Best time to travel in Memphis?
→ The detailed month-by-month page, with 2015-2024 averages
Best time: April to May and September to October
Best avoided if possible: December to February and July (less pleasant weather or big crowds).
Temperatures and rainfall: 1991-2020 normals from the Memphis Airport station, NOAA data (public domain).
Humid subtropical: hot, muggy summers around 33°C from June to September, mild winters around 10°C by day with a few frosts, heavy rain in spring, and violent thunderstorms and a risk of tornadoes from March to May. The best time to visit Memphis is April, May, September and October, with temperatures reaching 32-33°C (July). By contrast, January, February, March, June, July, August, November and December are generally less favourable (less pleasant weather or big crowds, depending on the destination), though a trip is still possible with a bit of planning. In high season, book early: prices and visitor numbers climb fast.
Go against the flow. To avoid the crowds without sacrificing too much on the weather, aim for March, June and November: the crowds thin out, prices drop too, and the climate stays pleasant.
Do these months appeal to you? See what's best elsewhere too: where to go in April · where to go in May · where to go in September · where to go in October.
At a glance
Why go to Memphis?
Few cities of 600,000 people have mattered so much to 20th-century music. It was in Memphis that the blues of the Mississippi Delta came up to the city, on Beale Street, that rock and roll was born in Sam Phillips's little studio, and that Stax soul brought Black and white musicians together at the height of segregation. Elvis lived here for twenty years, B.B. King started out on the radio here, and every one of these places can still be visited, a few kilometres from one another.
Memphis is also one of the cities where the history of civil rights can be read most directly. Martin Luther King came here to support the strike by Black sanitation workers in 1968 and was killed here, on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, now a museum that ranks among the most powerful in the country. The city, majority Black, still carries that memory, in its neighbourhoods as in its music.
Finally, Memphis is a city to experience in the evening and at the table: blues concerts on Beale Street, dry-rubbed pork ribs cooked over charcoal, spicy fried chicken, and the Mississippi, nearly a kilometre wide, which you cross on foot over a 1916 bridge lit up at night. The city is the starting point for the blues trail, Highway 61, which runs down the Delta to Clarksdale, Vicksburg and New Orleans.
Tourist map of Memphis: what's where?
The map below pinpoints the 6 places covered in this guide: a handy way to picture the distances between each stop and plan your route in Memphis.
- Beale Street
- National Civil Rights Museum
- Sun Studio
- Stax Museum
- Graceland
- Big River Crossing
How much does a trip to Memphis cost in 2026? Budget calculator
Estimate your budget for Memphis based on your travel style: accommodation, meals, activities and local transport included (flights excluded). Adjust the length and the number of travellers, and the totals update.
Totals for all travellers over the chosen length; the daily amount is per person. Flights extra, indicative amounts to adjust depending on the season.
Cards are accepted everywhere, contactless included, but keep a few notes for tipping musicians and the exact fare on the trolleys. Prices are shown before tax, around 9.75% extra on purchases and meals. A tip of 18 to 22% is expected in restaurants, and $1-2 per drink at the bar.
Safety in Memphis: should you be worried?
Memphis has one of the highest violent crime rates in the United States, but it is concentrated in residential neighbourhoods far from the sights. The tourist areas, Beale Street, downtown, South Main, the riverfront, Midtown and Cooper-Young, are busy and watched, with a stronger police presence on Beale Street at weekends. In the evening, do not walk alone outside these streets, and take a ride-hailing car to get to Sun Studio, Stax or Graceland. Car break-ins are common: leave nothing visible, even in broad daylight. Spring brings severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, and summer humid heat above 32°C. Carrying firearms is legal in Tennessee, except where a sign prohibits it. Medical care is excellent but very expensive, so health insurance covering the United States is essential.
Things to see and do in Memphis
Our first-hand favourites, and the great classics:
- Graceland
- National Civil Rights Museum
- Beale Street
- Sun Studio
- Stax Museum of American Soul Music
- Peabody Duck March
- Big River Crossing
- Blues Hall of Fame
What to book before you go to Memphis →
🧭 Discover the Memphis itinerary, day by dayMap, timings, budget and where to stay: free to access, to fit your dates. Create my tailor-made itinerary →Downtown, Beale Street and the Peabody
The centre sits on a bluff above the river. Beale Street and its blues clubs, the Peabody and its ducks, and the FedExForum, home arena of the NBA's Grizzlies, are a few minutes' walk from one another. The historic Main Street trolleys run north up the pedestrianised street to the 32-storey glass Pyramid, turned into a hunting and fishing superstore with a hotel and an observation deck at the top.
