Memphis is one of America’s great music cities - the birthplace of the blues, the home of Sun Studio and Stax Records, and the city where Elvis Presley lived for most of his adult life. Downtown is compact and well-suited to a base-and-explore approach: Beale Street, the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, and the Mississippi Riverfront are all within a short walk of the main hotel cluster. The South Main Arts District, a few blocks south, has added a more creative and quieter alternative to the Beale Street zone in recent years.
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Downtown and Beale Street
Beale Street is Memphis’s most famous address - a three-block stretch of live music bars, blues clubs, and restaurants that has been the city’s entertainment hub since the late 19th century. B.B. King’s Blues Club, Blues City Café, and the Center for Southern Folklore all operate here. The Peabody Hotel, one block away, is Memphis’s most iconic building.
Peabody Memphis - 149 Union Avenue, downtown. The grande dame of Memphis - a 1925 luxury hotel famous for its resident mallard ducks that march to and from the fountain in the lobby each day at 11am and 5pm. The ducks are not a gimmick; this is a genuine Memphis institution. The rooftop Capriccio Bar has Mississippi River views; the main lobby is worth visiting even if you are staying elsewhere. Full-service spa, multiple restaurants, and 464 rooms. From approximately $250/night as of 2026. Staying here is a Memphis experience in itself.
Hu. Hotel - 79 Madison Avenue, downtown. A boutique hotel on the cusp of Beale Street and the Main Street Mall - 97 rooms with a rooftop bar that has some of the best downtown views in Memphis. An independent property with genuine character, avoiding the chain anonymity that dominates the downtown supply. From approximately $170/night. Strong value for the location and quality.
South Main Arts District
South Main is Memphis’s most interesting neighborhood for visitors who want something beyond Beale Street. A cluster of galleries, independent restaurants, the Cossitt Library (a historic Carnegie library), and the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel (site of the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination) sit in this corridor. The trolley along Main Street connects South Main to downtown in minutes.
The Bass Pro Pyramid (A Different Kind of Stay)
The Memphis Pyramid - a 32-story glass pyramid on the Mississippi River north of downtown - is one of America’s more unusual hotel propositions.
Big Cypress Lodge - 1 Bass Pro Drive, inside the Bass Pro Shops Pyramid. A hotel built inside the Pyramid’s giant Bass Pro Shops retail environment - cypress tree cabins arranged around an indoor swamp, with alligators, a bowling alley, an observation deck 300 feet above the Mississippi, and a 100,000-gallon freshwater aquarium. Genuinely surreal and memorable for families and visitors who want something beyond a standard hotel stay. From approximately $220/night. Not for everyone, but unlike anything else in Memphis.
Midtown and Overton Park
Midtown Memphis stretches west from downtown along Poplar Avenue - the Cooper-Young neighborhood has Overton Park (containing the Memphis Zoo and the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art), the Hi-Tone music venue, and a dense strip of bars and restaurants along Cooper Street. Hotel supply in Midtown is limited but the neighborhood gives a more local Memphis experience than downtown.
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Booking tips
Memphis hotel rates are among the most affordable of any major American city with genuine tourist appeal - the Peabody at $250/night and Hu. Hotel at $170/night represent competitive pricing for their quality level. The Memphis in May International Festival (a full month of events including the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest) drives demand in May. Graceland events, including Elvis Week in August, spike demand in the south end hotels. Sun Studio tours run continuously throughout the day and are best combined with nearby Midtown restaurants for a half-day food-and-music itinerary.