Memphis travel guide — Memphis tourism and travel information

Memphis travel guide

about Memphis

Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 650,100 within the city limits, making it the largest city in the state of Tennessee, United States. The city is known for blues music and barbecue.

It is on Lower Chickasaw Bluff above the Mississippi River, at the mouth of the Wolf River.

Interstate highways I40 and I55 (along with rail lines) cross the Mississippi at Memphis into the state of Arkansas.

Memphis geography

Memphis is located at 35°7'3" North, 89°58'16" West (35.117365, -89.971068). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 763.4 km² (294.8 mi²). 723.4 km² (279.3 mi²) of it is land and 40.0 km² (15.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 5.24% water.

Major Memphis parks include Tom Lee Park, Audubon Park, Overton Park and the Memphis Botanic Garden.

Memphis sights

Tourists come from all over the world to Sun studios, where Elvis first recorded "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin", rock n roll,is located in the city also. Other famous musicians who got their start at Sun include Johnny Cash, Rufus Thomas, Charlie Rich, Howlin' Wolf, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Blues fans can head down to Beale Street, where a young B.B. King used to play his guitar, and occasionally still appears at a club bearing his name and partly owned by him.

The National Civil Rights Museum is in the former Lorraine Motel, where the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.

There is Libertyland Amusement Park and the adjacent Liberty Bowl and Memphis Children's Museum, Mud Island, Detour Memphis - an art and performing space, Lichterman Nature Center, the Pink Palace Museum, The Pyramid, The Memphis Zoo, the Memphis Queen riverboat and the Memphis Belle, a heavy bomber which saw action in World War II.

The Mid-South Fair comes to the city every fall, and every May there is the Memphis in May. Each year, the city honors a foreign country, and each weekend hosts a special event, including the World Championship Barbeque Cooking Contest and the Music Festival.

Memphis history

Memphis was settled by the Chickasaw tribe. The Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto, is believed to have visited the area. The French built Fort Prudhomme in the vicinity. The city was founded in 1819 and incorporated as a city in 1826. At the conclusion of the Battle of Memphis on June 6, 1862 during the American Civil War, Union forces captured Memphis from Confederate control. A yellow fever epidemic in 1870 greatly reduced the population for many years thereafter. In 1897, Memphis' pyramid-shaped pavilion was a conspicuous part of the Tennessee Centennial exposition. From the 1910s to the 1950s, Memphis was a hotbed of machine politics under the direction of E. H. "Boss" Crump.

Near cities to Memphis

• West Memphis travel guide 12 km
• Shawnee travel guide 39 km
• Jackson travel guide 120 km
• Hutchinson travel guide 160 km
• Tupelo travel guide 160 km
• North Little Rock travel guide 210 km
• Little Rock travel guide 210 km
• Greenville travel guide 210 km
• Cape Girardeau travel guide 240 km
• Paducah travel guide 250 km

Near webcams to Memphis

• Memphis - Graceland webcam 6.3 km
• Little Rock webcam 210 km
• Nashville webcam 320 km
• Nashville - Skylive webcam 320 km
• Henderson webcam 370 km
• St. Louis webcam 390 km
• Auburn webcam 510 km
• New Orleans webcam 580 km
• I85, Brookwood Int. webcam 580 km
• Macomb Downtown webcam 590 km

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Memphis travel services

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Memphis real estate

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City Travel Guide comes with Memphis real estate guide with several tips on home valuation, realtors comparison, secrets on finding the "right" home, loans guide and other helpful real estate advices. Our partners also maintain Memphis property for sale and rental listings, real estate laws and reviews. We will try to help you with buying property in USA, choosing real estate agents, property finders, relocation help, and information for English speakers wanting to buy real estate in Memphis.

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Memphis travel books

Memphis travel guide books

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Memphis maps and atlases

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