South Main and the Lorraine Motel
South of the centre, the South Main district, the former warehouse quarter near Central Station, lines up galleries, restaurants and bars in restored brick buildings. The National Civil Rights Museum, in the Lorraine Motel, and the Blues Hall of Fame face each other. On the last Friday of every month, Trolley Night opens up the galleries and shops. The restored 1914 station houses a hotel and the Amtrak trains to Chicago and New Orleans.
The Mississippi riverfront
Tom Lee Park, reopened in 2023 after a complete redesign, runs along the river below the centre with its lawns, playgrounds and views of the bridges. To the south, the Big River Crossing spans the Mississippi on foot into Arkansas. To the north, Mud Island, a peninsula linked by a bridge, has walking paths and the residential district of Harbor Town. Every May, the Memphis in May festival livens up the city with its World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.
Midtown, Overton Park and Cooper-Young
East of the centre, Midtown is where locals live: Overton Park and its old-growth forest, the Memphis Zoo, the Brooks Museum of Art and the Levitt Shell open-air concert venue, where Elvis gave his first paid concert in 1954. Cooper-Young, a bohemian district, is full of bars, restaurants and record shops. Crosstown Concourse, a former 1927 Sears warehouse turned into a vertical village, houses restaurants, galleries and a concert hall.
Soulsville and Sun Studio
Sun Studio, on Union Avenue east of the centre, and the Stax Museum, in the Soulsville district to the south, are the two musical pilgrimages outside the centre. Stax sits next to the Stax Music Academy, where young musicians from the neighbourhood learn soul. Mason Temple, headquarters of the Church of God in Christ, where King gave his last speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop", the day before his death, is in the same area.
Whitehaven, Graceland and the blues trail
To the south, Whitehaven is the district of Graceland, its exhibition complex and the Guest House at Graceland hotel. Further south, Highway 61 enters the Mississippi Delta: Clarksdale, 1 hour 30 minutes away (120 km, 75 miles), keeps its juke joints and the Delta Blues Museum, and Tupelo, 1 hour 45 minutes to the south-east, has Elvis's birthplace. These excursions can be done by car as day trips or with a night there.
How many days, and which itinerary in Memphis?
Three days cover Graceland, the National Civil Rights Museum, Sun Studio, Stax and two evenings on Beale Street. Four or five days let you add Midtown, the Big River Crossing and an excursion into the Delta or to Tupelo. Beyond that, Memphis becomes the starting point of a musical road trip to New Orleans.
🗺️ Day-by-day Memphis itinerary · 📓 Printable Memphis travel guide (PDF) · 🌍 Discover all of the American West
The long weekend (3 days)
Day 1: the Peabody duck march at 11am, the National Civil Rights Museum and the Blues Hall of Fame in the afternoon, a dinner of pork ribs, an evening of blues on Beale Street. Day 2: Graceland in the morning, lunch in Whitehaven, Sun Studio in the afternoon, sunset on the Big River Crossing and the bridge lighting up. Day 3: the Stax Museum, Mason Temple, lunch in Cooper-Young, Overton Park and the Brooks Museum, a last concert on Beale Street.
Memphis and the Delta (5 days)
The three weekend days, plus a day in Clarksdale via Highway 61 for the Delta Blues Museum, the legendary crossroads of Highways 61 and 49 and a juke joint concert in the evening, with a night there, and a day in Tupelo for Elvis's birthplace, returning via the Natchez Trace Parkway. A car is essential.
The blues trail to New Orleans (10 days)
Three days in Memphis, then Highway 61 south: two nights in Clarksdale, the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, the Vicksburg battlefield, the antebellum mansions of Natchez, then three nights in New Orleans for the jazz of the French Quarter. Allow about 700 km, with a return flight from New Orleans.
How to get to Memphis and get around?
There are no direct flights from Europe: Memphis International Airport (MEM), home to FedEx's global hub, is reached with a connection in Atlanta, Chicago, New York or Dallas, for a journey of 11 to 13 hours. It is about 15 km south-east of the centre, 20 minutes by taxi or ride-hailing app, and a few minutes from Graceland.
The centre, Beale Street, the Peabody, South Main and the riverfront are easy to explore on foot. MATA's historic trolleys serve Main Street and the riverfront: a ride costs $1, about €1, and a day pass $2, about €2, as on the buses. Bring the exact fare, as drivers do not give change.
For Graceland, Sun Studio, Stax, Midtown and Cooper-Young, a car or ride-hailing is more practical than the infrequent buses. The Explore Bike Share scheme covers downtown and Midtown, and the Big River Crossing can be crossed by bike.
