What to do and see in Memphis, Tennessee (TN): The Best Things to do

At the place of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'S death in 1968 in Memphis, TN, the National Civil Rights Museum is a renowned educational and cultural institution. The Museum chronicles the American Civil Rights Movement with compelling presentations of iconic exhibits, oral histories of lesser-known civil rights foot soldiers, and visceral, in-the-moment experiences. Visitors will learn through emotionally charged, multi-user, multi-touch interactives, and a visually engaging, contemporary exhibit design that guides you through five centuries of history. Bring the whole family.

YaYa, a female Giant Panda that calls the Memphis Zoo home, enjoys a sunny day.

Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, is the home of Elvis Presley, the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Elvis Presley's Graceland is open daily with tours of Graceland Mansion, Elvis’ custom jets and our new entertainment and exhibit complex, Elvis Presley’s Memphis. The complex includes a new automobile museum, Presley Motors, and Elvis: The Entertainer Career Museum, the world’s largest and most comprehensive Elvis museum in the world, as well as many more exhibits, restaurants and shops. The tour of Graceland Mansion features an interactive, iPad tour with additional enhancements including photos, video and more. Continue your experience with the all-new Graceland Exhibition Center, which features three rotating exhibits, the TCB Food Hall and Jungle Room Bar.

Chronicling the artists and the music that shaped the legacy of "Memphis Sound," this museum features the Smithsonian's "Rock 'n' Roll: Social Crossroads" exhibition.

Visitors can tour the tunnels used by runaway slaves who stopped at this plantation, one of the stations of the Underground Railroad.

Sun Studio - The place where an 18 year old Elvis Presley recorded his first song. It’s well-known in the music industry as "The Birthplace of Rock 'N' Roll" and the most famous recording studio in the world. Opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips in 1950, this national Historic Landmark is where superstar musicians like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and countless others started their recording careers. Today, Sun Studio still serves as a recording studio in the evenings while hosting public tours during the daytime hours.

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music, is a 17,000 square-foot museum offering interactive exhibits, videos, vintage musical instruments used to create the Stax sound, stage costumes, photographs, records, and approximately 3,000 other items of memorabilia that tell the unique story, from beginning to present, of American soul music, particularly that of Stax Records and the Memphis Sound.Artists highlighted include Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, the Staple Singers, the Bar-Kays, Booker T. & the MGs, Johnnie Taylor, Little Milton, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Al Green, Aretha Franklin, Ike & Tina Turner, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, and hundreds of others. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have special safety precautions in place, such as mandatory mask-wearing for all employees and guests, social distancing, no large groups, and, for now, cashless transactions only.

How did the tradition of the ducks in The Peabody fountain begin? Back in the 1930s Frank Schutt, General Manager of The Peabody, and a friend, Chip Barwick, returned from a weekend hunting trip to Arkansas. The men had a little too much Tennessee sippin' whiskey, and thought it would be funny to place some of their live duck decoys (it was legal then for hunters to use live decoys) in the beautiful Peabody fountain. Three small English call ducks were selected as "guinea pigs," and the reaction was nothing short of enthusiastic. Thus began a Peabody tradition which was to become internationally famous.® In 1940, Bellman Edward Pembroke, a former circus animal trainer, offered to help with delivering the ducks to the fountain each day and taught them the now-famous Peabody Duck March. Mr. Pembroke became The Peabody Duckmaster, serving in that capacity for 50 years until his retirement in 1991. Nearly 90 years after the inaugural march, ducks still visit the lobby fountain at 11 a.m

Renovation and renewal have come to this historic street known as the "Home of the Blues." Flashy music clubs and restaurants abound.