I hadn’t been to Memphis since I was in elementary school. I remember singing to “Heartbreak Hotel” in a mock recording studio, putting it on a cassette tape and listening to it all the way home in the car with my family. That’s how long it had been since I was in Memphis. But I knew it had to be one of the best family getaways in the South. I grabbed my own young family and we decided to road trip-it there from Atlanta. We went through Alabama and the Mississippi Delta to this riverfront city where Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong and Jerry Lee Lewis made their mark so long ago. We put on the “Memphis or Bust” Spotify playlist made by Hyatt Centric Beale Street Memphis hotel and grooved to “Graceland” by Paul Simon, “Memphis Streets” by Neil Diamond and many other iconic songs along the way.
I had heard rumors Memphis was booming with renewed energy, vitality and construction. Turns out, they weren’t fibbing. With a hint of Two-Sided Southern high-brow but low-down style. Here’s where to stay, play and take kids out in Memphis.
Where To Stay:
We stayed at the new Hyatt Centric Beale Street Memphis. It opened in April 2021 and was the first-ever hotel built on Memphis’ famed Beale Street. I love it because it’s in a converted, historic 1879 William C. Ellis and Sons Ironworks and Machine Shop building. My kids just loved the pool.
And, the fact our room overlooks the Mighty Mississippi.
But the hotel’s developers were careful to keep all the history, so expect exposed brick walls, old machine works, loading dock-sized windows, and original wood beams on the lobby level. We got a riverfront suite with an adjacent room so that we had our space and the kids had theirs. The riverfront dining options in the hotel were lovely and thankfully, kid-friendly. CIMAS is a high-end modern Latin American concept with floor-to-ceiling windows on the first floor. They had a kid’s menu as well as an exquisite upscale dinner menu for us.
The hotel sits a block away from The Orpheum, where Vaudeville’s best and Duke Ellington took to its stage. We walked over there with our little ones and tried to get them into the history and vibe of the theater. They were way more into the Elvis statue across the street. We followed them there for poses and pictures and we were practically on Beale Street.
Where to Take the Kids:
1. Beale Street
While it’s filled with bars and restaurants, Beale Street is a great place for kids. Mine loved watching the street performers and hearing the music coming out of the juke joints. Their favorite store? A. Schwab Trading Company really set their hearts on fire. It’s an old-timey soda fountain and family-owned general store that’s been open since 1876. The amount of toys, tchotchkes, candy and souvenirs blew their minds. We sat at the counter and had an old fashioned milkshake, the kind that comes in the big metal container, and three of us could share it.
2. The Bass Pro Shops Pyramid
What do I say about this resort-slash-store? It’s a Bass Pro Shop in a huge pyramid, but it’s also a hotel with cabin lodging inside. It is way too weird and fun not to go visit when you’re in town. Especially with kids. They also have 600,000 gallons of water to create real ponds throughout. There are bridges over all the water with fish and creatures lurking in every lagoon. People actually come and stay here in cabins that are inside the space. I can’t even describe it in the way it should be described. You have to take your tots and go see it. There are games, a ride to the top of the pyramid and tons of candy and fudge to keep them jacked up on sugar the whole time too.
3. Graceland
You can’t come to Memphis and not go to Graceland. My 8-year-old son was so obsessed with the audio tour of Elvis’ house and now with the King himself. From the Jungle Room to a yellow and navy TV room to the 1960s and 70s kitchen, it’s as if time stopped in this house. Even my toddler daughter loved it and was looking around. She loved the tours of the airplanes, so I highly recommend adding those on to your tour.
4. Dining
We took the kids to grab breakfast at The Arcade, it’s a greasy spoon and Memphis’ oldest cafe. The Arcade has been in countless movies like The Firm, Walk the Line and Great Balls of Fire. My kids loved the breakfast pizza and my husband had the Eggs Redneck. A dish of sausage, chicken, or bacon with biscuits soaked in gravy with eggs and hash browns. Hot take: Get there early as the wait list can get long. If you want barbecue, pile some pulled pork onto your plate at Central BBQ next to the National Civil Rights Museum. It came highly recommended by friends and didn’t disappoint.
5. National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel
This was one of the most moving and memorable experiences we had in Memphis. Seeing where Martin Luther King Jr. spent his final days was touching and a part of history we wanted to share with our kids. I will say that our kids were probably a bit too young for this and tweens or teenagers may be a better audience. While they played on the buses where civil rights heroes changed the world, it was hard to get them to pay attention and get the gravity of the hallowed grounds. But my husband and I found it incredibly powerful and much more interactive than a typical museum.
6. Other Sites To Go See:
Tour Sun Studio with the little ones, but be aware they don’t allow kids under age 5. We had to split up to see the museum because our daughter didn’t meet the age requirement. But it’s magical to see where B.B. King, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash recorded all their hits. Although I shouldn’t say this, we also snuck into The Peabody Hotel and let the kids watch the famous ducks go into the fountain. (Shhh! Don’t tell on me.) The Peabody really wants it to be for guests only, but it’s such a one-of-a-kind experience, I wish they’d open it up to everyone. I felt like a big kid myself anticipating the ducks’ march to the fountain.
Another no-money fun experience is the waterfront. Let your kids play along the newly rehabbed waterfront in Tom Lee Park or Vance Park. They have a big wooden fish they can climb in and all around, as well as tons of creative playground space for children to run and enjoy the riverfront. We went out to Grind City Brewery with our children as well. It’s run by a Memphis native with an awesome back story of how it opened during COVID-19 and defied the odds. The kids could run around on the massive lawn while we had a drink and explored the space.
When to Ditch The Kids:
Kids aren’t exactly welcome at Beck & Call, the whiskey bar at the top of the Hyatt Centric Beale Street that overlooks the M Street bridge. So lose them if you can. It’s currently the city’s only riverfront rooftop bar and very swanky. The walls are lined with pictures of famous people from Memphis. I had a lovely drink up there alone while my husband watched the kids for a bit down in our room.
A few blocks away from the hotel is Old Dominick Distillery. It has been there since 1866. I took a charming, history-filled whiskey tour through its warehouses. If you’ve never sipped peanut butter whiskey over ice at an old riverfront distillery in Memphis, Tenn., you just don’t know what you’re missing. I didn’t want to put my glass down. Or leave. But the tour was over. (I digress.)
So there you have it. Memphis is one of the best family getaways in the South. It’s a great place to take kids and mine still talk about it months and month later. We had a blast and made great memories. If you want more info, visit memphistravel.com. They’ve got tons of great scoop.
