Nashville to Memphis: Distance, drive time & best road trip stops
The distance from Nashville to Memphis by car is 212 miles, with a 3h13m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Nashville to Memphis drive are Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, Jackson TN and the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville.
Finding the best things to do on a Nashville to Memphis road trip
The drive from Nashville to Memphis is a road trip through western Tennessee to the Mississippi River. It’s best to book Memphis hotels in advance. Compare prices here.
Nashville is renowned for its country music, but the National Museum of African American Music is also in the Tennessee capital.
The best Nashville experiences include backstage tours of the Grand Ole Opry House, helicopter flights over the city and tasting tours at the Big Machine Distillery. You can also try line dancing classes, the Country Music Hall of Fame and haunted pub crawls. Or, for lavish old homes, visit Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, the Travellers Rest Historic House Museum and Belmont Mansion.
Excellent Nashville accommodation choices include the gloriously evocative Belle Air Mansion and Inn, plus downtown’s grand dame, the Hermitage.
How to see Nashville the smart way
You can save money in Nashville by combining a tour ticket with admission to two top attractions. These combo tickets give you a half day tour of the main sights, plus entrance to the Ryman Auditorium and Country Music Hall of Fame. Find out more here.
Memphis, Tennessee, is a pilgrimage site for Elvis fans. The King’s Graceland mansion is one of the top tourist sites in the US. But the cultural heritage extends beyond music, as you’ll discover on an African-American history tour.
Try the Rock and Soul Museum, plus the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and the 19th century Woodruff-Fontaine House.
Ways of seeing the city include ghost walks, Downtown food tours and musical bus tours. There are also guided walks down music central, Beale Street, and city tours that take you inside the legendary Sun Studios.
Nashville to Memphis distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Nashville to Memphis is 212 miles. That makes for a driving time of around three hours and 13 minutes. The quickest route is largely along the I-40.
The best stops to add to a Nashville to Memphis road trip itinerary are Loretta Lynn’s Ranch, Jackson TN and the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville.
Nashville to Memphis road trip attractions: Loretta Lynn’s Ranch
Country singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn has a ranch full of rebuilt historic buildings. It’s in Hurricane Mills, TN, just north of the I-40. To learn more about Loretta’s life, visit the Coal Miner’s Daughter’s Museum, but there are other museums at Loretta Lynch’s Ranch. These include a North American Artefacts Museum and a Doll and Fans Museum.
As well as the museums and tours of Lynn’s home, you can stay overnight. There are spots for campers and RVs, while cabins are also available for rent.
Best stops between Nashville and Memphis: Jackson, TN
Jackson TN is home to the Casey Jones Home and Railroad Museum. For the uninitiated, Casey Jones was about as famous as it gets in the world of railroad engineering. The enormous locomotive outside the house tends to be the most popular attraction.
Also in Jackson is Rusty’s TV and Movie Car Museum, which features more than 50 screen-famous cars and vans. These include a Batmobile, a Jeep from Jurassic Park and Scooby Doo’s Mystery Machine.
- For more options, check out the guides to the Nashville to Jackson TN drive and Jackson TN to Memphis drive.
Nashville to Memphis drive: West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center
The West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville, TN, is primarily worth visiting because it is home to the Tina Turner Museum. The museum is inside the restored Flagg Grove School, a one room schoolhouse that Anna-Mae Bullock attended before she rose to stardom as Tina Turner. There’s lots of Turner memorabilia on display. But it also proves fascinating as an insight into what schooling for African-American children used to be like.
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