Things to Do Alone in Memphis

Memphis works well alone because its best sights are rooms you walk through at your own pace: a soul music museum, the museum at the Lorraine Motel, a metalwork museum with live demonstrations. Add a long walk over the Mississippi and a bird walk in an old forest and the days fill up without a bar crawl. For a different Tennessee city, compare Nashville.

All hours below were checked on 2026-11-01 against the venue page linked in each entry.

Soul, civil rights and the rooms that tell them

National Civil Rights Museum. Downtown at 450 Mulberry Street. It is open Monday and Wednesday to Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Tuesdays. The museum sells timed-entry online tickets and says a typical visit takes 1.5 to 2 hours; adult admission is listed at $25. Tennessee residents get free admission on Mondays from 3 p.m. with a state-issued ID. It is closed on New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (Plan your visit, Guidelines and FAQ).

Stax Museum of American Soul Music. At 926 E. McLemore Avenue in Soulsville. The museum opens in a circa-1906 Mississippi Delta church that has been reassembled inside the building. It is open Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last admission at 4 p.m., and closed Mondays. Adults are $20 (Stax Museum).

Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum. On Beale Street at 191 Beale. Its exhibition on the birth of rock and soul is based on one created with the Smithsonian Institution. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; adults $16 (Rock 'n' Soul Museum).

Sun Studio. Tour tickets are first come, first served on arrival, so a solo visitor can simply turn up and take whichever slot is available. Check the site for current hours and prices (Sun Studio).

Where craft meets art

Metal Museum. At 1930 Poplar Avenue, open Wednesday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Metalworking demonstrations run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m., except on days when a workshop is taking place. Photography is encouraged. Adult admission is $10 (Metal Museum). Watching a demonstration needs no conversation, and the guide at the end of a tour is a natural person to ask a question.

Dixon Gallery & Gardens. Open Tuesday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m., closed Mondays. On Third Thursdays it stays open until 8 p.m. (Dixon hours). A museum with gardens lets you alternate between indoor and outdoor time.

Crosstown Concourse. One building with sections for food and drinks, music and art, and wellness and retail, plus the Crosstown Arts Green Room for live music. Concourse hours are listed as 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Browse the events calendar on the site (Crosstown Concourse). A food counter in a busy building is an easy place to eat alone; see how to eat alone in public.

A museum in transition. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art page says it is closed and that the Memphis Art Museum opens downtown on 6 December 2026, with free admission for all Shelby County residents (Memphis Art Museum). Put it on the list for December.

Outside: a river and a forest

Big River Crossing. At nearly a mile, it is the longest public pedestrian and cyclist bridge across the Mississippi. It is free and open daily from sunrise to 10 p.m. (Big River Crossing).

Overton Park's Old Forest. The Conservancy calls it the only urban old-growth forest in the southeastern United States; 126 acres are protected as a Tennessee State Natural Area, and an interpretive map follows 35 trail markers (Old Forest). Songbird Strolls are relaxed, beginner-friendly bird walks held on the second Friday and third Saturday of the month from September to November, at 8 a.m., meeting at the East Parkway Pavilion; the season ends with November, so check the Conservancy's events calendar for what follows (Songbird Strolls). A group walk with a leader is a low-pressure way to meet people.

Shelby Farms Park. The park site lists trails, the Shelby Farms Greenline and a buffalo herd, and posts public hours daily (Shelby Farms Park).

Getting around

MATA runs the trolley and buses and offers a trip planner and the MATA Tracker (MATA trolley). Check the operator site for current fares.

First solo outings

1. Easy. A weekend morning on Big River Crossing, then lunch at Crosstown Concourse.
2. Medium. Stax Museum on a Tuesday to Sunday, with last admission at 4 p.m.
3. Bold. Book a timed ticket at the National Civil Rights Museum, then walk the Old Forest loop with the Conservancy's interpretive map.

Solo Era for iPhone

Ask a guide how they chose their favourite exhibit

Solo Era has a people mission at level 2: "Ask a guide how they chose their favourite exhibit." A Metal Museum demonstration or a museum tour is a good place to try it. Free to download. A subscription is required to start missions. Prices and any free trial are shown in the app and depend on the offer and eligibility.

Read more on going to a museum alone. Nearby Tennessee guides: Chattanooga and Knoxville, or browse the cities hub.

Sources (checked 2026-11-01)

• National Civil Rights Museum: Plan your visit
• National Civil Rights Museum: Guidelines and FAQ
• Stax Museum of American Soul Music
• Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum
• Sun Studio: Visit
• Metal Museum: Visit
• Dixon Gallery & Gardens: Hours
• Crosstown Concourse
• Memphis Art Museum
• Big River Crossing
• Overton Park Conservancy: Old Forest
• Overton Park Conservancy: Songbird Strolls
• Shelby Farms Park
• MATA: Trolley

Details change; check the venue before you go.

Solo Era for iPhone

Try it with Solo Era

Solo Era gives you one realistic mission a week, records how nervous you felt before and after, and keeps a photo journal of what you did. An iPhone app. A subscription is required to start missions; any free trial depends on the offer and eligibility shown in the app.