13 Fun Things to Do in Memphis

There are lots of fun things to do in Memphis, but here we showcase some things that are either a little off-the-beaten path or just plain different.

We’ve covered some of Memphis’s better-known things to do in some of our other posts, such as Memphis’s Top Ten Music Attractions, and Walking in Memphis, but here are some more ideas that you won’t find in every guidebook.

Enter a Cave Filled with Crystals in a Cemetery

Crystal Shrine Grotto

In the Memorial Park Funeral Home and Cemetery, close to the grave of singer Isaac Hayes, is the entrance to an artificial cave dug out of the hillside. In the 1930s an artist named Dionicio Rodríguez created the cave, made numerous grottos and stalagmites with a mix of cement and quartz crystals, and filled the grottos with Biblical scenes.

Have a Beer in a Bar with Its Own Goats

Silky O’Sullivan’s

There’s a bewildering choice of bars on Beale Street, but one stands out if you like goats. Silky O’Sullivan’s looks like any other ‘Irish’ pub, except on their patio out back the owners have always kept a few goats in a pen. They even have their own tower to climb, because that’s what goats like to do.

Walk the Length of the Mississippi in an Afternoon

Mud Island River Park

Walk across to the free Mud Island River Park and discover the scale model showing the mighty Mississippi from Cairo, Illinois, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The model, which is five blocks long, marks the major points along the river, and information boards also provide historical references.

Drink in the Former Church that Inspired the Rolling Stones

Earnestine & Hazel’s

Nothing to look at from the outside, but Earnestine & Hazel’s is one of the best bars in Memphis, renowned among musicians for its music and its history. Originally a church built in the 1860s, it eventually became a bar and music venue where artists such as Aretha Franklin and Chuck Berry played. It’s also where Mick Jagger and Keith Richards ‘met a gin-soaked bar-room queen in Memphis’.

See Where One Thousand Civil War Soldiers are Buried

Elmwood Cemetery

Established in 1852, Elmwood Cemetery is still in use today. With an arboretum and a bird sanctuary within its grounds, the cemetery contains the graves of about 1,000 Confederate soldiers and veterans, as well as about 2,500 victims of the several yellow fever epidemics which ravaged Memphis in the 1870s.

See the USA’s largest Collection of Miniature Trees

Brussel’s Bonsai Nursery

A half-hour drive from the city centre, Brussel’s Bonsai Nursery has the largest collection of bonsai trees in the USA. You don’t have to buy, though you certainly can, but it’s a joy to walk through the displays of thousands of bonsai. The nursery was started by owner Brussel Martin when his father brought home seven bonsai trees from a trip to California, and Brussel fell in love with them.

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Sing Along with a Soul Legend

Full Gospel Tabernacle Church

Soul superstar Al Green is also a minister, and when he’s not touring he conducts the Sunday service at his Full Gospel Tabernacle Church. This is your chance to say that you sang with a music legend.

Discover Ancient Chinese Art Two Minutes from Beale Street

Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art

Everybody knows about Memphis’s music museums, but The Belz Museum is a little gem which gets overlooked even though it’s only a two-minute walk from the brashness of Beale Street. Step inside and you’ll find a collection of over 900 Asian artifacts, the oldest going back to 202 BC, while the collection of Judaica has work by some of Israel’s prominent contemporary artists.

Bike Out to See Buffalo

Shelby Farms Park

There’s a small herd of buffalo at Shelby Farms Park, a half-hour drive east of Memphis, though a more fun way to go is on the Shelby Farms Greenline. This is a roughly 10-mile bike trail on a former railroad line which connects central Memphis with the park and beyond. The park also has boating, fishing, paintball and other recreational activities.

Discover a 10,000-year-old Forest Right in the City

Overton Park

Who knew there was so much greenery and open space in gritty Memphis? Overton Park covers 342 acres and as well as an art museum, zoo, and 9-hole golf course it also has the Old Forest State Natural Area, which has been standing for 10,000 years, one of only a handful of surviving Old Growth Forests in Tennessee.

Eat a Burger in Elvis’s Booth in the City’s Oldest Café

The Arcade Restaurant

In Memphis you don’t just visit Graceland, you also have to check out some of the lesser-known places with Elvis connections. The Arcade Restaurant, the city’s oldest café, opened in 1919, was one of Elvis’s favourite places to grab a burger, and if you’re lucky you might get to sit in his favourite booth, which is marked by a small plaque.

Ride the World’s Tallest Freestanding Elevator

The Bass Pyramid

You don’t have to go shopping in the stores inside the incredible Bass Pro Pyramid, right by the Mississippi River, to get to ride the world’s tallest freestanding elevator (for a small fee). It takes you up the remarkable 28-story building to the glass-walled Observation Deck for amazing views over river and city.

Discover Matisse and Monet in Memphis

Dixon Gallery and Gardens

The Dixon Gallery has one of the best collections of Impressionist paintings in the South. They have works by a huge number of the finest artists including Matisse, Monet, Degas, Renoir, Rodin, and Gaugin.