Memphis

[ChadJK]

I'll be in Memphis, Tennessee, next week. Any suggestions on what to do, what to see, or where to eat?

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Beale Street is fun to stroll down. It's very touristy but rarely crowded (at least in the several times I've been there). I've eaten at both BB King's and Pig on Beale and both were good but not particularly memorable. (If there's a cover at BB Kings, you can try and negotiate it down).

The National Civil Rights museum is really interesting. It's built into the preserved motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot.

If you're like me and ducks are a favorite animal, the Duck March at the Peabody hotel is pretty fun. It occurs daily at 11 AM and 5 PM. https://www.peabodymemphis.com/peabody-ducks

I've never been to The Pyramid (former basketball arena that is now a Bass Pro Shop ( )) but I hear the experience and observation deck can be interesting.

There's both a street car and a monorail system downtown. The streetcar strolls down a pedestrian mall while the monorail goes between downtown and Mud Island, a decent park on the Mississippi. I'm not 100% that either are operating right now and neither are really more than tourist attractions. It becomes evident that Memphis tried really hard in the 1980s and 1990s to create a robust tourist destination of its downtown with Disney-esque novelties, but the novelty has worn off to some degree and they've only invested modestly at refreshing them.

I've never been to Graceland or any of the music-related attractions so can't comment on those.

[zippy]

Several years ago, we walked around the Beale Street area. We stopped at several bars and BBQ joints, having a drink and an appetizer at each one.

[ChadJK]

I see the cheapest tickets to get into Graceland are $77/adult.

[CBJason]

Being from Council Bluffs, I've lived here since 2010. I basically agree with everything Tito said. The Rendezvous for BBQ, The Arcade if you like old fashioned diners. Many other good restaurants in the South Main district. The Peabody duck march at happy hour. Graceland whether you're an Elvis fan or not. They have really invested in it and grown it in recent years. Bass Pro at the Pyramid is interesting, although I haven't made it up to the top yet.

[Omaha Cowboy]

Graceland whether you're an Elvis fan or not. They have really invested in it and grown it in recent years.

I’m not much of an Elvis fan either. In fact, the last time I was in Memphis, I had to be talked into visiting Graceland.. And I’m glad I did. I was nearly mind blown..and for many there who were Elvis fans, it was like a religious experience for them. I definitely give a thumbs up to a Graceland visit..

And welcome to the forum Jason …

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[ChadJK]

We're back from our 5-days in Memphis. Thanks for the ideas on what to see and do!

I was surprised at how small Beale Street was. It's really only about two or three blocks long. There's a lot crammed into those couple of blocks,, but I had envisioned something longer. It wasn't super crowded either which was nice. We went one afternoon to check it out and souvenir shop and then went back one night to see it at night. We sat and watched a local Blues band play for bit too. We popped into the Hard Rock Café (one of the smaller/lamer Hard Rock Café locations), so one of our fellow travelers could get their obligatory souvenir.

We toured Graceland. It was a pricey endeavor at $77/person. Still, it was cool to see. My mother is a huge Elvis fan and I was sort of raised listening to his music and watching his movies. He is buried there along with his parents, grandmother, and grandson. I do worry about the place's ability to go on once the Baby Boomer generation passes. They seem to be the place's bread and butter.

We did a riverboat ride on the Mississippi River. What is it with touristy boat rides that it always seems like you're on some dilapidated boat? Is there a brand new just built last year boat anywhere in the world carrying tourists or are they all 40+ years old? lol

We checked out the National Civil Rights Museum which, as TitosBuritoBarn mentioned, is built into the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. It's $18/adult and $15/kid. It was a very cool museum and they fit a lot into the building. We also went to Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum which had a guided tour. It was $12/adult and $11/kid.

We stopped by Sun Studio. We didn't even mean to. We stopped for carry-out at a nearby Domino's Pizza because the kids were hungry and as I was sitting in the parking lot I looked in the rear-view mirror and there was Sun. So, we strolled over and took a look. We didn't go inside or take the tour.

