Memphis
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📷 Quintin Soloviev· CC BY 4.0Home of the Blues, Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll | Home of the Blues, Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll
About
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 census, making it the second-most populous city in Tennessee, the fifth-most populous in the Southeast, and the 28th-most populous in the US. Memphis is the largest city proper on the Mississippi River.
Wikipedia →Summary excerpted from the Wikipedia article Memphis, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Text may be clipped or paraphrased to fit this page.
Why visit
Beale Street's blues bars, Sun Studio's working tour, Graceland's gloriously tacky Elvis-mansion experience, and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music form the essential musical pilgrimage. The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel is one of the most powerful museums in the US. Memphis barbecue; dry-rubbed pork ribs at Charlie Vergos' Rendezvous, pulled pork sandwiches at Central BBQ; deserves the trip alone. Watch the famous Peabody Hotel ducks march at 11 am and 5 pm.
When to avoid
Do not visit Memphis expecting every useful stop to be close together or easy to improvise. Do the practical reading of Memphis first: hours, routes, weather, crowds, and how far the neighborhoods really sit from one another. In Memphis, distance, heat, parking, car dependence, and uneven transit can matter more than the list of sights. In Memphis, plan routes honestly and use rideshares or a car where transit is weak.
Hot humid summer (Jun to Aug)
Summer is hot and humid; highs around 32 to 34°C, lows around 22 to 24°C, with brutal Mississippi River humidity that makes 35°C feel like 40°C. Afternoon thunderstorms are routine. The Memphis in May International Festival (early May) brings the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the Beale Street Music Festival. Pack lightweight cottons, sunscreen, and water bottles; plan indoor museum stops at midday.
Cool wet winter (Dec to Feb)
Winters are mild but damp; highs around 9 to 11°C, lows near 0 to 2°C, with regular rain and occasional ice storms (snow is rare but ice is the bigger problem when it comes). Beale Street's clubs stay packed year-round. Christmas at Graceland decorates the mansion in Elvis-era kitsch. Pack a warm waterproof coat and sturdy shoes for slick sidewalks.
The next week in Memphis
7-day forecast from Open-Meteo. UV badges flag days when sun protection matters (3 and above is moderate; 8 and above is risk territory for unprotected fair skin within 30 minutes).
Today
Overcast
31° / 15°
UV High
Sat
Thunderstorm
32° / 22°
UV Moderate
Sun
Overcast
31° / 20°
UV High
Mon
Overcast
32° / 22°
UV High
Tue
Showers
33° / 21°
12.9 mm
UV High
Wed
Drizzle
23° / 17°
Thu
Overcast
In May 16
JFMAMJJASOND
Air quality
No monitoring station within 25 km.
Weather
35° / 2°
Typical high / low
4 mm rainfall this month
Daylight
14.0h
05:56 – 19:55local
Year-round climate
Monthly highs, lows, and rainfall (long-term averages, NASA POWER).
Airports near Memphis
2 commercial airports within 100 km. Closest is Memphis International Airport (MEM) at 13 km.
Getting around Memphis
Public-transit operators within 8 km of the city center. Click through to each operator’s site for routes, fares, and tickets.
Operators and modes aggregated by TransitLand from individual transit-agency GTFS feeds. Route classifications (subway / tram / rail / bus / etc) come from each feed’s GTFS route_type codes.
Sister cities
Sources
This page blends public reference data, climate/elevation services, and personal notes. Travel requirements can change, so visa and entry details should be checked again before booking.
- Wikipedia →
Summary, canonical article, and some image fallbacks.
- Wikidata →
Population, area, image, coordinates, and linked identifiers where available.
- NASA POWER →
Monthly temperature and rainfall climatology.
- Open-Meteo historical weather →
1991-2020 temperature and precipitation cross-check for compact climate fields.
- Open-Elevation →
Coordinate-based elevation backfill.
- tz database →
Coordinate-based IANA timezone lookup.
- City flag source →
Public domain, Dyfsunctional.
- Site credits →
Global source notes, map tiles, flags, licenses, and attribution policy.