Not to miss

National Civil Rights Museum

Housed in the Lorraine Motel, where the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, is the excellent National Civil Rights Museum. Five blocks south of Beale St, this museum's extensive exhibits, detailed timeline and accompanying audio tour chronicle the ongoing struggles for African American freedom and equality in the US.

Both Dr King's cultural contribution and his assassination serve as prisms for looking at the Civil Rights movement, its precursors and its indelible and continuing impact on American life. The turquoise exterior of the 1950s motel and two preserved interior rooms remain much as they were at the time of King's death, and serve as pilgrimage points in their own right.

Gibson Beale Street Showcase

At the giant Gibson Beale Street Showcase take the fascinating 45-minute tour of the guitar factory, where solid blocks of wood are transformed into legendary Gibson guitars. No kids under 5 admitted.

Graceland

In the spring of 1957, at age 22, Elvis spent around 100,000 on this house and 13.8 acres, called Graceland. He lived here until his death in 1977, and he's buried next to the swimming pool with his closest relatives. Priscilla Presley (who divorced Elvis in 1973) opened Graceland to tours in 1982, and now millions come here to pay homage to the King.

Elvis himself had the place redecorated in 1974; with a 15ft couch, fake waterfall, yellow vinyl walls and green shag-carpet ceiling, it's a virtual textbook of '70s style. The rooms lined with gold records vividly illustrate Elvis' cultural impact.