chat with the conductors, each one we’ve met is a Memphian, full of charm and sass.
MUSEUMS & MUSIC HISTORY
Civil Rights Museum
Memphis has an incredible amount of high-quality museums, many of which are the undisputed authority on the topic. Make sure to see at least two of these!
You could call The National Civil Rights Museum a tourist attraction, but it is essential education for every American. Set in the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luker King Jr. was assassinated, and expanded with state-of-the-art exhibits that earned them Smithsonian status, this museum profoundly covers five centuries of African American history and race relations. Going with my family was a fascinating experience, and sparked some deep conversations with our little niece who is largely color-blind to race, and my mom who lived in San Francisco during the Civil Rights Movement. (Fun fact, her college roommate was a Freedom Rider, and she spotted her in the museum’s photo of a jail lineup!)
Thoughtful signage, hundreds of artifacts, and more than 40 films cover topics from slavery, the rise of Jim Crow, and positive changes of the late 20th century, to the challenges we face today. You can even walk into the hotel room MLK spent his final hours, and go across the street to the buildings linked to the assassination and the mysteries around it. During our visit, the King of Ghana and his dignitaries just happened to be touring the museum, which gives you a sense of how internationally revered the Civil Rights Museum really is.
Stax Soul Museum
When it comes to soul music, Stax is the center of the universe. On the original site of Stax Records, which produced 900 singles and launched legends like Otis Redding and Issac Hayes, is the world’s only museum dedicated to American soul music. Celebrating their 20th anniversary in 2023, they’ve just renovated with new exhibits and interactive displays, now totaling 2,000 items of memorabilia, from costumes to classic cars.
On our recent trip, we heard about the Tuesday concerts with the Stax Academy Alumni Band (the Soulsville Foundation has two impressive schools nurturing local talent), so we brought my mom and nieces for some fun. Energetic eight-year-old Maisie ran ahead and sprinted back, saying “Aunt Anne, they have a disco dance floor!” We proceeded to spend the next 20 minutes booging to episodes of Soul Train under the stage lights. Then came time for the eight-piece alumni band; they were soooo good, they had everyone in the aisles shaking a tailfeather. I didn’t know my mom was a soul fan, but these songs totally brought her back and had her humming Aretha for days and saying, “That was so much fun!”
Blues Hall of Fame, Sun Studio & More Music Museums
Whether you are a soul, blues, or rock n’ roll fan, Memphis has a top-notch museum to get your foot tappin’.
Memphis Music Hall of Fame: Did you know 20 percent of the early inductees in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame came from within a 100-mile radius of Memphis? From Tina Turner to Justin Timberlake, meet the hometown heroes.
Sun Studio: Birthplace of Rock n’ Roll & the Million Dollar Quartet (Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis)
Memphis Rock n’ Soul Museum: What it sounds like, but even better, with its Smithsonian-accredited displays.
Graceland: The home of all things Elvis (mansion, cars, airplanes, jumpsuits, and the full story of his legacy. (Pricey, but worth it!)
Blues Hall of Fame Museum: Homage to the Home of the Blues and how far its sound has traveled.
MUSIC VENUES & ROCKIN’ BARS
Our bro-in-law, who knows that Mike & I love dive bars and live music, would make a point to take us to a new gem each time we were in town. Earning true dive bar status in Memphis doesn’t just mean you have neon beer signs, it means your walls can talk. Side note and wacky fact: Memphis liquor laws are such that if a bar doesn’t sell hard alcohol, and the establishment is cool with it, you can bring your own!
Best of Beale Street
Where W.C. Handy published the blues, where Elvis and BB King got their start, and where the next big acts cut their teeth, Beale Street is forever glowing in a neon halo. This strip of juke joints, blues halls, and bars has tourists for a reason, but there are still spots that locals go. The girls and I always have fun popping into A. Schwab (est 1876), with its old-time soda fountain, variety-store treasures, and artifacts from its 1970s stint as The Beale Street Museum. We sometimes go up to Patio Bar for the incredible people-watching, or get out of the fray with a frosty one at the local brewery, Ghost River Tap Room. And when we feel like some Blues in Blues City, there is the Itta Bena Bar above B.B. King’s.
Blues City Cafe’s Band Box
When it comes to music on Beale Street, we love the Blues City Cafe. This is obviously not a hidden gem if acts like Queen Latifah & Rufus Thomas have graced the stage, and guests like President Bill Clinton & Samuel L. Jackson have popped in for a show, but this place is legit. One of Kate & Will’s favorite bands, The Eskimo Brothers regularly plays here and we always try to catch them. To give you an idea of how cool these guys are and how intimate this venue is, The Eskimo Brothers actually took the time to call me from the stage when my sister said I was late for the show. It’s just that kind of place.
