Where to Stay in Memphis, TN
See also: Best Things to Do in Memphis
Located towards the southwestern side of Tennessee, the beautiful city is one of a kind. While being rich in history and culture, there are lots of things for any visitors to explore. With modern culture seeping into the city’s history books, the city of Memphis is a big name in the musical field. With big musical legends like Elvis Presley, B.B King and Johnny Cash performing and producing their music from here, this city is all about creativity.
Being a city with a significant music scene, this city is all about art and culture. While being a city that is otherwise a hotspot for music lovers, it is also a city with major landmarks and a city that played a critical character in the Civil Rights Movement. This makes history buffs pour into the city to know about the revolutionary times. With lots to offer and lot more to explore, the city of Memphis is a gem for travelers and those who are looking for a holiday destination. With something to offer for everyone, Memphis has gained a prominent status in the tourist’s books for its features. Let us look at a few of the districts and neighborhood of the city to help you decide where you can stay in the city during your visit here.
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Midtown
Who wouldn’t want to get the real taste of the city they are visiting, right? The authentic dishes, the food, the culture, its people, its history and all that? Well, if that’s what you want in Memphis, then it is the Midtown that you should be visiting. Known for being the city’s one of the oldest neighborhood, this is where you will get the authentic vibe of the city. With a rich and diverse culture, ethnicity and traditions, this part of the city is quite interesting and is loved by the tourists for the landmarks and the sightseeing spots that it is home to. With Overton Park as its main attraction, the midtown neighborhood is loved by the history buffs because of the several major museums in the district. With landmarks like Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and the Memphis College of Art in this area, art lovers pour into this neighborhood as it is their heaven in every way. You can also have an entertaining visit to the Memphis Zoo.
If you are looking for some entertainment, try visiting this neighborhood in the warmer months as concerts, fairs, carnivals and food festivals are often organized in the parks. You can have a lively experience here, as around this time, the locality is all about an energetic ambience. Being an old neighborhood, you can find numerous old mansions and old houses that are centuries old. Most of these mansions play host to music events and are music venues for different international acts. You can spend your time here and engage in different late-night jamming sessions. With vibrant restaurants and cafes located right next to these music venues and events, you are sure to have your fill of delicious food and famous chicken dishes and steaks of this neighborhood. With this neighborhood being all about history and culture, you are sure to find yourself engaged in some window shopping in the vintage and antique shops in the neighborhood. With the shops and boutiques selling items with unique and rare designs, makes sure you buy souvenirs.
Even with such history, art and culture around, this is a trendy district with hip cafe culture. With fashionable bars, pubs and cafes, the neighborhood has a young crowd that is full of energy. With such a diverse culture, this district is perfect for all kinds of tourists. On one hand, you have historic mansions, while on the other you have an ambience for energetic nightlife. With an art culture growing up in this neighborhood, this district is perfect for art lovers.
There is a lot to explore in the Midtown district. Although it is a bit quieter than the Downtown area, this neighborhood has lots of places to look forward to. Places like the National Civil Rights Museum and the Beale Street Entertainment District are few of the major attractions of this area. With a collection of art and sculpture works that date back to the 18th Century, Brooks Museum is a lovely place to spend your time.
Downtown
It is always the city rush that the heart of the city is known for. Likewise, with office workers running around, this bustling neighborhood is all about young office goers and hip youthful crowd, making this district a lovely entertainment-filled district where you can spend your time during your vacation. With great restaurants, cafes and bars in the locality, you will have a wonderful time in this locality. The crowd here mainly comprises of hip youngsters and professionals, so you will not have any problem gelling and hanging out with the locals. With Beale Street Entertainment District being in the district, you are assured to have a wild lively night. You can also spend a relaxing time in the green spots of the neighborhood and watch as the kids play around. You can also book a river cruise boat from which you can enjoy relaxing views from the Mississippi River.
Considering all the features of this neighborhood, Downtown happens to be the best neighborhood to stay in this city, especially for the first-timers. With such a creative ambience with a historic background to compliment it, Downtown is loved by tourists. Being well connected, travelling around the city will not be any problem if you want to stay here. With the city's bus service, and other public transport taking you to all the major landmarks of this city within a short amount of time, staying here is advantageous in every way. If you are someone who loves to explore, you can visit the iconic streets like Beale Street, which has a rich history of its own. You can also visit places like the National Civil Rights Museum. People love to visit iconic places like the Orpheum Theatre, where bands and other performing arts hold their concerts and events. With music and energy being the star attraction of the city, Downtown’s impromptu jazz session is something to look forward to.
If you are here in May, you will enjoy a whole new side of the district as every year during the summer months several music concerts and events are held. During May, you can even catch the annual music festival in Memphis that is held in this very district. Music plays such an important role in this district as well as the city, that in the middle of the Beale Street you will come across a magnificent statue of Elvis Presley, the musical legend.
South Main
If you are looking for the farmer's market in the city, it is in this neighborhood. With new houses popping up as old wooden houses and abandoned structures are getting remodelled, this neighborhood is flourishing in every way and has become a popular shopping destination for the tourists as well as the locals.
