I've never been to Memphis, but I'm planning to spend a long weekend there with some college friends this upcoming March. I know that there's Beale Street, Graceland, and the Grizzlies, but other than that I know nothing about the area unless you count watching The Blind Side as 'knowing.' I'm open to doing pretty much whatever your city has to offer, would any of you have some advice on lodging, entertainment, etc? Thanks for your help.



BTW, congrats on your bowl win today.

(12-22-2014 11:26 PM)Love and Honor Wrote:  I've never been to Memphis, but I'm planning to spend a long weekend there with some college friends this upcoming March. I know that there's Beale Street, Graceland, and the Grizzlies, but other than that I know nothing about the area unless you count watching The Blind Side as 'knowing.' I'm open to doing pretty much whatever your city has to offer, would any of you have some advice on lodging, entertainment, etc? Thanks for your help.



BTW, congrats on your bowl win today.

There's also the best bbq in the world, it's the Home of the Blues, St. Jude Hospital, all the rest of downtown that surrounds Beale St. with 200 restaurants, with the South Main Arts District to the south and Harbortown to the north; the entertainment districts of Overton Square and Cooper-Young in Midtown; lots of fine restaurants along the Poplar corridor; a very good zoo; river boat rides; lots of museums, both history and art. There are numerous places to hear the blues played.

FedEx and Autozone are headquartered here. We are a city of trees and churches, and nice parks.

You might want to stay in one of the hotels near the Poplar Avenue corridor in East Memphis, or my suggestion, the University of Memphis Holiday Inn next to campus for a quiet residential area. Or if you want to be in the middle of the action, Downtown has numerous nice hotels. I would avoid the area of the airport; it is horribly blighted; and also avoid the Wolfchase Mall area.

The rest depends on what you like to eat, what your interests are, and so some extent, your age. Some Must See's: the Peabody Hotel with its ducks who march down to the fountain in the lobby; and Earnestine and Hazel's world-famous, historic, former-brothel, bar in South Main; also, Raiford's late night bar and dance club in Downtown.

Order some materials from our Convention and Visitor Center; visit our weekly newspaper, The Flyer, online; and look for some Memphis blogs.

Whatever you do, I guarantee you will have a blast here. It is a very unique and friendly and downhome city. I love talking about my hometown, as do many fine folks on here. Come back with some questions for us.

Lol I forgot to mention the BBQ. I guess I kind of took that as a given, thanks.

When folks aren't so busy with Christmas, I am sure quite a few will chime in here.

If you do run into sandra bullock, however...
Tell her she left her undies at my place...

(12-23-2014 12:26 AM)Love and Honor Wrote:  Lol I forgot to mention the BBQ. I guess I kind of took that as a given, thanks.

nice sig

my son goes to school in Oxford, OH

assuming you have been to Cincinnati, Memphis has a similar 'feel' to it, at least I think so

Even if your not an Elvis fan ... do Graceland ... and Stax records. Then there's the Rock and Soul museum. And the Gibson Guitar factory. The Rendevous for Ribs , the Peabody for ducks ... AutoZone Park for baseball, FedEx Forum for Basketball. AND THEN B.B. Kings for music, dancing and libations. That's my trip advice ... we visit several times a year.

(12-24-2014 01:41 PM)steves Wrote:  Even if your not an Elvis fan ... do Graceland ... and Stax records. Then there's the Rock and Soul museum. And the Gibson Guitar factory. The Rendevous for Ribs , the Peabody for ducks ... AutoZone Park for baseball, FedEx Forum for Basketball. AND THEN B.B. Kings for music, dancing and libations. That's my trip advice ... we visit several times a year.

add the National Civil Rights Museum....it's a must see too

Trip advise for Memphis kinda depends on what you're looking for. Good museums, good music, good food, a 72-hour bender, etc. Memphis is a great place for all of those.

Downtown's probably the best option for lodging. Check out Beale, but venture away from there, too. There are some great restaurants and bars on Main, Madison, etc. The museums they've mentioned are all great.

