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Memphis
Trip Planning & Itineraries
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Named for the ancient Egyptian capital on the Nile, Memphis is best known for the rise and fall of two men who led vastly different movements. Elvis Presley rocketed to fame here in the mid-1950s. And it was here on April 4, 1968, that the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.
Memphis culture draws heavily on claiming responsibility for giving birth to the blues in the early 20th-century. Favorite son WC Handy composed the first published blues tune just before WWI, making Memphis, and the jumpin' Beale Street, the home of the blues.
Memphis Riverboats Sightseeing Cruise
From USD $19.99
Cruise on the Mississippi River and learn about Native Americans, explorers, river boatmen like Mark Twain & Mike Fink, the local Civil War river battles and the heritage of the Mississippi River bluffs.
Memphis Hotels
In addition to these options, browse hotels in Memphis at Uptake.com.
Located in a warren of off-ramps near the interstate, this is actually one of the few independently-owned hotels in East Memphis. They take care to distinguish themselves from their competition by adding special services and decorative touches. Don't let the mud-colored bunker look of the exterior put you off. The serene marble lobby is all done up in better earth tones and it's quiet as can be once you get inside.
This grand dame has been Memphis' premiere hotel since the 1930s. It's a social center, with a spa, superb restaurants and a classy lobby bar. The minute you walk in, stand beneath the chandeliers and hear the water tinkling in the marble fountain, you'll know you've arrived to style central.
If you're looking for a sleek treat, check in to this swanky, ultramodern hotel. The rooftop garden is one of the best places in town to watch a sunset, and on Thursdays a cocktail hour livens up the joint.
Sam and Sun
In the early 1950s, music visionary Sam Phillips opened Sun Studio and began producing records by now-famous blues legends such as Howlin' Wolf and Rufus Thomas. This paved the way a few years later for white rockabilly artists. For Phillips to record both black and white musicians indiscriminately was a radical concept in the South at the time.
Just as daring was equally renowned local WHBQ disc jockey Dewey Phillips, who had the gall to play the records cut at Sun. Following Sun's lead, more studios began springing up around Memphis that peaked in the 1960s and 70s.
- Plan Memphis vacations on Yahoo! Travel
- Memphis hotels, Tennessee from PlanetWare
- Hotels in Memphis, Tennessee from HotelsCombined.com
- Local news from the Memphis Flyer
