Weird & unusual things to do in Memphis

The genuinely offbeat side of Memphis: 27 hand-vetted hidden spots — oddity shops, hidden bars, haunted history, sound baths, weird outdoor finds — built for an unusual date night, a weird afternoon, or showing a visitor a side of the city they'd never find alone. Like Elmwood Cemetery, Earnestine & Hazel's, National Ornamental Metal Museum (the Metal Museum). Local secrets even locals miss — you didn't hear it from us.

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Elmwood Cemetery Memphis's oldest continuously operating cemetery holds roughly 2,500 unmarked victims of the catastrophic 187… South Memphis / Medical District
Earnestine & Hazel's Behind the jukebox and the Soul Burger, the upstairs rooms of this South Main dive bar ran as a working broth… South Main / Downtown
National Ornamental Metal Museum (the Metal Museum) A dragon sculpture is bolted to the ceiling inside a museum that sits on the grounds of a former U.S. Marine… South Memphis riverbluff, near Martyrs Park
Rooftop Stargazing at Beale Street Landing You walk up a grassy ramp onto the roof of the Beale Street Landing pavilion — normally a river-cruise dock —… Downtown Memphis (South Main / riverfront)
Memphis Gong Chamber (at Memphis Drum Shop) A retail drum shop that doubles as a chamber holding roughly 250 gongs from 20 to 80 inches, including a $28,… Cooper-Young, Memphis
AutoZone Sharpe Planetarium — Laser Rock Inside the domed Pink Palace Museum campus (MoSH), a 130-seat theater-in-the-round throws star fields and las… East Memphis / Pink Palace Museum grounds
Amani Bath Spa Owner Emma Crystal, a former IT worker turned licensed massage therapist, opened this two-private-bathroom sp… South Main, Memphis
Sultana Disaster Museum A small storefront museum ten minutes across the river holds furnace bricks, shaker plates, and other relics… Marion, Arkansas
Crystal Shrine Grotto Inside a working cemetery, Mexican folk artist Dionicio Rodriguez spent the late 1930s hand-carving a 60-foot… Memorial Park Cemetery, East Memphis
Withers Collection Museum & Gallery Photojournalist Ernest C. Withers shot an estimated 1.8 million frames over six decades — Emmett Till's murde… Beale Street, Downtown Memphis
Tops Gallery You get to the actual gallery by descending wooden steps through a dark, underground art-storage-and-studio s… South Main / industrial south downtown, entrance on Huling Ave
Jasper Float Spa & Wellness Center A downtown Memphis wellness spa near Main and Union with sensory-deprivation float tanks alongside sauna and… Downtown Memphis
Better Bodies Yoga — The Salt Caves A yoga studio since 2004 that also operates what it calls the Mid-South's largest salt cave — a halotherapy r… East Memphis (Brookhaven Circle)
A. Schwab / Beale Street Hoodoo History and Folklife Museum Memphis's oldest continuously operating store (since 1876, at this address since 1911) still sells cast-iron… Beale Street, Downtown Memphis
Woodruff-Fontaine House In this 1871 Victorian Village mansion, Mollie Woodruff endured a stillbirth and later watched her husband di… Victorian Village / Downtown
Memphis Listening Lab Built entirely around the personal record collection Ardent Records co-founder John King donated before his d… Crosstown Concourse, Midtown Memphis
The Broom Closet A metaphysical shop tucked into the South Main gallery district run by ordained Pagan clergy Rev. Emily Guent… South Main Historic Arts District, Memphis
Barons Bar + Barbershop (speakeasy) A fully working barbershop by day — fades, straight-razor shaves, the works — until a customer swings open a… East Memphis
The Cotton Museum at the Memphis Cotton Exchange Housed on the actual trading floor of the Memphis Cotton Exchange — once the largest cotton market on earth f… Downtown Memphis
Asian Night Market — Memphis Agricenter Now in its fourth year, this Vietnamese American Community-run market takes over the Agricenter fairgrounds a… East Memphis (Agricenter International)
Lucyja Hygge A Midtown metaphysical shop that splices Eastern European folk-magic with Southern hoodoo sensibility — cryst… Midtown, Memphis
National Bird Dog Museum A 30,000-square-foot shrine to hunting dogs about an hour east of Memphis, centered on a Wildlife Heritage Ce… Grand Junction, TN
Mary's Bar of Tropical Escapism (Mary's B.O.T.E.) Billed simply as 'Memphis' only tiki bar' — a small, 21-and-up tropical hideaway on Cooper Street with fish t… Midtown Memphis (near Cooper-Young)
Tom Lee Park — river-creature playground & Tom Lee memorial Giant sculptural playground pieces by Danish design studio Monstrum — a sturgeon, a caterpillar, a salamander… Downtown Riverfront
Fire Museum of Memphis A single obsession — fire and life safety — filling a still-active-looking historic firehouse, Engine House N… Downtown Memphis
Telescope Mentoring Nights at Hinton Park The Memphis Astronomical Society runs informal, free "telescope mentoring" evenings at this Collierville park… Collierville
Tiger & Peacock Rooftop — The Memphian The rooftop bar atop The Memphian hotel serves "astronomically inspired" cocktails and has hosted recurring a… Overton Square / Midtown

Unusual things to do in Memphis — FAQ

What are some unusual things to do in Memphis?

27 hand-vetted weird spots — like Elmwood Cemetery, Earnestine & Hazel's, National Ornamental Metal Museum (the Metal Museum) — plus oddity shops, hidden bars, haunted history, sound baths, and offbeat outdoor finds. Every one is real and sourced, not a top-ten landmark.

Where can you go for a weird date night in Memphis?

Try Elmwood Cemetery, Earnestine & Hazel's, National Ornamental Metal Museum (the Metal Museum) — strange-but-real spots that make a memorable date. Filter by neighborhood, vibe, or how far you'll drive: in town, nearby, or a day trip.

What's a weird thing to do in Memphis tonight or this weekend?

For tonight, filter to "in town" and low-key picks; for the weekend, the day-trip ring opens up genuinely strange spots a short drive out. Start with Elmwood Cemetery, Earnestine & Hazel's, National Ornamental Metal Museum (the Metal Museum) — and sort by how far you're willing to go.

Are there free or cheap weird things to do in Memphis?

Yes — 10 Memphis spots are free or low-cost, like Rooftop Stargazing at Beale Street Landing, AutoZone Sharpe Planetarium — Laser Rock, Withers Collection Museum & Gallery. Roadside oddities, public art, and outdoor curiosities usually cost nothing.

How is this different from the usual Memphis tourist lists?

We skip the landmarks everyone knows. An agentic research system digs up the genuinely hidden, offbeat spots — the local secrets even locals miss — and verifies each against real sources before it makes the list.