World City Guide

Key Attractions

Graceland
The home of Elvis Presley, Graceland is the most famous attraction in Memphis. Elvis purchased the mansion in 1957 and lived there until his death in 1977. His rags to riches story embodies the American Dream and Graceland has plenty to interest the casual visitor as well as the devoted fan. A tour of the mansion includes the gloriously tasteless ‘jungle room’, with its floor-to-ceiling carpets that Elvis designed himself. In the Meditation Garden, visitors can see Elvis’ grave, which is always covered with bouquets and wreaths, sent by sobbing and adoring fans from all over the world. At Graceland Plaza, opposite the mansion, are a number of exhibitions dedicated to different areas of the singer’s life and obsessions. These include an Automobile Museum, containing his famous pink Cadillac.

3734 Elvis Presley Boulevard
Tel: (800) 238 2000 (reservations) or (901) 332 3322.
Website: www.elvis.com
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0830-1700, Sun 0930-1600 (Mar-Oct); daily 0930-1600 (Nov-Feb); no mansion tours Tues (Nov-Feb). Last tour begins at above ticket counter closing times.
Admission charge.

Beale Street
Historically the centre for black music and culture in the city, Beale Street is still the musical heart of Memphis and worth visiting just for its atmosphere. It is known as the birthplace of the blues, because it was here that W C Handy wrote ‘Memphis Blues’, so marking the very first time a blues tune had been put onto paper. His house is now a museum, the W C Handy House Museum, filled with photographs, memorabilia and some of the original sheet music written by the man who popularised blues. Beale Street is still the best place in the city for fans to hear live music, with bars such as B B King’s Blues Club. It is also the location of A Schwab, the oldest shop in the city, which has been run by the Schwab family business since 1876. The general store sells everything from size 74 men’s trousers to various voodoo potions.

Beale Street Historic District
Tel: (901) 526 0110.
Website: www.bealestreet.com

B B King’s Blues Club
143 Beale Street
Tel: (901) 524 5464.
Website: www.bbkingclubs.com

W C Handy House Museum
525 Beale Street
Tel: (901) 522 1556 or 527 3427.
Opening hours: Tues-Sat 1000-1700, Sun 1300-1700 (summer); Tues-Sat 1100-1600 (winter).
Admission charge.

A Schwab
163 Beale Street
Tel: (901) 523 9782.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1700.
Free admission.

Sun Studio
This small recording studio fully deserves its title as ‘the birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll’, for it was here that Elvis Presley made his very first recording, ‘My Happiness’. Sun Studio looks much as it did in the 1950s and contains musical memorabilia, such as a microphone used by Elvis. The tour includes outtakes of recordings made there by the king and other Sun artists, such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. It is still a working studio and artists like U2 have recently made recordings here. The adjacent Sun Studio café has an old-fashioned fountain where sodas and milkshakes are served.

706 Union Avenue
Tel: (901) 521 0664 or (800) 441 6249.
Website: www.sunstudio.com
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1800.
Admission charge.

Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum
This museum tells the story of Memphis music and how it influenced various genres. It explains how rock ’n’ roll (and later soul) grew out of the blues, gospel and country music of poor rural sharecroppers from Mississippi. The collection includes early films of Elvis and memorabilia such as Ike Turner’s piano and Carl Perkins’ guitar. CD players are distributed to each visitor, so they can listen in on the songs related to each exhibit. These range from scratchy recordings of old blues numbers to famous songs from Memphis’ Stax Records, including ‘Dock of the Bay’ and the theme from Shaft. The museum no longer shares the same building as the Gibson Guitar Factory, the manufacturing base for the world-famous guitars, but has moved to the Plaza of the FedExForum in the Beale Street Entertainment District.

191 Beale Street, Suite 100, Plaza of the FedExForum
Tel: (901) 205 2533.
Website: www.memphisrocknsoul.org
Opening hours: Daily 1000-1900.
Admission charge.

National Civil Rights Museum
This museum is housed in what was formerly the Lorraine Motel, the site of the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, in 1968. The museum traces the history of the civil rights movement in America, from slavery to the present day. There are various tableaux, such as one demonstrating Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat on a bus to a white man – sparking a whole wave of protests. The most poignant sight of all is Dr King’s motel room, which has been preserved as it was on the day of the shooting.

450 Mulberry Street
Tel: (901) 521 9699.
Website: www.civilrightsmuseum.org
Opening hours: Mon, Wed-Sat 0900-1800, Sun 1300-1800 (Jun-Aug); Mon, Wed-Sat 0900-1700, Sun 1300-1700 (Sep-May).
Admission charge.

Mud Island River Park
Mud Island is just what its name says it is – an island made from the mud and silt that is found in the Mississippi River. It first appeared in 1900, was washed away and then reappeared as a permanent feature in 1913. Attractions include the bomber Memphis Belle, one of the most famous B-17s to fight in World War II (website: www.memphisbelle.com) and a scale model of the Mississippi River, which is even filled with flowing water. The main draw for visitors is the Mississippi River Museum, which covers 10,000 years of river history. Canoe, kayak, bike and pedal boat rental also available.

125 North Front Street
Tel: (901) 576 7241 or (800) 507 6507.
Website: www.mudisland.com
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1700 (spring and autumn); Tues-Sun 1000-1800 (summer); closed (winter).
Free admission.

Pink Palace Museum
The Pink Palace Museum was built in the 1920s by entrepreneur and founder of the Piggly Wiggly grocery chain, Clarence Saunders. He lost his fortune and the pink stone and marble mansion on Central Avenue, nicknamed the ‘Pink Palace’, was given to the City of Memphis for use as a museum. Today it is a regional landmark with displays on local history, culture, medicine, music, natural history and science. It also contains a replica of Saunders’ first Piggly Wiggly supermarket, as well as state-of-the-art planetarium and 3-D IMAX theatre. The museum offers many educational programs for children.

3050 Central Avenue
Tel: (901) 320 6320.
Website: www.memphismuseums.org
Admission charge.