Try a Mojo Music Bus Tour. It's a really good time and you learn some cool stuff about Memphis.

(12-24-2014 01:41 PM)steves Wrote:  Even if your not an Elvis fan ... do Graceland ... and Stax records. Then there's the Rock and Soul museum. And the Gibson Guitar factory. The Rendevous for Ribs , the Peabody for ducks ... AutoZone Park for baseball, FedEx Forum for Basketball. AND THEN B.B. Kings for music, dancing and libations. That's my trip advice ... we visit several times a year.

Great suggestions! Rock and Soul Museum downtown next to the Forum is a great place to start learning about the blues and the place of Memphis in rock, blues, and soul. It's a Smithsonian museum.

And a trip out to Stax on McLemore just south of Midtown is well worth the visit to continue your insight into the place of Stax and Memphis in American music. It was the recording home of Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding and the Bar-Kays, the Staples Singers, Eddie Floyd, on and on. Take a cab or Lyft and you should have no problems in the neighborhood. It's a common destination of tourists.

And a must-see at B.B. King's club on Beale is blues and rock guitar wizard, young Will Tucker, who performs the early show beginning in late afternoons on Friday and Saturday. He brings down the house. Then go upstairs and eat at Itta Bena (named for the birthplace of BB in Mississippi). It has a nice bar, very good food, and feels like a speakeasy right above Beale with blue tinted windows. Enter from inside the club or up the steps on the west side at the unmarked entrance.

If you're on Beale on Friday or Saturday night be sure to go down towards the New Daisy. They usually have an amazing band playing on the street.

Be sure to stop by Brother Junipers for breakfast.

Thanks again for all the suggestions, I've got a good start on planning the trip with my Miami friends. I'll give an update after we come back in March.

(12-24-2014 01:41 PM)steves Wrote:  Even if your not an Elvis fan ... do Graceland ... and Stax records. Then there's the Rock and Soul museum. And the Gibson Guitar factory. The Rendevous for Ribs , the Peabody for ducks ... AutoZone Park for baseball, FedEx Forum for Basketball. AND THEN B.B. Kings for music, dancing and libations. That's my trip advice ... we visit several times a year.

All sounds good except The Rendevous for Ribs, I have always thought that place was way overrated and the ribs are awful. Every time I have out of town visitors, they want to go there. And every single time it has been awful.

Corky's and Rendezvous are for tourists...

(12-27-2014 11:46 PM)UofMemphis Wrote:  Corky's and Rendezvous are for tourists...

I actually love Corky's, the original on Poplar.

I crashed a Green Beer Day in Oxford a few years back. Really fun time.

This was a recommendation for a tourist ... and I love rendezvous ribs ... corky's too.

For the tourists reading:

Visit Beale, and try the ribs at Blues City Cafe...

Visit Cooper-Young, and try Central BBQ...

Visit Overton Square, and try BBQ Shop on Madison...

Visit the Memphis Zoo, and try Restaurant Iris...

(12-28-2014 12:00 AM)Tanyaskees Wrote:  

(12-27-2014 11:46 PM)UofMemphis Wrote:  Corky's and Rendezvous are for tourists...

I actually love Corky's, the original on Poplar.

Yup. Corky's is a little over-commercialized, but it is good. The BBQ isn't bad, but I actually like some of their other items the most. The onion loaf and the tamales are awesome.

(12-27-2014 11:38 PM)Tanyaskees Wrote:  

(12-24-2014 01:41 PM)steves Wrote:  Even if your not an Elvis fan ... do Graceland ... and Stax records. Then there's the Rock and Soul museum. And the Gibson Guitar factory. The Rendevous for Ribs , the Peabody for ducks ... AutoZone Park for baseball, FedEx Forum for Basketball. AND THEN B.B. Kings for music, dancing and libations. That's my trip advice ... we visit several times a year.

All sounds good except The Rendevous for Ribs, I have always thought that place was way overrated and the ribs are awful. Every time I have out of town visitors, they want to go there. And every single time it has been awful.

Been there 487,000 times. NEVER awful. Never bad.