We had big plans for our few days in the birthplace of Rock N Roll – Memphis – but two of those plans included tours of Graceland and the area of Beale Street. My husband was the instigator of this trip after indicating he would love to see Graceland, so that was one of the few things I arranged tickets for in the planning stages. Since I was there with girlfriends years ago, it has been renovated and enlarged and it was pretty impressive. I was just amazed that I didn’t remember how large it was and how long it took to stand in line for everything but then I found out later it had been completely remodeled and it all made sense then. I’m sure everyone has their own memories of Elvis’s death but it just happened that he died during our honeymoom. We were not huge fans but big enough that it was a shock when the news came on the radio and it just didn’t seem right that he died so long. We have been married for over 40 years now and it was amazing to us that there were still huge crowds seeing his home and all his memories this long after his death. But we were part of the crowd, so how can we judge?
Hey! It’s Graceland!
We parked then took a few pictures outside the entrance before we went in to get our tickets and get ready to being our tour. All the tours start with a quick movie, then everyone gets in line to board one of the many buses that head across the street to his home to drop everyone off for a tour. Be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to stand in line for everything because it moves pretty slowly although they had everything organized very well.
We had some time before out movie, so we headed out to see as much of the area as we could before our tour of the house began. There’s plenty to see of the life of Elvis before he began his big career and settled his family at the lovely house at Graceland.
Motorcycle from Graceland
Jeep from Graceland
Finally, it was time to get in line to ride the bus across the street and begin our tour of the house.
The front of Graceland
The first time I visited years ago, I was amazed that the house was not huge in size. I had pictured more of a castle but this was simply a lovely home for the family. It was not decorated like a fancy place either but simply a place for the family to live and relax.
None of the rooms in the house are super fancy but look like they belong to a family and will be used every day.
You can tour all the rooms in the house and then walk out the back and see the graves of the family members who are buried there. It’s pretty impressive but actually more touching because it really just looks like a family home. We really enjoyed our tour and I recommend it to everyone.
We had to leave because we were booked on a bus tour with Backbeat Tours in the afternoon. I had already taken this same tour the last time I was in Memphis, but I knew my husband would enjoy it. Here’s the article about that tour you can read and then book it yourself – because you will adore it as much as we did! We actually took a second tour with them the next day of Beale Street and the surrounding area. We were the only two people on the tour so it was really great to learn all about the area and take our time seeing everything.
So, that’s about everything to tell you about our wonderful visit. I really recommend booking a stay at the River Inn at Harbor Town when you are in Memphis since we loved every second of our stay. And the food was wonderful in every restaurant on the property! You should also see Graceland and check out the tours with Backbeat Tours as they are worth every second of your time as well.
I hope you enjoy Memphis as much as we did!