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All the United States Tennessee Memphis

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Memphis

24 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Memphis, Tennessee

Updated April 2, 2025

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Unusual Attractions in Memphis

The Crystal Shrine Grotto

Memphis, Tennessee

The Crystal Shrine Grotto

This head-spinningly bizarre Depression-era art cave is wall-to-wall quartz and Jesus.
The National Civil Rights Museum

Memphis, Tennessee

National Civil Rights Museum

The hotel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot is now a museum dedicated to his work.
One of the Peabody Ducks takes the stage.

Memphis, Tennessee

Peabody Hotel Duck March

Every day a troupe of pampered water fowl walk the red carpet to their favorite fountain.
Model of the Mississippi at Mud Island River Park

Memphis, Tennessee

Mud Island River Park

A Memphis park where you can walk the whole Mississippi River in one go.

Memphis, Tennessee

Silky O'Sullivan's

Home to drunken tower-climbing goats... seriously.
Entrance on Union Ave, just around the corner from Beale Street

Memphis, Tennessee

Sun Studio

This Memphis recording studio launched the careers of Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley.
The Jungle Room at Graceland.

Memphis, Tennessee

The Jungle Room at Graceland

Elvis's own personal tropical hideaway.
St. Peter’s Spiritual Temple

Memphis, Tennessee

St. Peter’s Spiritual Temple (Voodoo Village)

A reclusive Memphis neighborhood is home to decades worth of misunderstood Masonic folk art.
See All 24 Things To Do in Memphis

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Memphis

Memphis, Tennessee

Silky O'Sullivan's

Home to drunken tower-climbing goats... seriously.
Earnestine & Hazel’s.

Memphis, Tennessee

Earnestine & Hazel's

The juke joint where legendary soul artists ate, drank, and made merry.
Tangy and fragrant with hickory smoke, the pulled pork is outstanding.

Memphis, Tennessee

Payne’s Bar-B-Q

Line up for a hickory-smoked BBQ bologna sandwich at this family-run institution.
Fried catfish commands center stage on a plate with turnip greens, pinto peans, and cornbread.

Memphis, Tennessee

The Four Way

For more than 75 years, this living piece of history has been serving exceptional soul food.
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Atlas Obscura Itineraries

All Points South

Sponsored by Travel South

Whatever hand the U.S. had in shaping world music, it had its feet planted firmly in the South. From New Orleans, where a confluence of West Africans laid the groundwork for the musical improvisation we call jazz; to Mississippi, where work-songs birthed the blues before the blues birthed rock ‘n’ roll; to Tennessee, where rock intersected with Appalachian folk songs to create country rock, this distinct artistic heritage was forged uphill, from the humblest of origins. Nonetheless, the musical legacy of unsung field hands, farmers, and blue collar workers coming up from the South would go on to change the world, and in no quiet way.

View Itinerary

Explore Memphis, Tennessee

Music 6
Museums 5
Animals 3
Elvis 3
Bars 2
Food 2
Shops 2
Cemeteries 2
Black History 2
Hotels 2
Restaurants 2
Art 2

Memphis Leaderboard

Places Added

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Places Edited

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    13
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Places Visited

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Recent Memphis Activity

  • hd313porter48

    has been to Payne’s Bar-B-Q

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    has been to Peabody Hotel Duck March

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    has been to Memphis Pyramid

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    wants to go to Mud Island River Park

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Stories About Memphis

One of the Peabody’s pampered ducks descends the red-carpeted stairs from the lobby fountain.

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

Every duck march needs its duckmaster.
by Lorraine Gibson
July 18, 2024
A royal chariot…

For Sale: Elvis Presley's Dusty Old Lincoln Limo

The King kind of had a thing for cars.
by Matthew Taub
August 7, 2019
Joe Hill Louis, aka The Be-Bop Boy (right) was one of WDIA’s DJs in the early 1950s.

How America Got Its First Black Radio Station

In 1948, Memphis channel WDIA became a community voice and a rock 'n' roll star-maker.
by Teresa Bitler
June 18, 2019

Lists Featuring Memphis

The House of the Temple.
Statue of George Washington

Novus Ordo Seclorum: 14 Places to Unearth Masonic Secrets

Your best bets for gaining insight into the real history of Freemasonry.

14

Including Zedekiah's Cave, Masonic Lodge of the Andaz Hotel, and House of the Temple

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