Memphis Discovery Tour with Riverboat Cruise on Mississippi River
Description
Discover Memphis’ rich history, musical heritage, and Southern cuisine on this comprehensive “best of Memphis” tour. Take in all the highlights of downtown Memphis, from the Blues bars of Beale Street and historic Victorian mansions, to the site where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and one of Elvis’ early apartments. Get insight into the city's amazing heritage at the your choice of one of three museums only found in Memphis: The National Civil Rights Museum, the Smithsonian's Rock 'n' Soul Museum, or the Edge Motor Museum. After visiting your museum of choice, you'll be driven safely to the Memphis Riverboat to enjoy a scenic cruise on the Mississippi River.
Tour Options
Itinerary
History of one of the most famous streets in America
Story of WC Handy and the birth of the Blues
Home of the Memphis Redbirds and 901 FC professional soccer
Home of teenaged Elvis Presley
World-class medical research hospital
Beautiful Victorian-era mansions of "Millionaire's Row"
Oldest home in Memphis
Historic center of the city
oldest church in the city
center of the Memphis cotton industry
Moving tribute and memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr. and the 1968 Sanitation Strike
Site of the assassination of Rev. Dr., Martin Luther King, Jr. Admission included *IF OPTION SELECTED*; guests will be given 1.5 hours to tour the museum. If the option is not selected, guests will only be allowed in the public area outside.
Barbeque tasting
Scenic sightseeing cruise on the Mississippi River
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- Travel time and is already included in total tour duration.
- The Memphis Riverboat is located at the bottom of a 35% decline covered with historic cobblestones. Due to the historic nature of the cobblestones, buses or vehicles are not allowed to drop passengers off directly at the boat dock; guests will be dropped off and picked up from Riverside Dr.
- Within a few blocks there are four different parking garages, and several open-air parking lots. The closest garage to our location (just two blocks away) is at 149 Peabody Place between Second Street and BB King Blvd., next to the Hampton Inn. You can try your luck with on-street metered parking, too, on Second Street just south of Beale; on Beale between Front and Second; or along Peabody Place from Front to Fourth Street.
- Not recommended for guests with mobility issues.
Reviews(414)
A good mix of basic Memphis history with the added experience of Dr Martin Luther King and the progression of civil rights. Add the riverboat trip and the BBQ sampling, it worked out to be great way to spend the day.
Sandra was very thorough. She seemed to know so much about every detail of the tour. She was also quite charming
We were with Kate and Princess for the tour. We had a nice historical overview of the downtown area. I would have liked to have passed Sun City and walked Beale with the tour guide providing some info; that was really the only thing that I felt was omitted. Central BBQ was delicious. We enjoyed the museum and the riverboat tour as well.
Overall good. Need a better guidance to enter the national civil right museum and the river boat tour.
This was a wonderful tour! I would highly recommend it! Our guide was amazing and informative. I loved stopping at the different local historic areas! We enjoyed the Rock and Soul museum and the lunch at the bar was a surprise and so delicious!!! We ended the day beautifully doing the Mississippi cruise. We made memories and had the best time in Memphis! Thank you!
Great overview of Memphis history
Shannon was amazing!!! Very knowledgeable and made the trip fun!
Excellent choice to see the city.
Kate, our guide and organizer, was great and the bus driver did a good job on the city tour. She provided tons of information and clearly cares about Memphis. Kate is a 10 out of 10 and the only reason there is more than 1 start in the review. The Rock and Soul "Museum" was underwhelming and we were done in 20 minutes. But we were able to go to lunch before the Riverboat since none of the BBQ places were open to provide the plate that was supposed to be included. We were refunded $8 per person promptly. Others who went on the Civil Rights Museum had good reviews. The Riverboat is not a real paddlewheel, just a decoration. It was smoking hot out, so we spent the start of it in the air conditioning where the bar and food were located which smelled heavily of diesel exhaust. Once we got going, we went to the upper deck, which was nice with the boat moving. The highlights of the trip were Mr Smith who did the narration and the lovely young lady who was taking drink and food orders. There were not a ton of sights to see on the relatively short trip, but the history of the bridges was interesting. One very important note, to access the gangway to get to the boat, it required a walk of probably 500' across the cobblestone bank and down about 50'. Not a problem for us, but those with mobility challenges or high heels, it would have been nearly impossible. The second bus was very late I picking up the other passengers that were going back to Alfred's.
Steep walk to the dock with unlevel path. Very pleasant ride, didn’t really feel the boat moving. The announcer/guide did an awesome! They served drinks and snacks. And music was played.
