Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Puglia Italy - Matera
Italy • 8 days, 7 nights
Southern Italy: Castles, Caves & Coastal Treasures in Puglia
from
Turkmenistan Gates of Hell Darvaza crater
Turkmenistan • 10 days, 9 nights
Turkmenistan & the Gates of Hell
from
View all trips
Loading...
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Everything at Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe is served in takeout containers.
Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe
The fried green tomato sandwich comes on jalapeño cornbread toast.
Café Reconcile
BBQ shrimp braised in beer are a popular menu item.
High Hat Cafe
The pastries at Lagniappe Bakehouse are worth waking up for.
Lagniappe Bakehouse
Peter Vazquez has been quietly making a name for himself for years.
The Appetite Repair Shop
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Tennessee Memphis Peabody Hotel Duck March

Peabody Hotel Duck March

Every day a troupe of pampered water fowl walk the red carpet to their favorite fountain.

Memphis, Tennessee

Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
One of the Peabody Ducks takes the stage.   Ed Schipul/CC BY-SA 2.0
The ducks luxuriate in the fountain.   Jay Tamboli on Flickr
The ducks head home for the night.   Britt Reints on Flickr
The Duckmaster   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
Ducks entering the fountain   Allison / Atlas Obscura User
  Allison / Atlas Obscura User
  notoriousFIG / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
  genevamariejohnson / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Each day for nearly one hundred years, a group of ducks have left their penthouse at Memphis’ Peabody Hotel and waddled down a red carpet to spend the day playing in the lobby fountain.This whimsical tradition dates back to the early 1900’s when the general manager of the Peabody returned from a fruitless hunting trip and placed a group of live ducks in the hotel fountain as a joke. The guests were so delighted by the addition of the adorable birds that the owners decided to let the birds stay. What started as a simple gag has continued throughout the years and is now a daily display of pomp and circumstance.

Every morning around 11:00 AM, the ducks are led down from their rooftop penthouse to a red carpet bordered by adoring onlookers. Accompanied by a Sousa march, the five ducks trot up a small, custom stairway into the placid waters of the marble fountain where they dutifully swim until they are once again led back upstairs around 5:00 PM. The whole ceremony is preceded over by the “Duckmaster,” a position originally filled by a circus trainer that joined the hotel in the 1940’s, and which is now filled by the occasional celebrity such as Molly Ringwald or Peter Frampton.When not strutting their stuff for the hotel guests, the ducks live in a $200,000 enclosure on the roof which is built to look like a scaled-down penthouse. The walls are made of glass so that visitors who can’t wait for the daily walk can head up and see the the famous fowl living the high-life. It may have started as a joke, but the popularity of the Peabody Duck March proves that the owners of this hotel certainly aren’t quacks.    

Related Tags

Hotels Animals Rites And Rituals Places To Stay

Know Before You Go

Kids can sit at the edge of the red carpet for front row views of the march. For adults, get there early to get a good viewing point. We recommend getting a table and ordering a drink as it will be a long wait. You can also head upstairs and grab a seat and watch from above.

Community Contributors

Edited By

Rachel, Martin, caz, Allison...

  • Rachel
  • Martin
  • caz
  • Allison
  • EricGrundhauser
  • notoriousFIG
  • Collector of Experiences
  • genevamariejohnson

Published

December 25, 2013

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.odditycentral.com/events/the-peabody-hotels-celebrity-ducks-and-their-world-famous-march.htm
  • https://www.ytravelblog.com/things-to-do-in-memphis-with-kids/
Peabody Hotel Duck March
149 Union Avenue
Memphis, Tennessee, 38103
United States
35.142665, -90.05181
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art

Memphis, Tennessee

miles away

Silky O'Sullivan's

Memphis, Tennessee

miles away

National Civil Rights Museum

Memphis, Tennessee

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Memphis

Memphis

Tennessee

Places 20
Stories 3

Nearby Places

Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art

Memphis, Tennessee

miles away

Silky O'Sullivan's

Memphis, Tennessee

miles away

National Civil Rights Museum

Memphis, Tennessee

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Memphis

Memphis

Tennessee

Places 20
Stories 3

Related Stories and Lists

What It Takes To Be This Luxury Memphis Hotel’s ‘Duckmaster’

hotels

By Lorraine Gibson

Baby Jumping and Worm Charming: 60 of the World's Oddest Traditions

List

By Molly McBride Jacobson

Related Places

  • The tower.

    Friskney, England

    RAF Wainfleet Control Tower

    The control tower at the historic weapons range is now available as a highly unusual vacation rental.

  • Aerial view of the Palace of the Lost City

    Sun City, South Africa

    Sun City Resort

    A safari-themed castle in the South African bush with the largest maze in the southern hemisphere.

  • Front desk at Henn Na Hotel

    Sasebo, Japan

    Henn-Na Hotel

    The world’s first hotel to be run by robots.

  • Mid Eastern-themed billiards room

    San Francisco, California

    Fairmont San Francisco Penthouse Suite

    San Francisco's most expensive hotel suite includes a secret passageway rumored to have been used by JFK.

  • Giraffe eating breakfast with guests at Giraffe Manor

    Nairobi, Kenya

    Giraffe Manor

    Just outside of Nairobi lies a large estate surrounded by endangered Rothschild giraffes, who have been fed from the window by Mick Jagger and Walter Cronkite.

  • The lounge.

    Lakewood, Colorado

    Denver’s Dinosaur Hotel

    Rather than a run-of-the-mill franchise hotel, this lodging has been decked out in dinosaur decor.

  • London, England

    Masonic Lodge of the Andaz Hotel

    Hidden behind a wall for decades, this masonic lodge was only rediscovered during renovations.

  • Cottonwood, Idaho

    Dog Bark Park Inn

    Sweet Willy, at 30 feet tall, is the world's biggest beagle.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.