Never been to Memphis
 

How many days would you go to Memphis for if you'd never been?

3 days to see it all, but no less than 2. You have to see Graceland, Sun Studios, Civil Rights Museum, eat lots of BBQ, go to the Peabody Hotel, enjoy a night on Beale Street...lots to do!
Graceland will take almost a whole day.

I went to Memphis last summer for the first time. We had 3 days, 2 nights, and think it was sufficient time to cover the highlights.

I personally cannot imagine spending almost a whole day at Graceland. We went near the time it opened (make sure you buy tickets online in advance so you can pick up at the window, rather than having to wait in line which will take a long time), and spent no more than 3 or so hours and felt like we had seen enough.

I agree with mah. I can't imagine spending more than a couple of hours at Graceland. We went because we thought it'd be a funky, fun thing to do and it was. I'm glad I went but I'd never go back.

I would go to Mud Island (museum about the Mississippi)in addition to the other sights mentioned

susan and mah, in your opinions, is Memphis worth making a special trip for (and while I loved Elvis, I too can't imagine spending more than a few or 3 hours at Graceland --- I've never even spent more than 3 hours at the Louvre LOL!)

Where are you coming from that it would be a special trip? I thought it was a fun long weekend place with good restaurants.

mah, from San Francisco. If we can get a good/inexpensive flight.

dmlove, if you loved Elvis you wil love Graceland. I could spend the day there. The car musuem is wonderful and so is the Elvis Up Close and Personal. I lived in Memphis for a year and we had our end of the year party at Graceland with a special tour of the mansion and it was lots of fun. Enjoy yourself. Don't miss the Rendezvous, Cozy Corner (wonderful ribs and barbecued spaghetti) and the Civil Rights Museum.

What are your interests?

We went to Memphis from here in New Orleans so it wasn't a very long trip. While I don't necessarily feel the need to go back, I thought it was a really cool place to experience.

You're coming from San Francisco? Wow! I can think of SO many other places in the south I'd choose to visit before Memphis.

We live in Little Rock and spend the night in Memphis fairly regulary, but there's NO way I'd get on a plane to travel there. The southern part of the United States has LOTS of wonderful travel destinations.

Have you considered New Orleans, Charleston, Savannah?

I've been to Memphis twice for family reunions and enjoyed the city and found plenty to do. However I have to agree with SusanCS there are other places I'd go first in the southern US

I agree--wouldn't go too far out of my way to go to Memphis. I think both New Orleans and Charleston are more interesting Southern destinations.

Have you been to New Orleans or Charleston?

All, we've been to Charleston, Savannah, Atlanta & Hilton Head before, and we had plans to go to New Orleans on what turned out to be 3 days after Katrina hit. I posted another thread here asking about New Orleans now, and I do think we'll go there this year, too. So this was in addition to, not in place of, all those places. When we go to any city, we like to see the prime attractions, but not the stupid ones (biggest ball of twince is of no interest to us, but Graceland would be). We aren't hugely into art museums, but the civil rights museum sounds great. As an example, my favorite Smithsonian museum is the temporarily-closed Museum of American History.

You should definitely come to New Orleans. There are a lot of good deals to be had on lodging (completely renovated Ritz Carlton is $129/night right now).

We liked Memphis, though we felt Memphis was grittier than New Orleans. There are a lot of similarities between the two cities--Southern with huge music influences and fun places to party (Beale Street and Bourbon Street). One thing about Memphis is that there are not a ton of close to Beale Street lodging options that were appealing to us.

I definitely think it is worth a visit. The Civil Rights Museum alone was really moving. Go to Gus' Fried Chicken for the best fried chicken you'll ever have.

okay, dmlove - you should definitely go to Memphis! In my opinion, Graceland shouldn't take more than a couple of hours, but then you've got the Civil Rights Museum, which is huge! Have fun!