We went to that giant pyramid-shaped Bass Pro Shop. We're not typically Bass Pro customers, but we found ourselves just a block or two away, so why not? The pyramid holds a few restaurants in addition to the Bass Pro Shop as well as a hotel. You can ride the elevator to the observation deck on the top where there is also a restaurant. I believe it's $8/adult and $5/kid to ride to the top. It's roughly 28 stories up.

We tried several BBQ places. I wanted to hit up a couple more, but my traveling companions don't want to eat BBQ two meals a day for a week. I went to Cozy Corner BBQ, Central BBQ, and The Bar-B-Q Shop. I enjoyed them all, but Cozy Corner and Bar-B-Q Shop were probably the better two.

We also listened to Walking in Memphis an obscene number of times.

I found the driving situation super annoying, but that's probably not a Memphis problem so much as a me problem. You sort of take for granted having all of the exits and interchanges memorized until you're driving in another city and then it's suddenly very confusing and frustrating. The map app is giving you instructions like "...in a half mile use the right two lanes to exit onto..." except you're going 65 MPH so a half mile is only about 30 seconds away... good times.

One oddity was meat bone litter. All cities have litter, but in Memphis there would just be bones laying about. Mostly chicken bones but some rib bones too. Once you see them you can't stop seeing them.

Overall, it was a fun trip that we all enjoyed.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

I found the driving situation super annoying, but that's probably not a Memphis problem so much as a me problem. You sort of take for granted having all of the exits and interchanges memorized until you're driving in another city and then it's suddenly very confusing and frustrating. The map app is giving you instructions like "...in a half mile use the right two lanes to exit onto..." except you're going 65 MPH so a half mile is only about 30 seconds away... good times.

Oh no, it's certainly a Memphis problem. Memphis's interstate system can best be described as a |expletive|. I drive through there roughly once a year and almost always manage to miss or nearly miss an exit. And not even because I need to get to a different highway. If I'm driving straight through I stay on I-55. To stay on I-55 through Memphis you must exit I-55 twice.

[CBJason]

I forgot to mention Sun studios. Good for you for luckily noticing it. The BBQ places you went to are generally highly thought of, unfortunately I forgot about those as well! Lol. It seems the longer I’m in the burbs, the more I forget about the best parts of downtown and midtown!

[Cermak]

I’ve never been to Memphis, but would like to visit it someday. Northwest airlines used to have a hub there and I changed planes in Memphis a few times I believe it was back in the 90’s. The skyline has had very few new highrises built in the last 40 years probably among the fewest for a relatively major U.S. metro. They do have some impressive pre-WWII skyscrapers and have a historic looking skyline especially for a southern city. Overall an interesting looking place. The metro area itself is not all that much larger than Omaha.

Nashville and Memphis seem so different, Memphis still struggles with a rather negative National image or perception from outsiders, while Nashville enjoys a positive image by most. And is one of the “hot cities“ right now in the south along with places like Austin or Tampa.

[ChadJK]

We popped into the Hard Rock Café (one of the smaller/lamer Hard Rock Café locations), so one of our fellow travelers could get their obligatory souvenir.

I was searching for something completely different and came across a news story that the Memphis Hard Rock Café is closing in July. I can't say I'm surprised. When we stopped in the place was dead inside. Honestly, that's been my experience at the last few Hard Rock Cafés we've been too. Back in the 90s, HRC was quite popular at every location and I can remember waiting forever on a table in what were packed restaurants. Now, the last few I've been to were maybe at 30-50% capacity at what should be peak meal times. It doesn't bode well for the chain.

[CBJason]

We popped into the Hard Rock Café (one of the smaller/lamer Hard Rock Café locations), so one of our fellow travelers could get their obligatory souvenir.

I was searching for something completely different and came across a news story that the Memphis Hard Rock Café is closing in July. I can't say I'm surprised. When we stopped in the place was dead inside. Honestly, that's been my experience at the last few Hard Rock Cafés we've been too. Back in the 90s I can remember waiting forever on a table in a packed restaurant. Now, the last few I've been to were maybe at 30-50% capacity at would should be peak meal times. It doesn't bode well for the chain.

That would be correct. This location is it's second on Beale St. Even the first location, when I lived downtown a decade+ ago, never seemed to be too busy.