11 of the best things to do in Memphis, Tennessee

The National Civil Rights Museum is a solemn reminder of the price paid for progress. The institution encompasses the former Lorraine Motel, whose balconies became known globally as the site where civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr was gunned down by an assassin in 1968.

A wreath marks the location of the tragedy outside; inside, an immersive story of America’s civil rights movement unfolds. The history here is grim, defiant and powerful. And it’s impossible to truly appreciate the city’s connection to the nation without exploring that past in depth.

Though tunes are on deck year-round, blues hounds from across the globe make the pilgrimage to Beale Street sidewalks each January for the International Blues Challenge, during which hundreds of artists square off in an epic, four-day battle of the bands.

Planning tip: The best plan for Beale Street? To have no plan. The thoroughfare is home to dozens of bars, restaurants and juke joints all featuring some of the most talented musicians in the area. While larger venues like BB King’s Blues Club and the Rum Boogie Cafe host full bands, save room for smaller venues like Blues Hall or The Pig on Beale to check out acts like solo artists and trios.

Perhaps no recording studio in the country was as perfectly positioned to take advantage of the evolution of the Delta blues as the one operated by Sam Phillips on Union Ave. The doors of Sun Studio sit just over a mile off of Beale Street, and they house one of the most captivating collections of music history in the country – one where even minute details have immense stories to tell.

An unassuming vinyl record sits behind glass in the upstairs museum here. Its label doesn’t bear the name of any of the artists this legendary recording service is famous for – no Elvis Presley, no Jerry Lee Lewis, no Johnny Cash, no Carl Perkins. But this dusty relic, from 1951, might be more important than them all. One of the first pressings of an album that would make its way north to Chess Records in Chicago, the record is labeled “Rocket 88,” and it is widely credited as the very first rock ’n’ roll hit.

Rock ’n’ roll was literally born in Memphis, and seven decades after giving birth to the sounds that permanently transformed pop music across the globe, Sun Studio remains a sacred site that’s well worth the two-hour tour.

Take in a show at the Hattiloo Theatre, the only freestanding Black repertory theater in the region. Cozy up to a live performance at historic Playhouse on the Square or marvel at the movements of Ballet Memphis.

Each theater flanks Overton Square, a historic entertainment district – we love The Second Line, Boscos Restaurant & Brewing Company and Complicated Pilgrim – showcase a side of the city’s food scene that goes beyond barbecue. Meanwhile, boutique hotel The Memphian serves up sunset views of the square from its rooftop cocktail bar, Tiger and Peacock.

Nestled into a neighborhood just south of downtown, Soulsville encompasses a musical history just as rich as Beale Street and Union Ave.

The Southern rival to Motown – one with an all-star roster featuring Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, and Booker T & the MG’s – Stax pumped out a staggering 167 Top 100 hits in just 15 years while showcasing a mixed-race house band, which brought together the best of Memphis’s blues and rock ’n’ roll artists.

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music is the modern-day centerpiece of Soulsville. Carved out of the studio’s former digs, the museum spotlights the chart-topping hits of Stax artists, as well as the resounding impact those artists created in the era’s civil rights movement.

Local tip: Swing by The Four Way Soul Food Restaurant to satisfy your appetite in one of the city’s most famous spots for home cooking, or stretch your legs at Memphis Rox, a world-class nonprofit community climbing center.

Nearly 50 years after Elvis Presley’s death in 1977, the grounds of his former Memphis home and headquarters at Graceland remain hallowed ground for music fans. Presley and members of his family are buried on the grounds of the home.

Visitors to Graceland gain access to a 200,000-sq-ft (18,580-sq-m) entertainment complex that showcases the life of one of the planet’s first global superstars.

If you want to really do it up, Graceland is home to a full-scale concert venue, Graceland Live, and a four-star luxury retreat, The Guest House at Graceland.

Planning tip: A hidden gem of history hides just around the corner from Graceland. Hernando’s Hide-A-Way was once a favorite haunt for rock ’n’ rollers like The King, as well as The Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis. Disused for decades, Hernando’s is now a restored rockabilly roadhouse welcoming visitors with live music and a full menu of Southern-fried treats.

A former warehouse district just two blocks from the Mississippi River boasts some of the best weekend nightlife in Memphis. Broadly encompassing the remainder of downtown south of Beale Street, the South Main Arts District is home to rooftop views of the Mississippi River at Beck & Call, hyper-popular craft-beer maker Wiseacre Brewing Co., iconic barbecue joint Central BBQ, and a host of cocktail and dive bars.

Local tip: One of the best dive bars in America sits on the corner of South Main St and GE Patterson. On weekend nights at Earnestine & Hazel’s, visitors can dance the night away to a house band featuring live horns, rock ’n’ roll, soul and blues. But the bar’s real secret lies upstairs, at Nate’s Bar. There, Nate Barnes has been tending to a low-lit corner bar since the 1990s – in a space that once housed a brothel.