Hernando’s Hide-A-Way
A place Elvis played in the 1950s and where Jerry Lee Lewis visited so often in the ’80s he called it his “office,” is the “World Famous Hernando’s Hide-A-Way.” Resurrected in 2018 to honor their rockabilly and honkey tonk past, they have live music Wednesday through Saturday, and creative cocktails like The Johnny Cash Smash and All Shook Up Daiquiris. It’s a throwback dream, worth the Uber ride a little out of downtown.
Wild Bill’s Juke Joint
When we saw this bar name name written on wooden boards, in black marker, and lined with Christmas Lights, we instantly knew Wild Bill’s would be good. A live blues dive bar located in the Vollintine-Evergreen district, Wild Bill’s is only five minutes from world-famous Beale Street, but almost entirely missed by tourists. In their quarter-century history, they’ve pulled some of the South’s biggest names and are always bringing in rising talent. When we went, there was a 70-year-old lady killing it on electric guitar and a singer who would have made W.C. Handy proud.
Earnestine & Hazel‘s
Arguably the best dive bar in America (featured in Esquire, Playboy, and nine movies), this former 1930s pharmacy-turned-barber-shop-turned-brothel-turned-bar, has (ghost) stories to tell. Earnestine & Hazel’s actually went up for sale in recent years and our brother-in-law considered buying it for safekeeping! Good news, it’s in the hands of good friends respecting the legacy of this place, leaving its creaky floors and chipping paint, and offering good live music and comfort food (including the nationally recognized Soul Burger). If you see the old “Sundry Store” sign outside and think this place looks shady, you’ve arrived.
RIP: Wind Jammer
We have to pour one out for the greatest Karaoke bar of all time, a place so divey it sadly met its demise (maybe having the parking lot double as the men’s bathroom was going too far.) When we went for their closing party, the best singers in town came to honor this plywood house of music, everyone was dancing like a big hug, and PBR flowed like the Mississippi.
Concert at the Overton Park Shell
This venue is not just scenic and fun, but where history was made. The very first time Elvis performed his crazy concept of Rock ‘n Roll was here, at the now Overton Park Shell. Today, this open-air amphitheater is using music as a way to build community and celebrate diversity. Come for their signature free live music concerts that run from May through October, multiple days a week. An evening at this small venue under the shady trees and dancing alongside Memphians is always a joy. Come to the park a few hours before a show and check out the neighboring Memphis Brooks Museum of Arts.
MEMPHIS OUTDOOR FUN
Shelby Farms
At 4,500 acres, Shelby Farms Park is more than five times the size of Central Park! Among the biggest urban parks in the world, it’s got 20 bodies of water, 40 miles of paved and single-track trails, and just about every outdoor activity…disc golf, ziplining, kayaking, horseback riding, and more. My sister and her family go here every month, so we asked them to describe their perfect Shelby Farms day they said, “Biking around Hyde Lake, getting a bite at Coastal Fish Company, and watching the bison roam.” (Yes, Shelby Farms is home to a herd of bison.)
Wolf River Beach
Our favorite Memphis nature day of all time was taking a walk through the Lucius Burch Jr. Forest for a Wolf River Beach Day. While we girls were swimming and building sand castles, the boys went mountain biking in the surrounding forest, then we all reunited for a picnic and a game of river bocce. Having nature like this just a bike ride away from downtown made us appreciate the city even more. For more intense mountain biking, do the six-mile Tour de Wolf single-track loop.
Sunset on the Mississippi River
The mighty Mississippi is one of the world’s major river systems and a waterway that has connected the center of the country since the dawn of time. It is the stuff of legend, evoking the words of Mark Twain, the songs of Tina Turner, and the origin story of Memphis. By day, you can see it’s the hard-working river it’s always been, but by sunset, the magic of the Mississippi shines in golden hues. Enjoy it from high-flying rooftop bars like Beck & Call, Hu. Roof, or the historic Peabody Hotel. To be even closer to the water, head to Beale Street Landing or Mud Island.
Memphis Red Birds Ball Game
Going to a baseball game has become a pricey and commercialized affair—not at the Memphis Redbird’s stadium. This Triple-A team, an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, still has the fun-loving spirit of baseball. You can get tickets for $6 and lay out your picnic blanket on their grassy bluff seating, while eating pulled pork nachos. In recent news, we love to hear that AutoZone Park has been named a Top 10 Vegetarian-Friendly Ballpark and that they swapped out their VIP suites for an all-inclusive club.
Knowledge Quest Community Events
On our 16th trip to Memphis, we were looking for fresh ways to explore the city and came across Knowledge Quest’s South Memphis Community E-biking Event. We quickly realized this wasn’t just a scenic ride to the Mississippi River, this was one of KQ’s many regular events and agents for social change in inner-city Memphis. Innovative programs like their three-acre urban teaching farm, Teen Tech Center, and regular wellness events—from Tai Chi to beekeeping—are revolutionizing this community and inspiring others. Our ride across town, stroll through the organic teaching farm, and chats with the founder Marlon Foster were so invigorating! Check out KnowledgeQuest.org for how you can participate in their events (or join us in making a donation)!
