The Best Museums in Memphis to Visit
Take a trip to these Memphis museums for the most comprehensive experience exploring the city’s history, culture and musical landscape.
1. National Civil Rights Museum
Museum
The exhibits at the museum cover iconic events including the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 and the student sit-ins of the 1960s. Three-dimensional figures are positioned within the exhibits to recreate these events in a way that brings them to life. The stories of civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks are also featured, ensuring that their legacies and tales of courage are understood today.
2. Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
Library, Museum
Founded in 1916, the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is the oldest and largest art museum in Tennessee. Both indoor and outdoor exhibits are on display at the museum, which houses 29 galleries and over 7,000 works of art. There’s a research library, art classrooms, a print study room and an auditorium. The museum also features Inside Art, which is Tennessee’s only family gallery dedicated to visual literacy.
Outside the museum, visitors will find a bronze fountain and three marble sculptures of the seasons, as well as a bronze birdbath and lions along the west staircase. Some of these works were commissioned by the museum and others were gifted or donated. Speaking of donations, admission to the museum on Wednesdays is by donation only: guests decide what to pay.
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, 1934 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN38104, USA, +1 901 544 6200
3. Stax Museum of American Soul Music
Museum
The museum has more than 2,000 videos, photographs, stage costumes, interactive exhibits and original instruments that were used to record hit songs at Stax in its heyday. The Stax Music Academy mentors at-risk youth through music education and performance opportunities. It is also where the Soulsville Charter School is located.
5. Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum
Museum
The museum became part of the FedEx Forum, which is Memphis’s premier sports and entertainment venue, in 2004. Visitors can enjoy a digital audio tour that offers a comprehensive musical experience covering the history of Sun, Stax and Hi Records, as well as the Memphis music scene from the 1930s through to the present. Guests can take the tour at their own pace, and explore seven galleries, more than 30 instruments and over 300 minutes of fascinating information.
6. Children's Museum of Memphis
Museum, Park
Catering for children from the ages of 1 to 12, the museum is a place where kids can have fun learning, and where parents can learn how to have fun.
7. Graceland
Building
After the White House, Graceland is the second most-visited house in the United States. The former home of Elvis Presley, Graceland mansion offers an interactive iPad tour hosted by actor John Stamos. The tour includes the living room, kitchen, TV room, pool room and the famous Jungle Room. The raquetball building was recently restored to its 1977 condition, and visitors can see Elvis’s keys to Graceland in the newly updated trophy building.
Outside the mansion is the Meditation Garden, where Elvis and his family are buried. It was designed and built by architect Bernard Grenadier, and was used by Elvis when he was alive as a space to reflect on difficult situations.
Graceland, Elvis Presley Blvd, Memphis, TN 38116, USA, +1 901 332 3322
8. The Cotton Museum
Market, Market, Museum
Memphis is the largest spot-cotton market in the world, and the Cotton Row district that surrounds The Cotton Museum was once the center of the worldwide cotton trade. The museum, which opened in 2006, offers a self-guided tour of Cotton Row, which highlights the landmarks and thriving cotton industry that once existed in Memphis. The main exhibit of the museum is located on the historic trade floor of the Memphis Cotton Exchange, where cotton traders once stood. It tells the story of ‘King Cotton’ and features original films, oral histories and artifacts.
The Exploration Hall wing on the museum takes visitors through the history of cotton production using hands-on exhibits that engage them with games and activities. Visitors will learn how technology in the cotton industry has changed since the 1940s, and how it has altered life in the American south.
The Cotton Museum, 65 Union Ave, Memphis, TN 38103, USA, +1 901 531 7826
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