Experience Memphis Like a Local

Award-winning blogger and 35+ year resident’s picks to do, see, and eat

Paul Ryburn, M.Sc.
8 min readMay 29, 2024
MEMPHIS sign with skyline in the background
AlexisRosendahl, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

“I’ve been to the Venice boardwalk and the Sunset Strip in L.A.,” the visitor sitting to my left said. “I’ve walked the Miracle Mile in Chicago. I’ve hit the nightlife in Miami Beach. But none of those places compare to Memphis, man. You know why?”

“Memphis has soul,” he said with a big smile. “Soul like no place I’ve ever encountered.”

Memphis has soul. In three words, he summed up my city better than any marketing firm ever has.

But what does that mean? “Memphis has soul.” If I had 10,000 words I couldn’t describe it. All I can tell you is this: Come visit and see for yourself what I mean.

I’ve lived in Memphis since 1987. Since 2004 I’ve written a blog about Memphis that has won multiple awards. In this post I’m going to show you why Memphis has soul — not by telling you, but by inviting you to experience the places I know and love.

Where to stay

I strongly recommend you get a hotel or AirBNB Downtown. It’s one of the few truly walkable parts of the city and the only walkable area with abundant lodging.

Most of the attractions I discuss below are Downtown. I’ll make sure to point out…

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Paul Ryburn, M.Sc.
Paul Ryburn, M.Sc.

Written by Paul Ryburn, M.Sc.

I write about writing, ideas, creativity, homelessness, intuition, spirituality, life lessons. Ex-college teacher Twitter: @paulryburn

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