Walkable from the DoubleTree:
Chronicles the lasting mark Memphis' music scene has made on the world of music. Part of the Smithsonian.
A powerful tribute to the civil rights movement. The museum is built onto the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. Stop by and have a chat with Jacqueline Smith, who has been camped outside the site since the motel was closed in 1988 (that’s over twenty years) in protest of the use of the site as a museum and the increasing gentrification of the neighborhood.
They have these ducks, see, and they’re all famous and stuff, ‘cause every day they like, march down to the fountain in the lobby, and there’s this guy whose job it is to herd the ducks. You can watch! Also it’s a cool old hotel. You could stay there if you want. Expensivo though.
They build Gibson guitars in Memphis! And you can tour the factory! Yay!
The birthplace of the blues, where legends like W.C. Handy and B.B. King got their start. The blues clubs and restaurants along Beale come alive at night, but there's plenty to see during the day, too. Don't forget to stop by A. Schwab's, a general store founded in 1876. They've got everything from voodoo candles to the world's largest overalls.
National Ornamental Metal Museum
According to the Web site, it's the "only institution in the United States devoted exclusively to the preservation and promotion of fine metalwork." It's way cooler than that description. You can watch metal artists at work and try your hand at welding!
They've got a scale model of the Mississippi River where you can splash your way from Minnesota all the way to the Gulf.
A nonprofit that supports the art, music and culture of the South. They've got a really great folk art collection.
The Arcade
The oldest cafe in Memphis, where Elvis and other greats used to hang out. Despite its moniker it contains no video games. However, it was featured in Jim Jarmusch’s "Mystery Train"!
South Main Historic District
A thriving community of art galleries that promote regional and national artists.
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
An absolute must-see. Housed in the lot where Stax Records once stood, the museum is a replica of the recording studio that brought you Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Rufus Thomas, Booker T and the MGs and Ann Peebles.
A natural science museum built of pink marble with a coin-operated life-size Triceratops inside. Need I say more? It also features a planetarium and an IMax.
The birthplace of rock n' roll (no matter what Cleveland says). It's where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and others got their start. You can tour the studio (which looks exactly the same as it did in the 50s) and sing into Elvis' mic.
A bit of a drive:
Some famous guy lived here. Can't quite recall who...
If you're up for a little gambling, Tunica's the place. It's just 40 miles south of Memphis in the middle of a north Mississippi swamp. Like Vegas, but with water. And rednecks.