I'm from the SF Bay area and I loved Memphis! Graceland--two to three hours tops--I had to leave before my outright giggling upset the mourners at his gravesite (last stop of the tour). Mud Island is excellent. Food is great--music is terrific. We drove down to Tunica and took a riverboat cruise (that's where the casinos are--90 min south of Memphis).
A fun city, glad I went.

dmlove,
I live just south of Memphis. If you are looking for lodging recomendations, I would suggest the Madison Hotel or the Westin. There are plenty of great restaurants downtown, such as Felica Suzanne, Stella, McEwens, or Automatic Slims. A long weekend is plenty of time to catch the highlights. I hope you enjoy it.

dmlove-I am from So. Cal and I really liked Memphis. I went with my daughter who loved it. Didn't spend too much time at Graceland but spent quite a few hours at the Civil Rights Musuem. Very moving. The Sun Records tour was our favorite-don't miss it. Also enjoyed Beal Street. Of course you have to eat BBQ and if you want something different for a meal go to The Beauty Shop restaurant. It's not downtown but only about a 5-10 minute drive. It's set at the sight of an old beauty shop and we really enjoyed our meal there. We were there during Feb so it was a little cold to go to Mud Island.

I would say that you'd need 3 full days and if you wanted to stay a little longer combine it with a day trip outside of Memphis. We wanted to go to Oxford, Mississippi (home of Ole Miss U) but didn't have time. I believe it's a little over an hour from Memphis. What we did do was drive through Mississippi and ended up in New Orleans. Mah1980 I read your trip report before we took our trip. We spent a little time in Clarksdale, Missippi and went to the Delta Blues Museum which was very interesting. Morgan Freeman has a restaurant in Clarksdale but we didn't get to eat there as we were heading on down to Vicksburg. Clarksdale is about 75 miles south of Memphis.

We enjoyed our trip to Memphis and down into Mississippi. It's very different than CA-really almost a whole other world and it was enjoyable and eye opening.

Sorry mah1980. I meant to say I read gardyloo's trip report before we went in Feb 2006. However, I did read your trip report also. My daughter went back this year to Memphis with a friend (they have theater auditions there in Feb) but was able to show her friend all around the city and they had a good time. Sorry for the confusion.

Hi there, i'm not sure if this is the right way of doing things, but i have a question. me and my girlfriend is going to US next monday and we plan to be in NY for 5 nights and then we plan to go to New Orleans and stay there for 3 nights before we rent a car that will take us to Memphis where we will spend 2 nights. My question is do You have som ideas what we shouldn't miss on our trip from New Orleans to Memphis, we have 4 nights to spend before we have to leave our car in Memphis? I would be greatful for some great ideas. we are interested in a lot of things ;o).

Buskas

Buskas--you will get better ideas for your trip if you start your own thread with a question like What to see driving between New Orleans and Memphis? On this thread you are only going to get people who think they are answering what to do in Memphis itself.

I think you might want to spend a day after New Orleans going to the Cajun country west of the city (Lafayette area) before you head north toward Memphis.
http://www.lafayettetravel.com/

Some interesting things to see on the way toward Memphis in Mississippi are:

Natchez with many plantations built by cotton growers before the Civil War
http://www.natchezms.com/

The Natchez trace parkway also has interesting sites from Native American and pioneer days. You could explore the section of it near Natchez
http://www.nps.gov/natr/

Vicksburg is the site of one of the major Civil war battles

Clarksdale Miss has a museum about the Delta Blues
http://www.clarksdale.com/chamber/index.php?pg=2271352

Thank you VTTRAVELLER i'll do that

I loved Memphis, it sorta seems to be stuck in a time warp, but yet struggling to reinvent itself, which I found charming. If you love or even like Elvis and the time era he was from, it's a must and you can easily spend a good part of your day there. Also, if you like rock, soul, R&B, 70's funk music, you have to go..the Sun Studios gave me chills. Memphis has a couple museums devoted to music, one being the Staxx Museum of American Soul Music
http://www.staxmuseum.com/.
And you must go if you love good Southern food...BBQ galore!

Meant to say, if you love or like Elvis, it's easy to spend a good portion of your day at Graceland.

isabellasu-Loved Sun Studios. Think it was our favorite part of the visit although we also were very moved by the Civil Rights Museum. I think everyone should visit it at one time or another. Let's say-I got chills there also but of a different kind.

paula, the Civil Rights Museum was chilling also, just to walk up and see the Lorraine Motel sign, just as it was the day Dr. King died and his room "untouched". This is another example of Memphis seeming to be stuck in a time warp, a fascinating way to see American history.

isabella-The weekend we went to the Civil Rights Museum was several days after the death of Coretta Scott King in 2006. So her picture was there and even the employees seemed to be sad. It made it even more poignant.