Eat well, drink in the views: A visitor's guide to Memphis

So, you've arrived in Memphis. Now what?

You probably know about some of our most famous offerings — from Beale Street to Graceland. Check them out, by all means. But there’s much more to Memphis, as you’ll see from these suggestions from members of The CA staff. Enjoy.

I followed you, Big River, when you called

A stroll across the Big River Crossing, a boardwalk over the Mississippi River, offers a chance to stretch your legs while you enjoy the best views to be had of Downtown Memphis. It's located on Virginia Avenue West off of Channel Three Drive and Riverside Drive just south of Downtown. — Tom Charlier

Go Yard at Loflin

Our own Jennifer Biggs aptly wrote that bar/restaurant/outdoor hangout spot Loflin Yard is "like being in France and Texas at the same time." Located on West Carolina Ave. in the up-and-coming South Main neighborhood, it's the perfect place to post up in a lawnchair, enjoy a few beers and even catch some live music on the weekends. — Tom Schad

Three little pig-outs

You don’t come to town and leave without a pound or two of pork on the scales when you leave. Indulge at three of the city’s favorite barbecue joints. The iconic Rendezvous, 52 S. Second, is known the world over as much for good times as it is for its ribs; don’t miss it for dinner. Payne’s Bar-B-Que, 1762 Lamar, is touted by locals as the best place for a pulled pork sandwich, and you have to have it with the tangy slaw and sauce, your choice of hot or mild. And you’ll only find this in Memphis: Barbecue spaghetti. Don’t bother with it anyplace except The Bar-B-Q Shop, 1782 Madison, where the sauce is cooked for about 12 hours in the pit; it’s open for lunch and dinner. — Jennifer Biggs

Meander through Midtown ... 

Downtown is a great place to be, but if you want to live like a local during your stay in Memphis, take Madison or Union east about 3.5 miles and explore the restaurants, shops, breweries, record stores and nightlife of Midtown. Cooper Street is the artery between Overton Square's theaters and restaurants on the north end and the more neighborhood-oriented Cooper-Young a few blocks south.  — David Royer

... and catch some Memphis music

Tucked discreetly in Midtown's Cooper-Young neighborhood, Karen Carrier's Bar DKDC offers up a bit of exotic ambiance with its extensive rum list and a menu of international street foods. But it's also become a hot spot to catch some of Memphis’ best local acts performing live. Jack Oblivian, Marcella Simien, John Paul Keith and the Love Light Orchestra are among the Bluff City talents to play the venue regularly. There's no stage, and bands set up at floor level adding an intimate air and house party vibe to the shows. — Bob Mehr 

Walk back in time

Memphis giveth the calories in the most delicious ways, and can taketh them away in the most beautiful  ways. Type "2080 Poplar'' into your way-finding device to find the old Tudor-style Abe Goodman Golf Clubhouse in Midtown's Overton Park. But instead of playing golf — you're here for basketball, aren't you? — head out on the limestone trail that runs by the clubhouse. The loop will take you 1.4 miles through a virgin forest that shows what Memphis looked like before we humans arrived with our barbecue grills. — Tom Bailey

Do the funky tourist

The Stax Museum of American Soul Music, only about a 10 minute drive from FedExForum at 926 E. McLemore Ave., is an essential stop to make on a visit to Memphis, and a new exhibit opening this weekend makes it even more worth seeing. "A Century of Funk: Rufus Thomas at 100" marks the centennial birthday of one of Memphis' signature  entertainers. Thomas played a crucial role in the early development of two world-famous record labels, Sun and Stax, and he is credited with adding ingredients of funk music into Stax's Memphis soul stew. — Mark Richens

Just ducky

Go see the Peabody ducks. Seriously. They are not cliche. They are not beneath you. They are charming, and adorable, and ridiculous, and a living, paddling, quacking piece of Americana. 

