Graceland
 

Anyone been to Graceland recently? Am looking to go sometime in April with my husband (his birthday). Please reply. Thanks!

just went in october...it really is cool. very easy to get to from wherever you will be in memphis. (beale street? union?)to see nearly everything is only like 1 hr 1/2. don't miss it. eat bbq at cliffs rendezvous, see the peabody ducks.

When we were there, several people had black velcro strips taped to their faces like Elvis sideburns. I also witnessed two little old ladies stealing Graceland dirt and murmuring reverently "This is Elvis' dirt."

Thanks so much for your reply. I'll be sure not to miss those spots. Don't have a hotel yet-- any recommendations?

Do anything you can to manage a room at the Peabody (we got a very good internet rate.) What a place!

My husband and I had a great trip to Memphis last summer. Graceland is a fun place--very interesting. You really get to see a lot of Elvis' life. Not as cheesy or circus-like as I thought it would be. (Although, if you want Elvis souvenirs, there are 4-5 shops there--yikes!)

As for hotels...we used Priceline and specified a hotel downtown. We got the Wyndam Garden for about $40/night and it was nice. Rooms were spacious and clean, lobby was nice. There was a Marriot really close to it that looked nice. The Peabody is very nice, but expensive. The key is to stay downtown somewhere. Memphis has a trolley system that runs downtown from Beale street to the Civil Rights Museum, to the shops and hotels. It's less than a dollar per ride and SO convenient! We took the trolley from our hotel to the core of downtown and had a meal at Rendezvous and a fun night on Beale...and didn't have to worry about driving back! Although you'll have to drive out to Graceland, most of the other activities are in the downtown area.

One more thing...I would recommend seeing the Civil Rights Museum. It's located in the former Lorainne Motel where MLK Jr. was assassinated. They have kept the exterior the same as it was then, and gutted the inside for a great museum. I hadn't really learned too much about the civil rights movement, but this place changed that and really was interesting.

Have fun!!!

Bring a black marker with you. The 'thing' to do is write on the wall outside of Graceland. You should see and read all the grafitti!

Friends went to Memphis recently and really liked the Hampton Inn Suites near the Peabody. Evidently it is several steps up from a normal Hampton Inn and quite convenient to all the fun walking around destinations.

If you can wait a month longer to go to Memphis, you can hit the the annual Memphis in May celebration. 200+ different BBQ places down by the river. Sampling beer and Memphis BBQ at Memphis in May is quite a good time.

tessie...the peabody is ideal. southern luxery. i stayed at the raddison across the street and it was great. the hampton inn is the other block, and very nice too! walk to beale street!

Tessie: To second jasper and travelisfun - definitely go to the National Civil Rights Museum - it's incredibly moving.

Definitely eat bbq at the Rendevous - the best I have ever had! And if you can swing it, please do stay at the Peabody (the Rendevous is in an alley just across the street). The Peabody has a great, central location and the lobby/bar seemed to be the happening meeting place for tourists and locals alike.

Graceland, of course, is a hoot. I particularly liked the display of 1950s news articles ripping Elvis for having no talent (!) and blaming him for corrupting "our youth."

Do take the streetcar and also a horse-drawn carriage ride - always very romantic!

While Rendevous is good, there is excellent bbq all over the area. The blues city cafe is good as is interstate bbq

Tessie, don't be confused about bbq...at the Rendevous you eat ribs...at many of the other places, you eat pulled or chopped pork shoulder...Oh, how I love Memphis bbq...had my sister bring some to me for Christmas (she lives in Brighton) and she had just picked it up at a roadside service station type place that had a pit....I think Memphis in May would be oh so heavenly to attend. The first time I took my husband to The Rendevous...I just told the waiter...it had been years (about 20) since I had been there so for him to just bring us what we were supposed to order.

We visited Graceland a year ago. The tours now include free audio headsets with a very well done, informative narrative. None of us (me, husband, 2 teens) are big Elvis fans, but we were all very impressed with the tour. Our kids said it was their favorite stop in Memphis.

Don't plan to arrive too late in the day, because the day's tickets may be sold. We arrived around noon and had to wait about 45 minutes for our tour.

We stayed at the Hampton Inn off Beale St. and rented a car to get to Graceland. We couldn't have been more pleased with the Hampton Inn--immaculately clean, very nice staff, great location, and an exceptionally good complementary breakfast.