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Beale Street, Memphis, TN

Photo: Jeremy Atherton, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

NightlifeIconicDate NightFree

Beale Street

Beale St between Main St and 4th St · Memphis, TN

Why you should go…

Beale Street is the downtown Memphis street that an act of Congress declared the Home of the Blues in 1977. You walk past bars and clubs with live music, restaurants, shops and the New Daisy, a music venue that first opened as a movie theatre in 1937. The 1916 song Beale Street Blues is named for it, and Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters and Memphis Minnie all played the street. The stretch from Main to 4th has been a National Historic Landmark since 1966.

  • #live music
  • #blues clubs
  • #historic district
  • #nightlife
  • #bars

Good to know

General nightlife guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • Doors, showtime, last call

    Three different times, and only one of them is usually on the poster. Check all three.

  • Covers and minimums are normal

    Weekend nights often carry a door charge or a per-person minimum, especially for table seating.

  • Bring ID either way

    Age policies shift by night and by room, so carry it even if you have not been asked in years.

  • Weeknights show the room properly

    Quieter nights are the ones where you can actually hear the band and find a seat.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Beale Street, ordered by straight-line distance.

  • Stay
    Iconic

    The Peabody Memphis

    $50+

    Stay at a 1925 grand hotel or stop in the lobby to watch five mallard ducks march to the fountain.

    Steps awaySwitch it up: Stay

  • Museums
    Iconic

    National Civil Rights Museum

    $25–$50

    Walk through the story of the American civil rights movement at the Lorraine Motel, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in 1968.

    0.5 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Sun Studio

    Under $25

    Tour the small Memphis studio where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis cut records in the 1950s.

    0.8 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Shopping
    Quirky Fun

    Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid

    Free

    Shop outdoor gear inside a 32-story pyramid with an indoor cypress swamp, aquariums and an elevator ride to a glass-floored deck.

    1.1 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Stax Museum of American Soul Music

    Under $25

    Explore soul music history on the site of Stax Records, with Isaac Hayes's gold-trimmed Cadillac and a recreated Studio A.

    2.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    Memphis Zoo

    $25–$50

    See polar bears, hippos, Komodo dragons and thousands of other animals across themed zones at a zoo in Midtown Memphis.

    3.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions