Hotels in Memphis, Tennessee

A little about Memphis...

Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, of which it is the county seat. As of 2006, the city of Memphis had an estimated population of 680,768, making it the largest city in the state of Tennessee, the second largest in the southeastern region (only to Jacksonville, Florida), and the 17th largest in the United States.

Tourism/Recreation:

Museums and art collections

Mud Island Mississippi River Park. View shows a model of the City of Memphis.Many museums of interest are located in Memphis, including the National Civil Rights Museum, located in the former Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. It includes a historical overview of the American civil rights movement, ranging from the abolishment of slavery to more modern themes such the GLBT movement. On Martin Luther King Day, a yearly parade and celebration happens outside the room where Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot.

The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, founded in 1916, is the oldest and largest fine art museum in the state of Tennessee. The Brooks’ permanent collection includes works from the Italian Renaissance and Baroque eras to British, French Impressionists, and 20th-century artists (including regional artists like Memphian Carroll Cloar). It is located in Overton Park, which is also home to the Memphis Zoo, the Overton Shell Auditorium, and the Memphis College of Art.

A smaller art museum, the Dixon Gallery and Gardens in east Memphis focuses on impressionism and has several works by Monet, Degas and Renoir. It also includes four outdoor gardens with Greco-Roman sculptures.

Downtown Memphis is home to the Peabody Place Museum, the largest collection of 19th century Chinese art in the nation. The Art Museum at the University of Memphis is home to the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities in the South.

The Children's Museum of Memphis offers interactive and educational activities for children to take part in. Permanent exhibits include a skyscraper maze, an airplane cockpit (donated by FedEx), a fire engine, an art studio, grocery store, and, most recently, a mechanic’s garage sponsored by AutoZone, Inc.

Graceland, the former home of Rock 'n' Roll legend Elvis Presley, is one of the most visited houses in the United States (second only to the White House), attracting over 600,000 domestic and international visitors a year. Featured at Graceland are two of Presley’s private airplanes, his extensive automobile and motorcycle collection and other Elvis memorabilia. Elvis, along with family members including his mother and father, are buried next to the Graceland estate in the Meditation Garden. Celebrations at Graceland include the annual Graceland Christmas lighting ceremony in November, Elvis’ birthday in January and Elvis Week in August, commemorating Presley’s life and career on the anniversary of his death. The Heartbreak Hotel, located across the street, is named after a popular Elvis hit. Graceland is now a National Historic Landmark.

Also commemorating the city's musical heritage, the Stax Museum of American Soul Music is home to a broad collection of artifacts, photographs, exhibits, commentary, and music. Along with the legendary Stax Sound, the museum also spotlights the music of Muscle Shoals, Motown, Hi and Atlantic. This year, Memphis Celebrates 50 Years of Soul.

The National Ornamental Metal Museum is the only museum in North America dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of fine metalwork. The site is situated on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and includes historic buildings, a working blacksmith shop and foundry, and a sculpture garden. Every October, the Museum hosts an annual Repair Days Weekend, during which the public can get broken metal items fixed and observe skilled metalsmiths at work.

The Pink Palace Museum and Planetarium, serves as the Mid-South's major science and historical museum, and features exhibits ranging from archeology to chemistry. It includes America's third largest planetarium and an IMAX Theatre. The Pink Palace also contains a variety of exhibits relating to Memphis history. One exhibit features a replica of the original Piggly Wiggly store, the first self-service grocery store, commemorating the invention of the supermarket by Memphian Clarence Saunders in 1916. Saunders built the Pink Palace mansion as his own residence in 1923, but lost the home because of financial reversals.

The Memphis Walk of Fame is a public exhibit located in the Beale Street historic district, which is modelled after the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but is designated exclusively for Memphis musicians, singers, writers, and composers. Honorees include W. C. Handy, B. B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, and Alberta Hunter among others.

The Gibson Guitar Factory & Showcase is a guitar manufacturing plant where visitors can learn how the famous Gibsons are meticulously crafted, and listen to live showcases of local and world-reknowned talent. Famous Gibson musicians include B. B. King, Les Paul, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, and Scotty Moore.

Mud Island River Park and Mississippi River Museum is located on Mud Island in downtown Memphis. The Park is noted for its River Walk, a 2112:1 scale (30 inches=1 mile) working model showing 1000 miles of the Lower Mississippi River, from Cairo, Illinois to New Orleans, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. The Walk stretches roughly 0.5 miles, allowing visitors to walk in the water and see models of cities and bridges along the way. The museum offers 18 galleries of regional history and features an indoor life-size replica of a civil war era riverboat.

Victorian Village is a historic district of Memphis featuring a series of fine Victorian-era mansions, some of which are open to the public as museums.

Other museums in the area include the Fire Museum and Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum.