Memphis Day Trip with Graceland VIP Access from Nashville

Graceland, Elvis Presley's mansion in Memphis

Graceland is the white-columned house in the Whitehaven district of Memphis where Elvis Presley lived from 1957 until his death in 1977. It opened to visitors in 1982 and is among the most visited private houses in the country. Inside you pass the living room, the dining room and the colourful Jungle Room, then the trophy building filled with gold records, costumes and awards. The visit ends in the Meditation Garden, where Elvis and his family are buried.

This Graceland VIP tour from Nashville gives you priority access, so you spend your time inside rather than in queues. Plan on two to three hours for the mansion and the exhibits across the road, which add cars, costumes and personal items. If you are asking whether Graceland is worth visiting, even people who are not huge fans usually come away impressed by how personal and well preserved the house feels.

Sun Studio, the birthplace of rock and roll

Sun Studio is a small, unassuming building at 706 Union Avenue where producer Sam Phillips opened his recording service in 1950. Within a few years Elvis Presley made his first records here, and Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and many blues singers such as Howlin' Wolf also recorded in the same narrow room. A single record made here in 1951 is often called the first rock and roll song.

The guided Sun Studio tour is short and lively. Your guide tells the stories behind the sessions, plays original recordings and shows you the spot where the singers stood in front of the microphone. Because the space is small, it is one of the most atmospheric stops of the day, and the best answer to anyone who asks whether Sun Studio is worth the visit: you can feel how little equipment it took to change popular music.

Beale Street, the blues heart of Memphis

Beale Street runs east from the Mississippi River through the old entertainment district of Memphis. In the early twentieth century the composer W. C. Handy, often called the father of the blues, worked here, and generations of musicians followed him. Today the street is closed to cars in the evening and filled with live-music clubs, restaurants, souvenir shops and street performers, and it is the easiest place in the city to hear the blues played live.

On this Memphis day trip from Nashville you get free time on Beale Street, enough to walk the length of the historic blocks, take photographs of the neon signs, look into the music venues and choose your own lunch. Your guide suggests what to see first. The street feels busiest in the late afternoon and evening, and the best time to visit for atmosphere is when the live music starts.

The Peabody Hotel duck march

The Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis is a grand hotel that has stood in its present form since the 1920s, and it is famous for a tradition that began in the 1930s: a group of ducks that live on the roof march each day along a red carpet to the marble fountain in the lobby, and march back later in the afternoon. Watching it costs nothing and has become a favourite family stop.

The duck walk is included in this trip as an activity to visit on your own, so you decide whether to watch it, and the guide tells you the best moments and where to stand. The lobby fills up quickly before the march, so arrive a little early if you want a good view, and remember that the hotel sets the timings, which can change.

The road from Nashville to Memphis

Memphis lies about three hours west of Nashville by road, across the middle of Tennessee, and both cities keep the same time. The day is long, around fifteen hours in total, so the group leaves at 07:00 and returns in the evening; your guide uses the journey to talk about the history of Tennessee's music and the differences between the Nashville and Memphis sounds.

Bring a jacket for the vehicle, a charger, water and snacks for the road, and money for lunch, since meals are not included. Wear comfortable shoes for the long walks inside Graceland and on Beale Street. In summer the heat and humidity are strong, so the early start is a real advantage.