Memphis Travel Guide: Culture, History, and Iconic Museums

Dec 21

Beale street, packed with live music venues

Memphis is a city where music, history, and storytelling are woven into everyday life. On two visits for work conferences, my add-on days centered on two powerful stops: the Withers Museum, which captures decades of Black history through photography, and the National Civil Rights Museum, a moving and essential place to reflect on America’s past and progress. Between soulful sounds, meaningful exhibits, and a strong sense of place, Memphis offers a rich experience even on a short stay - one that stays with you long after you leave.

Where to stay

The Arrive is a hip place with a great bar/coffee shop (“Bar Hustle” and “Hustle and Dough”) and spacious, modern rooms.

The Peabody is an historic hotel with updated rooms, despite the old time charm of the common areas, an elegant afternoon tea served in the restaurant Chez Philippe, and a processional through the lobby of the mallard ducks that live on property each day at 11 am and 5 pm.

Places to eat

Have lunch at Alcenia’s World Famous Soul Food. You will likely get to meet the chef-owner in person as she warmly greets diners and the food is delicious southern cooking that feels like a meal you’d have visiting family.

Have a drink and an appetizer at Catherine and Mary’s.

For a novel dinner, if you like to sample different dishes, try Flight, a restaurant where everything is served in flights of three, including drinks, appetizers, entrees, and desserts.

After visiting the Civil Rights Museum (see below), have barbecue at Central BBQ across the street.

Things to do

Visit the Wither’s Collection Museum. It’s small but has a lot of history, artifacts, and the impressive photography of Dr. Ernest C. Withers.

Go to the National Civil Rights Museum, possibly the most well-known sight in Memphis. It’s an amazing museum made from the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated and it displays the history of his legacy as well as the event of his death in a vivid, while also sobering way that takes the visitor back in time.