Memphis, TN Road Trips

Although downtown Memphis has experienced quite a rebirth and renewal in the last few years, the center of the city is older; it is full of new development, teeming with change and coming into its own. In the past few years, the city has emerged to boast one of the largest downtown populations among US cities. Citizens again have a vested interest in making downtown a safe, exciting place to visit and relax in after decades of abandonment. Memphis is extremely hot in the summertime, and the humidity can make you feel even hotter! Those who have trouble tolerating high heat and humidity may wish to avoid visiting in July and August. Daytime summer temperature average around 92 °F (33 °C). Heat indices tend to average around 98 °F (37 °C) during the day and 77 °F (25 °C) at night in the summer. It's not unheard of for heat indices to climb upwards to 110 °F (43 °C) and not go below 85 °F (29 °C) at night on some particularly hot and sweltering days.

Downtown Memphis. Buy a ticket and take the trolley to get a good overview of the area. 1 Beale Street. "Home of the Blues". Dozens of bars and clubs, most of them featuring live music. At night the street is closed to vehicles and you can drink on the street; some bars have "drinks to go" windows where you can get a 32-ounce cup of beer for $5 and go bar-hopping. Many bars have no cover charge. Peabody Place is largely a wasteland, as nearly all the stores inside have closed. (updated Dec 2024) 2 Blues Hall of Fame Museum, 421 S. Main St (opposite the Civil Rights Museum precinct). W–Sa 10AM–5PM, Su 1–5PM. Adult $10, student $8, 12 & under free. (updated Jun 2023) 3 The Cotton Museum, 65 Union Ave, ☏ +1 901 531-7826. (updated Nov 2017) Mississippi River. River tours available most days through a variety of providers. Tom Lee Park is a nice place to view the river. 4 National Civil Rights Museum (Lorraine Motel), 450 Mulberry St (Near the Amtrak station.), ☏ +1 901 521-9699. W-M 9AM-5PM (closed Tu). The museum was built out of the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, and out of the boarding house across the street, from which came James Earl Ray's shot. The museum features exhibitions on the whole civil rights movement, segregation and slavery in American History from the 1800s to the 1960s including the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. amongst others in the civil rights movements. (ages-0-3) Free; (ages 4-17) $12; (ages 18+) $15 or $14 student discount with valid student ID.

Check out live music on Beale Street Memphis Redbirds, 200 Union Ave, ☏ +1 901-721-6000. Minor League Baseball team that plays at 1 AutoZone Park, in the middle of downtown. They are the Triple-A affiliates of the St. Louis Cardinals. $9-75. 2 FedExForum, 191 Beale Street at Third Street. FedExForum is the largest public building construction project in Memphis history. Managed and operated by the Memphis Grizzlies, the facility is home to the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the University of Memphis Tigers men's basketball team. Memphis Grizzlies. NBA team. Memphis Tigers. Teams representing the University of Memphis, which participate in NCAA competition as members of the American Athletic Conference. The most visible Tigers team by far is the men's basketball team, regularly a conference contender and occasionally a national contender as well. As noted above, the men's basketball team plays at FedExForum (though not the women's team, which plays on campus). The football team also plays off campus at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium on the Mid-South Fairgrounds. That stadium is also home to the Memphis Showboats, which play professional football in the spring in the United Football League. Memphis 901 FC, ☏ +1 901 721-6000, [email protected]. One of the city's newer sports attraction is this men's soccer team, which has played in the second-level USL Championship since 2019. The team shares AutoZone Park with the Redbirds. Memphis Backbeat Mojo Tour, Picks up at Elvis Presley Plaza on Beale, toll-free: +1-800-979-3370.

Memphis is one of the cheapest places in the USA to live, and that includes going out to eat. Memphis is famous for two things: music and food. The local BBQ is well-known, and you can sample it "wet" (with spicy, tangy sauce) or "dry" (rubbed with spices before cooking), with rib tips being a well-known local specialty. Other options abound across the city, from Southern home cooking to international fare. You won't go wrong with famous names, but the adventurous will find real treasures in modest hole-in-the-wall joints that make up for their shabby appearance with fabulous flavor. 1 Arcade Restaurant, 540 South Main St (corner of G.E. Patterson Ave, across South Main St from the train station). A classic diner and the oldest restaurant in Memphis. One of the most Memphis-cultured places in town. Speros Zepatos founded the diner in 1919 after immigrating from Cephalonia, Greece. Traditional diner food with the addition of pizza and hummus sandwiches. Featured in several movies, including Jim Jarmusch's "Mystery Train". 2 Waffle Shop (Calvary Episcopal Church Waffle Shop), 102 N. 2nd St. Memphis TN (Enter from the awning or through the front doors; parking can be tricky.), ☏ +1 901 525 6602. during the season of Lent only, open for Lunch Tuesday-Friday 11am-1:30pm. Probably the oldest pop-up restaurant in the South. Serving waffles since 1928. Probably the only place you can get Tomato Aspic, Fish Pudding, Boston Cream Pie, or Chicken Hash for lunch. À la carte, $2-$10. (updated Feb 2018) 3 Earnestine and Hazel's, 531 S. Main St, ☏ +1 901 523-9754.

