Beale Street Guided Walking Tour

Recommended by 94% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Memphis, USA

Great choice

10+ bookings last month.

1 hour (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.8

· Marlene_R ·

May 2025

Mary knew her stuff. It was extremely informative. Alot of great history. Thank you for making it fun !!

· Michael_F ·

Aug 2025

We had a great time, our guide was very friendly, professional and most of all knowledgeable. We enjoyed it very much

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Overview

Follow in the footsteps of musical legends, such as Louis Armstrong, Muddy Waters, and B.B. King, on this walking tour of Beale Street in downtown Memphis. Your guide knows the ins and outs of the street—said to be where blues began—ensuring you won't miss a beat of its storied past. Pass by highlights including Lansky Brothers, where Elvis Presley was known to shop, as well as the more-than-100-year-old A. Schwab General Store.

Walking tour of Beale Street in downtown Memphis
Trace the street's transformation from red-light district to the home of blues
Learn about Memphis' significance in the civil rights movement
See highlights including stores frequented by the likes of Elvis

What's Included

Professional guide
All taxes, fees and handling charges

Gratuities
Food and drinks
Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Alfred's On Beale
197 Beale St, Memphis, TN 38103, USA

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Meet your guide on Beale Street, the so-called "Home of the Blues," and former red-light district and epicenter of the civil rights movement.

Follow your guide to significant spots on the main street, including A. Schwab General Store, which has been open for more than a hundred years, and the Lanky Brothers clothing store, where Elvis once shopped.

Pass, too, highlights such as Handy Park and Coyote Ugly saloon, and learn about the musical legends and colorful characters who shaped the street.

Your tour concludes back at the original departure point.

Beale Street

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Handy Park

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Lansky Bros. Clothier to the King

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

A. Schwab

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

W.C. Handy Memphis Home and Museum (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Provide Viator Voucher to show proof of purchase
The walking distance is 0.5 miles (0.8 km)
Stroller accessible
The tour is a walking tour on public city sidewalks, and is wheelchair accessible

Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Within a few blocks there are four different parking garages, and several open-air parking lots. The closest garage to our location (just two blocks away) is at 149 Peabody Place between Second Street and BB King Blvd., next to the Hampton Inn. You can try your luck with on-street metered parking, too, on Second Street just south of Beale; on Beale between Front and Second; or along Peabody Place from Front to Fourth Street.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.8

based on 181 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Charlie was very friendly...

Mirella_P, Feb 2026

Charlie was very friendly and knowledgeable. We thought the tour was very interesting and enjoyed it a lot.

Great 👍

Michael_F, Aug 2025

We had a great time, our guide was very friendly, professional and most of all knowledgeable. We enjoyed it very much

Beale Street History Tour

Marlene_R, May 2025

Mary knew her stuff. It was extremely informative. Alot of great history. Thank you for making it fun !!

Wonderful Beale Street Tour

Susan_W, May 2025

The tour was wonderful and our guide, Taylor was very knowledgeable and friendly. Would highly recommend this tour.

Great time

Daryl_W, Apr 2025

You will have a great time. The guide is so knowledgeable. I don't have anything else to say. Good job

Very Informative and Engaging!

Jeffrey_W, Mar 2025

We ended up having a private tour with Mary and she made the tour and experience most enjoyable. She is a Memphis native and takes great pride in her city and Beale Street in particular. She took us all the way up and down Beale and shared wonderful stories of all the places and people that made the area so famous. I would recommend doing this tour without hesitation especially if you get Mary as your tour guide!

Beale Tour

Doug_O, Mar 2025

Good detailed overview of Beale Street history. The guide was very friendly and informative. Would go again.

Fun history

Shannon_P, Nov 2024

We enjoyed hearing some of the history of Beale Street which we wouldn’t have known otherwise. Our guide was on time and personable.

Fun time on Beale Street!

Eileen_J, Oct 2024

Our tour guide was great! We ended up with a private tour and he took his time and explained the history is an amusing and informational way! Would highly recommend!!

Fun tour!

Steve_K, Sep 2024

Our friendly guide gave us a tour packed full of fun tidbits and interesting history on Memphis. Way more than we expected!

Not worth it

Diana_G, Sep 2024

The Beale street is in very bad shape. Many homeless ppl around. Tour person was just ok. I would recommend to have better presentation.

Great tour

Trina_A, Sep 2024

What a great walking tour. Shannon was awesome ! Some super interesting pearls of history of Memphis.

Great Tour

Caquandra_G, Aug 2024

It was great! My friend and I ended up being the only two people on the tour. Kate was awesome! She shared a lot of the history of Beale Street and the former enslaved who developed it. We definitely enjoyed it.

Highly Recommended

Kenyatta_J, Aug 2024

Renae was an amazing guide! Very informative. Answered all questions. And she constantly made sure everyone was comfortable.

Don’t miss it!

Angela_G, Jul 2024

We learned so much we didn’t know about the origins of Memphis and Beale street. Our guide was lovely - and had tons and tons of information we never knew. Highly recommend.

Interesting

Tina_G, Jun 2024

If this is your first time to Memphis, I recommend doing this tour. Our tour guide was Renea, I believed that's how she spelled it, she was very informative and had great energy!

Great tour

Ashley_C, Jun 2024

Our guide was incredible. Very passionate, informative, loved questions (we had a lot). It’s an easy walk even in the heat she kept us in the shade. You should go!

Great walking tour

Irene_A, May 2024

Excellent guide who was so knowledgeable with lots of fun tidbits. Learned things I wouldn’t have known about.

Beale St

Jean_J, Apr 2024

It was interesting hearing about the history of Beale St and the way it figures into current day Memphis.

Great intro to Memphis

Patricia_M, Apr 2024

This was a great tour for the price point. Renee was our guide, and we spent an hour and 15 minutes walking through Beale street and learning the history of Memphis. One thing I would’ve liked is if we got to enter some of the stores mentioned. Renee was knowledgeable and readily answered our questions.

Still good.

Monica_S, Mar 2024

Guide was okay. Shared some good information. It’s never easy to tell the true history of many places in the South, so he struggled and watered down some of the facts.

Great tour

Lana_C, Nov 2023

Great tour guide! Very knowledgeable and would recommend highly! She knew everyone and was very friendly.

Great way to quickly get a Beale Street History lesson

Patricia_N, Oct 2023

I love to learn the history of the things I am seeing in life. This was an inexpensive way to understand and appreciate Beale Street. I have a deeper appreciation for the city because of this tour. Thank you.

Informative

MaryJo_C, Oct 2023

Guide was very informative and told some fun facts of the past! Very easy walking with just enough stops

Fun and informative

Mark_S, Oct 2023

This was a great tour. Worth more than what we paid. Our guide, Charlie, did a great job of explaining the history of Beale Street and Memphis.

Renee while friendly and...

Terese_M, Sep 2023

Renee while friendly and informative, could have given more fun facts about Beale St. I was a little disappointed as I'm sure there was more she could have added.

Shade

Leslie_K, Jun 2023

Guide was very knowledgeable. Only thing that would have been better is if she had scouted out places in the shade

First time in Memphis

LaSonya_R, May 2023

Our guide was very polite and friendly. He even made several jokes which kept my kids attention also. Anything they wanted to know about the different landmarks, he answered them without no problem. I will definitely recommend this tour to my friends and family.