In this neighborhood you will find several art galleries and exhibition and maybe that is why this district is also called the South Main Arts District. If you want to shop, this neighborhood is perfect for you as there are several boutiques and shops for you. There are several classy and fashionable restaurants offering along with the ones that are casual diners.
Needless to say, this neighborhood is where most of the city’s wealthy millennials live. This part of the city thus has an active and lively nightlife as well, as there are sports bars and pubs lined up in this neighborhood.
East Memphis
If you want to experience the authentic personality of the city and get back to its roots, East Memphis is the perfect neighborhood for you to stay. With mostly a residential vibe, this district is perfect for couples and families. There's a bit of action and fun for the adventure seekers and explorers as well. As this part of the district is well connected to other districts like Graceland and Downtown Memphis, staying here can prove advantageous for you as you can experience and explore the rest of the city while enjoying the features and benefits of staying in a lovely neighborhood like this.
If you are in this neighborhood with your family, you can take your children to the Children’s Museum of the city, as it is sure to keep your kids engaged and entertained. With much of modern features, activities and learning experience, this museum or CMOM is a hotspot for kids. There’s a Botanical Garden in this neighborhood as well. People often come here and spend their evening with their families. This green space is designed in a manner in which kids can play around and the Asian-inspired landscaping helps with that idea.
Not only families and couples- music lovers, art lovers and explorers too have something in this city. Along with the Botanical Garden, you can also look for leisurely activities in Audubon Park Golf Course, Galloway Golf Course and Dixon Gallery & Garden. Shopaholics too can have their fair share of fun in the Eastgate Shopping Centre and Oak Court Mall.
Cooper-Young
This is a historic neighborhood. With the sightseeing options and the landmarks that are spread all over the district, one can understand how important this neighborhood is in the books of history. With changing time, Cooper-Young has changed a lot and has become a neighborhood with a thriving hip, young and lively ambience. Yet, it has held on to its roots and maintained the history and culture that it is proud of. In this neighborhood, along with several vintage stores and collector’s shops, you will find several cafes, restaurants and coffee shops to relax.
Of course, with several restaurants and cafes in the locality would also mean that food will not be a problem here. Rather, with excellent service and diners providing excellent menus to choose from, this is foodie’s paradise. You can explore the Stine Soup Cafe & Market for yourself. This district even has restaurants with award-winning services. Moreover, the restaurants are reasonably priced, making it a foodie’s den in every way. Also, this neighborhood is loved by Vegans for its food options, especially since there are cafes like Imagine Vegan Cafe which offers an excellent vegan menu.
Whitehaven
If you are a music lover, this is the perfect neighborhood for you to stay. Musicians, artists and rock and roll fans pour into this neighborhood for one sole reason – the king of rock, Elvis Presley’s mansion are in this very neighborhood. Also known as the Elvis Presley Boulevard, the great musician's house is a huge tourist attraction.
Dedicated to Elvis Presley almost entirely, most tourists come here to take a tour of the famous estate of his. Music geeks and historians come here to know about the legends personal life, his performances, his car museum and also take a look at his personal items. You can also pay a visit to the Grave of Elvis Presley which is located towards the southern side of the estate, and pay respect to the performer. With the neighborhood filled with Elvis Presley memorabilia, you can go out and walk around the neighborhood and explore around. Along with Elvis stuff, there are lots of cafes and restaurants serving authentic Tennessee dishes. Here in this neighborhood, the classic Southern-style fried chicken is a specialty.
Crosstown
In this locality, you can find musicians and art students residing. With a district that is centred mostly around the old Sears Crosstown headquarters, it receives quite a large number of tourist. Being a large 1.4 million-square-foot, this building is right in the heart of the neighborhood, that has been renovated and remodelled to house several arts, medical and educational centres.
Being a lively art district, students and artists pour in from all over the world. This neighborhood is filled with families who are of lower-income but has lived here for years. So, this district is in a way budget-friendly, and of course, well connected. So, with an excellent public transport system in place and with cheap accommodations, you can enjoy and explore the city with the benefit of staying in a cheaper neighborhood.
Binghampton
This neighborhood is all about families with low-income scale. Quite different from the other hip, trendy and rich neighborhood of the city, this neighborhood is all about simple lifestyle. This also ensures that you will have affordable accommodation options.
You can enjoy the drinking and dining scene in this neighborhood as it is quite lovely. If you are into partying and looking for some fun time, you can visit the bars at Broad Avenue. Filled with themed bars, this street is all about keeping your drinks flowing. Down the street, you can also find some coffee shops to start your day. There are some pretty cafes as well. Even with all of these, the artsy vibe of the lanes is a pure attraction especially since along with the wine, cocktails and pizzas, the old houses have their own charm. To top it all there are still well-maintained gaming houses that are home to vintage gaming consoles which can take you back to your childhood days and you can have your fair share of fun.
See also Best Hotels in Memphis and Best Airbnbs in Memphis
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