Wine is sold in grocery stores, and liquor stores. Beer can be found in grocery stores, liquor stores, and gas stations. 1 Buster's Wine (On Highland at Poplar, near the University of Memphis). Also has a good selection of harder liquor and high-test beer. This place is very popular and always packed on the weekends, but has a fantastic, efficient staff that get you in and out quickly. Open every hour it's legal: M-Sa 8AM-11PM. (updated Oct 2021) 2 Joe's Liquor. Speaking of booze, if you need packaged goods and you're in midtown, head to Joe's (Poplar and Belvedere) as much to see Sputnik (the vintage, spinning, twisting neon star) as for the beverages. Go at dusk for maximum effect. (updated Oct 2021) 3 Great Wine And Spirits (Is out east). Probably has one of more extensive wine stocks in Memphis liquor stores. (updated Oct 2021) 4 Boscos, Overton Square, 2120 Madison Ave, ☏ +1 901-432-2222. Brew pub and food. Featured on many "Best Of" lists. (updated Dec 2016) 5 Newby's, Highland Street (called the Highland Strip, near The University of Memphis). "Playboy" magazine rated Newby's the "Best place to party like a Rock Star!" (updated Oct 2021) 6 Bluff City Coffee, 505 S. Main. The latest addition to the Art District of Downtown Memphis. Specializing in Italian style espresso based coffee. The coffee shop features comfort and conference style seating for meetings, free wireless internet, and print/copy/scan/fax capabilities to keep you productive throughout your day. Make sure to bring your laptop and stay a while.

There is limited choice but the city offers some affordable and decent lodging. 1 Super 7 Inn, 1117 E Brooks Rd. The Super 7 Inn is just 10 minutes’ drive from the Memphis International Airport. This property is less than 7 mi from Memphis city center and Beale Street. $66. (updated Nov 2021) 2 Hostel Memphis, 1000 South Cooper St (Along Cooper at Felix in SE part of town.), ☏ +1 901 273-8341. (updated Aug 2017) 3 Doubletree Downtown Memphis, 185 Union Ave, ☏ +1 901 528-1800. A few blocks from Beale Street; a relaxing accommodation. 4 Best Western Gen X Inn, 1177 Madison Ave. (Madison Ave & N Bellevue, east of I-240 from the downtown medical complex.), ☏ +1 901 692-9136. Downtown near Memphis Medical Center. 5 Hampton Inn, Beale Street, 175 Peabody Place (SW of Peabody Pl and B.B King Blvd in the historic Beale Street District.), ☏ +1 901 260-4000, fax: +1 901 260-4012. This is right on Beale Street--as opposed to the Holiday Inn and the Peabody, both of which are a few blocks away. The room prices are average, but beware: it is noisy. If you want to party then this is the place, but for a quieter getaway, stay a few blocks away. 6 Hyatt Place Memphis/Wolfchase Galleria, 7905 Giacosa Place (Off of the Germantown Pkwy exit from I-40 (Exit 16A from the eastbound lanes an 16B from the westbound lanes)), ☏ +1 901 371-0010, toll-free: +1 901 371 9988. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: Noon. A hotel adjacent to Wolfchase Galleria Mall. Offers a pool, 24-hour fitness center, on-site dining and free wifi.

Memphis is on the southwestern corner of Tennessee, with the Mississippi River and the state of Arkansas bordering it to the west and the state of Mississippi to the south. 1 Memphis International Airport (MEM IATA). Despite its name, it does not serve international passenger flights, though the main international hub of global shipping giant FedEx is based here. (updated Mar 2019) Allegiant Air: Austin, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Orlando/Sanford American Airlines: Charlotte, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, New York-LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Washington-National. Delta Air Lines: Atlanta, Cancun, Cincinnati, Detroit, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, Orlando, Salt Lake City Frontier Airlines: Denver, Washington-Dulles Southern Airways Express: Destin, Florida; Harrison, Arkansas; Jackson, Missouri; and Nashville Southwest Airlines: Austin, Baltimore, Chicago-Midway, Dallas-Love, Houston-Hobby, Orlando, Tampa. United Airlines: Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Houston-Intercontinental, Newark. is a good route into town but doesn't go through Memphis; to get to the other side of 40 you take the north loop which is I-40, or the south loop, which is known as I-240 and is Memphis' beltway. will take you right into town; just take the Riverside Drive exit from either direction to be at Beale Street in a minute. Comes from Alabama, through Mississippi, and ends in Memphis. Parking - Except for downtown, parking is usually free. If you're downtown, try a garage on Union Avenue or Front Street for around $2/hr, $7/day.

Driving: Travel by car is really the only way to get around Memphis if you want to do anything other than see Downtown. Public Transit: The Main Street Trolley operates along Main Street within the Downtown area. Bus service provided by the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) is available across the city. Some routes are very poorly served in the evenings. At nights and weekends some buses take a different route than during the day which can be a trap for visitors. Memphis is laid out in a more or less east/west fashion. Roads primarily go east/west and north/south. The expressway cuts directly through the city. Downtown is on the west; it sits atop the bluffs, overlooking the mighty Mississippi River. (It is referred to as Downtown, not as West Memphis, which is a town just across the river in Arkansas.) Moving east you'll come to Midtown, a charming part of the city thought by some as the best part of Memphis. Beyond that, you will find East Memphis, and then the suburbs of Germantown, Collierville, Cordova, and Bartlett. The area between downtown and Midtown, referred to by locals as "Crosstown," is coming to life slowly but surely. There is a movement to turn it into an artist community. Members of this movement call the area "the Edge". However, most of the "art district" is on South Main.

Violent crime has been a growing problem in Memphis. In 2021, the city had the highest homicide rate in the entire US. It is wise to stay away from areas in North and South Memphis, as these areas have very high rates of crime. Neighborhoods like Riverside, Orange Mound or Binghampton struggle with poverty, urban decay and crime. Even completely suburban areas like Frayser and Raleigh have crime-related problems. Nonetheless, safety in downtown Memphis has greatly improved in the last few years. Throughout the day, especially at night, there is usually a large police presence downtown, especially in the area around Beale Street. Use common sense when traveling in Memphis, just as you would anywhere else. Leave no valuables in plain sight in your car, and be mindful of where you are, especially at night.