I do not know what the hotels are like in the area even though I have lived here all my life.
In the downtown area:
Mud Island--It will probably be closed in November
Beale Street--Home of the blues. Go to Abe Schwab's. It is an early example of a department store. The Schwab family has owned that store forever. They have a little museum in the store.
The Peabody Hotel--Built in 1929. In the morning the Peabody ducks come down from the roof and exit the elevator via a red carpet to the lobby fountain. Vice Versa in the afternoon. Across the street from the Peabody is Huey's Restaurant home of the fines burgers in Memphis. Take time and blow a toothpick in the ceiling.
The Gibson Guitar plant and museum is in the area.
The Lorraine Motel and civil Rights Museum. The Lorraine Motel is where Martin Luther King was shot.
The Cotton Museum is on Front Street. Memphis was the largest Spot Cotton Sellers in the US for over a hundred years.
There are riverboat rides on the Memphis Queen line
The Fire Museum on Adams Street.
If you are interested in old churches, we have some pretty ones in the downtown area. Calvary Episcopal church is the oldest public building in Memphis. I believe it was built in the 1840s. St. Peter's Catholic church was built in 1852 and was the first Catholic church in the city and is on the corner of Adams and Third. St. Mary's Catholic church is a few blocks from St. Peters and is the Catholic Church built by the German population in the city and it was dedicated during the Civil War.
If you go furthur east down Adams, you can tour the Woodruff-Fonatine House. The home was built in the 1870s and was the home of one of the city's cotton factors.
Of course, there is Graceland on Elvis Presley Boulevard.
If you are interested in old cemeteries, the oldest cemetery in the city is Elmwood cemetery. It is located about ten minutes from downtown Memphis and was founded in 1852. A lot of the cotton men are buried here.
Overton Park, which is surrounded by the Parkways, has the zoo and the Brooks Art Gallery.
The Pink Palace Museum is located at 3050 Central (I think). It is a natural and cultural history museum. There is a plantarium and IMAX theatre located in the museum.
If you go into east Memphis, you can see the Botanical Gardens. They are located on Park Avenue. Close to the Boatanical Gardens is my personal favorite art museum, The Dixon Gallery and Gardens also on Park Avenue. They specialize in Impressionist and English Landscape paintings. This was the home of another cotton man.
I cannot think of anything else, but I hope this helps you some.
My DH mentioned running this one.
