Memphis Things to Do: Every Sight and Its Price
Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use.
Memphis things to do, sight by sight, with real costs
Memphis’s core sights split into three groups: the music heritage that put the city on the map, the National Civil Rights Museum, and a long list of things that cost nothing at all. Below is what each ticketed sight actually charges in 2026, so a full day doesn’t come with a surprise at the door. For the 12 free-and-cheap picks alone, see the main Memphis budget guide .
Memphis’s music heritage
Graceland (3717 Elvis Presley Blvd, Whitehaven, about 9 miles south of downtown, car or rideshare needed) is the one splurge most visitors budget for. The standard Elvis Experience tour, mansion plus the entertainment complex and his private jets, runs roughly $85 adult / $49 youth; an entry-level Elvis Presley’s Memphis ticket, no mansion, runs about $53; VIP and Ultimate tiers climb toward $260. It’s timed-entry, book ahead, especially around Elvis Week (Aug 8-16, 2026). Prices are volatile, check the official Graceland site before you go.
Sun Studio (706 Union Ave, the “Birthplace of Rock ’n’ Roll”) is a working studio where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and B.B. King all recorded. The guided tour runs about 40-50 minutes, roughly $15 adult / $10 ages 5-11, 10am-5:15pm daily.
Stax Museum of American Soul Music (926 E. McLemore Ave, Soulsville) sits on the original Stax Records site and covers Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes and Booker T. & the M.G.’s. Roughly $20 adult / $16 concession, 10am-5pm Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays.
Beale Street itself is free to walk. Its verified live venues include B.B. King’s Blues Club, Rum Boogie Cafe and its Blues Hall, Silky O’Sullivan’s, King’s Palace Café and Alfred’s on Beale, cover charges vary by night and act. Nearby, the Smithsonian-affiliated Memphis Rock ’n’ Soul Museum runs about $16 adult / $12 youth, and the Blues Hall of Fame (421 S. Main, a separate honor from Rum Boogie’s venue of the same name) and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame (roughly $8/$6) both add depth for less than the cost of a Graceland ticket.
Overton Park Shell, a historic outdoor stage in Overton Park, is where Elvis played his first paid concert on July 30, 1954, an easy free stop to fold into a Midtown afternoon.
The National Civil Rights Museum
Built around the preserved Lorraine Motel, the site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968, the National Civil Rights Museum (450 Mulberry St) traces the movement from slavery through 1968 to today. It is one of the most significant history museums in the country, not a stop to rush: give it real time. Admission runs roughly $25 adult / $22 child / $23 senior-student, 9am-6pm, last entry 5pm, closed Tuesdays. Its reimagined “Legacy Experience” permanent exhibit reopened May 16, 2026.
Do you need a car for all of this?
Downtown, Beale Street and South Main are walkable and trolley-served, but Graceland, Stax, and Sun Studio’s midtown edge all sit beyond comfortable walking range, a car or rideshare is effectively required to see the full list in one trip. Pair this guide with where to stay in Memphis to pick a base close to what matters most to you, and Memphis travel tips for the safety and transit numbers behind these sights. Building a day-by-day plan instead, the 2-day through 7-day itineraries sequence all of this by drive time.