Memphis Hotels

Memphis is like the Mississippi River it overlooks: constantly evolving and changing pace. Slip on your blue suede shoes and hit the laid-back streets filled with music, heartache, triumph and tragedy.

Glimpse the graceful charm of pre-Civil War society at the antebellum Hunt Phelan mansion, and ponder the slave trade at the Auction Square monument. The glass and steel Pyramid arena rises incongruously from the north bluffs of the Mississippi River, while the preserved Lorraine Motel (site of Martin Luther King’s assassination) is the cornerstone of the National Civil Rights Museum .

Discover retro 1950s chic at Flashback vintage department store, and hand-crafted electric guitars at the Saint Blues Guitar Workshop in Midtown. Find prints, sculpture and folklore souvenirs at the Center for Southern Folklore store on South Main Street, antiques and collectibles in the Cooper-Young neighbourhood and designer labels on Grove Park.

Walk along the banks of the Mississippi in Tom Lee Park, then head to aptly-named Mud Island for a different perspective of the river. Meet Memphis Zoo’s lions and pandas in Overton Park, and wander the meandering paths of the Lichterman Nature Center. At Shelby Farms on the city’s far east side, join locals hiking along the trails, paddling boats and flying kites.

Find a cure for the blues at a Beale Street music club, or listen to the dulcet tones of an opera or Broadway musical at the Orpheum Theatre. See anything from Othello to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Playhouse on the Square or Theatre Memphis. Alternatively, visit The Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, for year-round performances by the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.

Eating in Memphis is all about the comfort foods of the Deep South. Dine al fresco in Cooper-Young, have a cold beer and barbecue plate at a family restaurant in Midtown, or try traditional fried chicken, catfish and grits Downtown. Find Mexican tacos along Summer Avenue, and white-tablecloths and steaks in East Memphis. Welcoming little eateries cluster around the square in Collierville.

Grab a cocktail and watch the sun set over the Mississippi from the rooftop garden of the Madison Hotel, while revelling in your bird’s eye view over the balconies of Downtown homeowners.