A car becomes essential for the Mississippi Delta, Tupelo and onward road trips to Nashville, about 3 hours 30 minutes to the east, or New Orleans. Downtown hotels charge for parking; those near Graceland and on the outskirts often offer it free.
Where to stay in Memphis?
The centre, around Beale Street and the Peabody, is the best base: you walk back from the blues clubs and walk to the civil rights museum. Expect €130-250 a night in chain hotels and grand hotels, more during Memphis in May and major concerts.
The Peabody, a grand hotel from 1925 with its ducks, remains the city's historic address, and The Central Station, in the restored South Main station, the most polished. A few characterful hotels, Arrive in South Main or the Hotel Napoleon, occupy old downtown buildings.
In Whitehaven, the Guest House at Graceland, opened in 2016, lets you sleep next to Elvis's home, with cinemas and themed evenings. The area is far from the centre and quiet at night, but handy for the airport.
Midtown has a few B&Bs in Victorian houses, such as the James Lee House, and chain hotels near the hospitals. The Pyramid houses the Big Cypress Lodge, a hotel with a bayou décor inside the building, with treehouse cabins and views over the store.
Our picks stop by stop, in three price ranges →
What to eat in Memphis?
Memphis barbecue is built on pork: dry-rub ribs, rubbed with spices and grilled without sauce, as at the Rendezvous, opened in 1948 in an alley opposite the Peabody, and pulled pork sandwiches topped with coleslaw, at Central BBQ or in neighbourhood shacks. Expect $15-25, about €13-22, a plate.
Gus's spicy fried chicken, barbecue spaghetti, a local curiosity, and soul food, green beans, collard greens, macaroni cheese and cornbread, round out the big names. Every May, the Memphis in May festival hosts the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.
Cooper-Young, South Main and Midtown are home to the young chefs of the South and craft breweries such as Wiseacre. Downtown restaurants often close early, except on Beale Street, where people eat late around the concerts.
Prices are shown before tax: add about 9.75% on purchases and meals, and more on hotel rooms. A tip of 18 to 22% is expected in restaurants, and a few dollars in the tip jar of the Beale Street bands. Memphis tap water, drawn from a deep aquifer, is reputed to be among the best in the country.
Which kind of traveller is it for?
Memphis lends itself to a cultural, festive and foodie trip. Whether you travel with friends, as a couple or even with family, everyone finds their own pace. For accommodation, you will mostly find classic hotels and boutique hotels.
Entry requirements & practical info
UK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
Rules change: before you leave, check your country's official travel advice.
Once there, to stay online without paying roaming charges, an Memphis eSIM activates in a few minutes and works as soon as you land (plans from €3.99). Remember suitable travel insurance too.
Frequently asked questions about Memphis
When is the best time to visit Memphis?
April-May and September-October, with 22 to 28°C during the day. May is the month of the Memphis in May festival and its barbecue contest, which pushes up hotel prices. Summer is hot and humid, around 33°C; mid-August draws Elvis fans for Elvis Week, around the anniversary of his death.
How much does a Graceland visit cost?
The Elvis Experience package, which includes a self-guided tour of the house and the exhibition complex with the cars and planes, costs $85, about €73, per adult and $49, about €42, per child, plus a $1.50 online fee. Without the house, entry drops to $53, about €46. VIP packages with a guide cost more than $200.
Are there direct flights from Europe to Memphis?
No. You need a connection, most often in Atlanta, Chicago, New York or Dallas, for a journey of 11 to 13 hours. Memphis airport is about 20 minutes from the centre and a few minutes from Graceland.
Do you need a car in Memphis?
Not for downtown, Beale Street, South Main and the riverfront, which can be done on foot and by trolley. Graceland, Sun Studio and Stax are easy to reach by ride-hailing. A car becomes essential for the Mississippi Delta, Tupelo or onward travel to Nashville or New Orleans.
Is Memphis dangerous?
The areas visitors frequent are safe by day and lively in the evening, notably Beale Street, which is patrolled by the police. The city's high crime rate is concentrated in residential neighbourhoods that you do not pass through. Take a ride-hailing car at night outside the centre, and leave nothing in the car.
When can you see the Peabody duck march?
Every day at 11am, when the ducks come down from the roof to the fountain in the lobby, and at 5pm, when they go back up. The show is free; arrive half an hour early to be at the edge of the red carpet.
Can you combine Memphis and Nashville?
Yes, the two cities are about 340 km (210 miles) apart, 3 hours 30 minutes by road on the I-40. Memphis for the blues, soul, Elvis and civil rights, Nashville for country: four days in each city make a good week-long music trip.
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