Retired couple visiting Memphis in June (Germantown, Central: hotel, house, neighborhoods)

[Yeledaf]

Two nights, one day at Hotel Napoleon

Three nights, two days at Guest House at Graceland

This is our first visit to Memphis. We would appreciate advice on things to see and do, and restaurant recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

[CristenS]

You can search this site for hundreds of ideas. Since you are spending the majority of your time at Graceland, I assume you are mainly interested in that. Keep in mind, Graceland is not near anything else that you'd want to see or do in town. It's not a good area of town either, although the facility itself is of course fine.


Sun Studios, Stax, the zoo, Gibson Guitars (or donuts!), Overton Square/Park, Rock & Roll Museum, Beale St, etc.

What type of restaurants? Plenty of cheap BBQ and southern food around. Memphis has more and more higher end options as well.

[eastmemphisguy]

It's going to be hot. Plan inside activities and stay hydrated. An often overlooked attraction near your hotel downtown in the Belz Asian Art Museum. Don't miss it. You probably won't need so much time at Graceland. It's in an outlying area that's not so great. But Memphis is small enough that you can drive to anywhere in under half an hour, so not a huge deal.

[Yeledaf]

Thanks for the tips, everybody. We are having a ball. Stax was superb. We learned a lot and remembered the music and the times, good and bad, from that era. Sun was great -- and the folks there were so nice and patient. Even made me a free chocolate malt 'cause I had to wait in line. The Rendezvous was bodacious. And your baseball team has the most beautiful park I've ever seen for a triple A team. You ought to be proud of your city. It rocks.

We're headed to Branson, Missouri for a few days (that'll be a change ), then back to Memphis for the Graceland part of our trip. (I looked up the prices at Presleyville -- pretty steep!)

[Yeledaf]

We're headed home tomorrow. Here's our summary:

The Rendezvous, Beale Street, Sun, Stax, and the Rock and Soul Museum: all first-rate. Stax may have been the best of these: a variety of truly great songs and musical types, blended with the sobering history of 1968 and the demise of the kind of diverse, racially mixed music that Stax was famous for. The presence of uniformed guards inside and outside the building was a reminder of the depressed and dangerous neighborhood of south Memphis where Stax is located.

Graceland and its neighboring hotel and entertainment/museum complex was poignantly interesting: being reminded of (and hearing) the old Presley songs was nostalgic. A lot of smiling faces around as visitors remembered the music of their youth. It's pretty hard not to like Elvis, and feel sympathy for him as he was preyed on by unscrupulous and greedy people, and met such an early end. As James Brown said: “I wasn’t just a fan, I was his brother. He said I was good and I said he was good; we never argued about that. Elvis was a hard worker, dedicated, and God loved him… I love him and hope to see him in heaven. There’ll never be another like that soul brother.” Elvis seemed generous and caring. His music brought happiness to so many. May he rest in peace.

Dixon Gallery and Gardens was the surprise of our trip. A beautiful blending of natural beauty and numerous valiant human attempts to create that elusive quality through the two-dimensional and plastic arts. I can't think of a pleasanter way to spend a morning and early afternoon than strolling through the Dixon's lush landscape and its small, but first-rate art collection. Bravo!

A sobering part of our trip was the obvious distinction between the poorer parts of the city and those areas frequented by tourists like us. Like many cities, the underclass seems to live on a different planet from their prosperous fellow citizens. Just driving from the hushed, leafy neighborhoods east of the University of Memphis near Audobon Park, to Getwell Road, is quite a transition. That the separation is largely racial was especially affecting to us, since we have so little daily contact with races other than caucasian in our part of the country.

Overall, though, we really enjoyed Memphis. It was so different from the sparsely-populated, high-desert-like environment of the inland northwestern city where we live; its people so much more courteous and engaging; its food so much more adventurous and rooted in its country origins and flavors; its culture reflecting a history deeper, richer, and more soulful than our northwestern notions of survival in a harsh and unforgiving climate where winter comes so early and summer sometimes never seems to come at all.

We've put Memphis on our list of places to visit again. After all, we haven't been to Corky's, seen the Peabody ducks, or been to Mud Island yet...

[JoeCartpath]

I'm glad you enjoyed your visit! Next trip might I suggest you visit the Memphis Zoo (one of the top zoos in the country) and, while you're there at Overton Park, visit the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art as well. You could spend the better part of a day between those two and never leave the park

Hurry back!!

[Upthewazzu]

Originally Posted by Yeledaf

We've put Memphis on our list of places to visit again. After all, we haven't been to Corky's, seen the Peabody ducks, or been to Mud Island yet...

Glad you liked Memphis. I grew up there and moved to Spokane in '98.

Local tip: skip Corky's and hit up Germantown Commissary.

[Yeledaf]

Originally Posted by Upthewazzu

Glad you liked Memphis. I grew up there and moved to Spokane in '98.

Local tip: skip Corky's and hit up Germantown Commissary.

Got it. Thanks. I'll make a note for our next trip.

Uh.....do I need to study up on my German?

[JoeCartpath]

Originally Posted by Yeledaf

Got it. Thanks. I'll make a note for our next trip.

Uh.....do I need to study up on my German?

Nope. It's just the more upscale suburb...named for the original surveyor of the town.

Central BBQ is also really good. Actually, you have to try pretty hard to find bad BBQ here

[85Dave]

Don't forget the Pink Palace next time!