offwegooo.com
Travel guide
Memphis
3 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to May and September to October
offwegooo.comPrint it, fold it, take it with you
Welcome
Memphis, in a few days
On a bluff above the Mississippi, the city where Elvis cut his first record, where Stax soul set America dancing and where Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968 keeps each of these places intact, from the little studio on Union Avenue to the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. In the evening, the blues spills out of the bars on Beale Street, pork ribs grill over charcoal and a 1916 bridge lights up above the river.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 3 things
- D3 Day 3 3 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Graceland · half a dayThe columned mansion Elvis Presley bought in 1957, preserved as he left it in 1977, from the Jungle Room to the Meditation Garden where he is buried, with his cars and private planes opposite.
- Late afternoon · Stax Museum of American Soul Music · about 2 hThe rebuilt home of the label of Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes, where Black and white musicians played together under segregation, with Hayes's gold-trimmed Cadillac and a dance floor under Soul Train videos.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Crowne Plaza Memphis Downtown ↗ · All places to stay by budget →€130 a night
D2
Day 2
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Peabody Duck March free · about 30 minSince the 1930s, mallards have ridden the lift down from the Peabody's roof every morning and marched along a red carpet to the lobby's marble fountain, to a march by John Philip Sousa.
- Afternoon · Sun Studio · about 1 hSam Phillips's small 1950 studio where Elvis, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis first recorded, with a lively guided tour ending in the near-intact recording room, where you can hold Elvis's microphone.
- Evening · Beale Street free · an eveningDeclared the Home of the Blues by Congress in 1977, three pedestrian blocks of neon signs and blues clubs, led by B.B. King's, where you can stroll with a drink in hand.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Crowne Plaza Memphis Downtown ↗€130 a night
D3
Day 3
3 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · National Civil Rights Museum · about 2 h 30The Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King was shot in 1968, now a museum tracing the civil rights struggle from slavery onwards, ending in front of his room, left exactly as it was.
- Afternoon · Blues Hall of Fame · about 1 hOpposite the Civil Rights Museum, the Blues Foundation's museum honours inductees from Muddy Waters to B.B. King with guitars, costumes and listening stations, the best introduction before a night on Beale Street.
- Late afternoon · Big River Crossing free · about 1 h 30The longest pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Mississippi, 1.6 km on the 1916 Harahan railway bridge into Arkansas, beside passing freight trains, lit up by thousands of LEDs at night.
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €145 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to May and September to October
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, 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.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/memphis
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.