BEER GARDENS & SUNDAY FUNDAYS
Being in the Sun Belt, Memphis has mild winters, lovely springs, hot summers, and colorful autumns…all conducive to spending much of the year outdoors with a drink in your hand! As a result, the city has a bunch of beer gardens, many family and pet-friendly.
Railgarten
Midtown Memphis is a hip local neighborhood, with cute shops, restaurants, and bars. However, if there is one midtown establishment that wraps all that coolness into one package, it’s Railgarten. Spread across 1.5 acres of outdoor space, old shipping containers are now bars, eateries, and stages. In the middle, you’ve got a proper volleyball court, an outdoor screen for big games and movie nights, and seating with firepits or umbrellas to keep the fun going no matter the weather. My sister and I have a strong volleyball connection (it’s how we communicated in our feisty teenage years and indirectly how we both met our husbands). We love coming here as a family (Lexie Dog included), to hit the ball around, have a few beers, and catch new bands. Check their schedule for fun music and events.
Tom Lee River Park
The much-anticipated grand reopening of Tom Lee River Park is poised to be the ultimate hangout spot along the Mississippi. More than 1,000 new trees and 50,000 native flora have been planted for this manicured green space with fountains, raised walkways, and artful playgrounds. There will also be a stage for live music and multiple eateries for fun into the night. Opening September 2023.
Loflin Yard
Hiding behind the railroad tracks in downtown Memphis is Loflin Yard, an oasis of historic buildings, eateries, bars, and outdoor spaces, even a stream! Akin to Railgarten with live music, lawn games, and chill spaces, but swankier.
Carolina Watershed
Just across the street from Loflin Yard, Carolina Watershed has the prime spot overlooking two waterfalls with a big patio to take them in. And you’ve gotta love their circular bar inside a silo and comfort food.
BEST RESTAURANTS IN MEMPHIS
With a rich culinary tradition and an influx of hot new chefs, dining is among the best things to do in Memphis. Of course, you’ve gotta try both their wet- and dry-style BBQ but there is so much more to Grind City cuisine. Many of the beer gardens and bars we listed above also have great food (particularly Blues City Cafe and Loflin Yard), but the following places are all about good grub.
Brunch: Sunrise Memphis
Restauranteur Ryan Trimm partnered with the world-famous Central BBQ to create this funky, feel-good diner. Known to be “the best breakfast in Memphis,” this place has lines out the door for their McBetter Breakfast Sandwich, 3 Hermana Tacos, and Breakfast of Champions sriracha tofu bowl. Open from 7am until 1pm…as they say, “Get up ‘n Grit-it!”
BBQ: The Bar-B-Q Shop
We ate at this Midtown mainstay during our omnivore days and can vouch for its legit Memphis BBQ and downhome charm. The Bar-B-Q Shop is my bro and sis’s #1 BBQ pick to this day. Try their signature BBQ Spaghetti (it’s way better than it sounds).
Vegan: Imagine
Finally, a restaurant that understands that just because some folks don’t eat meat doesn’t mean we don’t want good BBQ! In fact, Imagine is so good at Southern cooking, that their Vegan Memphis Sandwich Platter was featured in USA Today’s Best BBQ in the States (against ALL BBQ)! And when my mom had the shrimp po’ boy, even the meat eaters at the table were asking for another bite.
More Vegan Restaurants: Plant-Based Heat, Son of a Vegan, and City Silo (for its bountiful plant-based options).
Fine Dining: ACRE
Modern Southern cuisine with an Asian twist is an unexpectedly delightful combination that has earned ACRE awards. Set in a renovated house on a tree-lined street, this contemporary space is super inviting and romantic. As vegans, we were impressed with the Hamachi Crudo cucumber and carrot ginger salad, the Roasted Carrots with Avocado, walnut, labneh, and white truffle honey vinaigrette, and meat eaters will surely love this place too.
Fine Dining Honorable Mention: Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen
BEST BOUTIQUE HOTELS IN MEMPHIS
The Central Station Memphis
Literally atop the century-old (working) train station, the recently opened Central Station hotel has kept its high ceilings, massive windows, and marble floors for the perfect balance of hip and historic. Plus, it’s home to the fantastic Southern-French fusion restaurant, Bishop.
Arrive
The industrial-chic Arrive Hotel has been the traveler hotspot since its opening in 2019. Punchy decor in the lobby is complemented by serene suites for a well-rounded look and feel. Located in the South Main Arts District, it’s just off the main tourist drag but still in the heart of it all.
James Lee House
Set in the city’s Victorian Village Historic District, this grand home from 1848 on the National Register of Historic Places, is now a luxurious and totally unique B&B. The James Lee House gets the love it deserves from everyone from Travel & Leisure to New York Magazine.
Have you been to Memphis lately? It’s time for a getaway! Check out our Tennessee Road trip blog for our itinerary from Knoxville to Memphis.
Special thanks to Tennessee Tourism for supporting our storytelling and a big thanks to my family for sharing your Memphis world with us all these years!
