Things to Do in Memphis: 8 Picks Before Day Trips

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.

8 things to do in Memphis before your day trips

Memphis’s own sights fit into roughly two focused days, the music heritage and civil rights core that make the city worth the flight before any day trip enters the plan. Below are 8 picks, several genuinely free, plus what the paid ones actually charge, so the day-trip half of a longer base trip starts on schedule.

  1. Walk Beale Street by day. Free, and the fastest way to get oriented, Beale is a National Historic Landmark and the street where W.C. Handy made the blues. Come back after dark for live music at verified venues like B.B. King’s Blues Club, Rum Boogie Cafe, and Silky O’Sullivan’s; weekend nights after 9pm carry a $5 per-person security fee, ID checks included.
  2. Tour Graceland. Roughly $85 adult for the standard Elvis Experience tour, or about $53 for the entry-level Elvis Presley’s Memphis ticket without the mansion. Timed entry, book ahead, especially near Elvis Week (Aug 8-16, 2026).
  3. Take the Sun Studio tour. Roughly $15 adult, a 40-50 minute walk through the “Birthplace of Rock ’n’ Roll,” where Elvis, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis all recorded.
  4. Visit 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. Roughly $25 adult, closed Tuesdays, and the 2026 “Legacy Experience” exhibit reopened May 16, extending the story to the present. This is a profound, essential museum, not a quick stop between other sights, give it real time.
  5. See the Peabody Duck March. Free, since 1933, the hotel’s ducks march to the lobby fountain at 11am and back at 5pm daily. Arrive about 30 minutes early for a spot.
  6. Walk into Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Roughly $20 adult, closed Mondays, built on the original Stax Records site where Otis Redding and Isaac Hayes recorded.
  7. Browse Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid. The store itself, an indoor cypress swamp inside a 32-story former arena, is free to enter; “The Lookout” observation deck runs roughly $8-10 extra.
  8. Cross Big River Crossing on foot. Free, about a mile, the easiest way to set foot in a second state without a car, the pedestrian bridge crosses the Mississippi from downtown Memphis into West Memphis, Arkansas.

How many days does the city core actually need?

Two focused days cover it: one for Beale Street and the Civil Rights Museum, one for Graceland and Sun Studio. A third day adds Stax and Overton Park if the schedule allows, but past day three, the honest move is to start the day trips rather than stretch the city further, see the picks in our Memphis day trips guide .

Is Beale Street safe at night?

Yes, more secured than its reputation suggests. Weekend and holiday nights after 9pm add a $5 security fee, ID and bag checks, metal detectors, and wristbands. The bigger everyday risk anywhere in Memphis is a car break-in, not violence, keep nothing visible in a parked car.

Read more: pair this list with our main Memphis, Tennessee guide for the full cost breakdown, or jump straight to a 2-day itinerary that puts these 8 picks in order.