The Peabody is Downtown, at 149 Union  — you can't miss it. The best time to see the ducks is at 11 a.m. each morning, when they march from the Peabody elevators to the fountain in the middle of the lobby. Get there early, though, to stake out a good spot. If you don’t laugh in delight when the ducks do their thing, you’ll laugh in delight at all the people watching the ducks do their thing. Oh, and the current Duckmaster — yes, that’s a formal title in this city — is a man named Jimmy Ogle, who is also the city historian. So he’ll be dispatching his Duckmaster duties Friday, Sunday and Monday, but Saturday he has other obligations, including a 2:30 p.m. appearance at Royal Furniture (Main and Gayoso) for the dedication of the Lee Sisters Historical Marker. The Lee Sisters were the most arrested family in America in the 1960s for their sit-ins in the department stores and lunch counters along segregated Main Street in Memphis. Ogle — Duckmaster, historian, Renaissance man — will preside as a marker is placed in front of Royal Furniture. — Geoff Calkins

It's good to be king (especially at breakfast)

Take a moment to enjoy the historic South Main arts district, where breakfast at The Arcade restaurant is a must. The restaurant at the corner of South Main and G.E. Patterson, not far from FedExForum is recognized as the city's oldest, opening in 1919. In addition to being featured in several movies, it's been regularly featured in the CMT series "Sun Records," which details record producer Sam Phillips' discovery of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash and the emergence rock and roll. After breakfast at The Arcade, place a to-go order for a peanut butter-and-banana sandwich — an Elvis favorite still on the menu — and venture over to Sun Studio at 706 Union for a taste of American music history.  — Phil Stukenborg

Haunted and haunting

My favorite places to bring guests showcase a bit of Memphis' more eccentric side.  Earnestine & Hazel's Soul Burger is a late-night must-have.  The former brothel-turned-bar, cater-corner from the Arcade, is dripping with history and slightly eerie mystique — there's a reason it has been featured in many of the films shot in Memphis. Check out the upstairs, and if you ask nicely, the bartender might tell you some of the more interesting things that reputedly happened in the bar.  About 12 miles east of Downtown via Poplar Ave, in Memorial Park Cemetery, you’ll see the surreal experience that is the Crystal Shrine Grotto. Mexican artist Senor Dionicio Rodriguez (1891-1955) spent eight years turning cement into incredible works of folk art in the middle of a cemetery. There really are no words to describe how fascinating the Crystal Shrine Grotto is, just visit for yourself, and you will see why it attracts visitors from around the world. — Nikki Boertman

History hits home

Anyone visiting Memphis should consider a stop at the National Civil Rights Museum, 450 Mulberry Street. Propelled by a $27.5 million renovation completed in 2014, the  museum is now wrapped in interactive clothing. The renovation added more than 40 new films, oral histories and interactive media to a collection of artifacts and exhibits that trace history of the United States’ civil rights movement from the 17th century to the present. You also get to view the Lorraine Motel room where Martin Luther King Jr. stayed before he was killed by an assassin 49 years ago.

Once you finish at the museum, a good meal is just steps away. Central BBQ, 147 E. Butler, and Rizzo’s Diner, 492 S. Main, and a host of other restaurants and bars are nearby. — Mark Russell

Take you to the river

If you want to commune close-up with the Mississippi River from one of the most peaceful spots in Memphis, drive across the short bridge just south of the Bass Pro Pyramid, turn north and visit the narrow greenbelt park that runs between the river and the Harbor Town neighborhood. You’ll almost certainly see one of the impressive barges or riverboats that still ply the majestic waterway, just as they did in the days of Mark Twain.

Alternatively, or more amusingly: Do you like shrunken heads? Who doesn’t, right? An old-school relic of a less scientifically rigorous collecting mentality, Memphis’ only (publicly displayed) “shrunken head” can be found among the more legitimate historical and archaeological items at the Memphis Pink Palace Museum, 3050 Central. Is it an authentic souvenir of the headhunter’s art, or a gruesome example of fraudulent folk art? Either way, the kids will love it. — John Beifuss

It's why we call it the Bluff City

Memphis is a great museum town, and one of the most interesting is the National Ornamental Metal Museum, which you’ll find by taking the last exit on I-55 before the bridge to Arkansas. It’ll be a great visit even if you never make it inside — and you may not, because the museum grounds, up on the bluff overlooking the big river, are one of best places to while away the time in what’s called, after all, the Bluff City. A Smithsonian magazine story from a few years ago said the world looks like “a mural by Thomas Hart Benton” from up there, and that the gazebo “is a nice spot for a sunset wedding or a glass of whiskey after a day pounding steel.” Cheers. — David Williams