The distance from Louisville to Memphis by car is 384 miles, with a 5h45m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Louisville to Memphis drive are Mammoth Cave National Park, Nashville and Jackson TN.
Planning a Louisville to Memphis road trip itinerary
The Louisville to Memphis drive takes you from Kentucky’s biggest city to the home of Elvis in Tennessee.
5 great Louisville experiences to book
- 🏛️ See handsome mansions and learn Louisville history – on an Old Louisville walking tour.
- 🏇 Visit the Kentucky Derby Museum – with a guided Churchill Downs track visit.
- 🍗 Taste fried chicken, BBQ and more – on a guided NuLu food tour.
- 🥃 Take a Kentucky bourbon tour – with tastings at three distilleries.
- 👻 Hear spooky tales of old Louisville – on a hugely popular ghost tour.
Good Louisville experiences include Old Louisville ghost tours, the Kentucky Derby Museum and a tasting tour of multiple bourbon distilleries. The food and history tours are also worth checking out.
For Louisville attractions, try the Frazier Kentucky History Museum, Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory Tour, Muhammad Ali Center and Kentucky Science Center.
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.
Music fans should also try the Try the Rock and Soul Museum, plus the Memphis Music Hall of Fame and the Stax Museum of American Soul Music.
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 Studio.
Outdoors, Shelby Farms Park is one of America’s great urban parks and the Memphis Botanic Garden is expansive.
Five great things to do in Memphis
- 🎸 Enjoy a private luxury tour of Memphis – with Graceland tickets included.
- 🍖 Get a taste of Tennessee – on a Downtown Memphis food tour.
- 🛥️ Take a Memphis discovery tour – with Mississippi cruise and Sun Studio add-on options.
- 🏙️ Discover Memphis beyond Beale Street – on a historic walking tour.
- 🚗 Hop on a day tour to Tupelo – and see Elvis’ childhood home.
Louisville to Memphis distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Louisville to Memphis is 384 miles. That makes for a driving time of around five hours and 45 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-65 and I-40.
The best road trip stops on the Louisville to Memphis drive are Mammoth Cave National Park, Nashville and Jackson TN.
Louisville to Nashville road trip attractions: Mammoth Cave National Park
You can go to Mammoth Cave National Park for horse riding, hiking, camping and canoeing, but the caves are the key attraction.
The cave system in Mammoth Cave National Park is billed as the longest in the world. A bewildering range of cave tours is available, some of which are wheelchair friendly, with others more physical and aimed at cavers.
The classic Mammoth Cave tour is the two hour historic tour, which heads through underground tunnels that humans have used for thousands of years. Be warned, however – there are hundreds of steps.
Louisville to Memphis drive: Nashville, Tennessee
5 great Nashville experiences to book
- 🍸 Discover secret speakeasies on a guided cocktail crawl.
- 🏠 On a homes of the stars tour, see where Music City’s celebs live.
- 🍽️ Taste Tennessee’s local delicacies on a Nashville food tour.
- 🚢 Take a lunch or dinner cruise on the General Jackson showboat.
- 🎤 Get to know the Grand Ole Opry on a guided backstage tour.
Nashville is heavily music-focused, with attractions such as the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, Legends of Country Music Museum and Johnny Cash Museum. However, you can also get a good dose of history at Belmont Mansion, the Tennessee State Museum and Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage.
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.
Why book the Nashville Hop-on Hop-off Trolley Tour?
- 🎸 Music City Landmarks: Experience the best of Nashville with a route that hits over 100 points of interest, including the Ryman Auditorium, Music Row, and the Country Music Hall of Fame.
- 🏛️ Centennial Park & The Parthenon: Enjoy easy access to Nashville’s “West End,” where you can explore the world’s only full-scale replica of the ancient Greek Parthenon.
- 🎤 Live Narrated Commentary: Learn about the city’s rich history, from its early pioneer days to its rise as the world’s country music capital, through entertaining stories from expert guides.
- 🚋 13 Convenient Stops: Explore at your own pace with a ticket that allows you to hop on and off at strategically located stops near the Gulch, Broadway, and Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park.
- 🕒 Sightseeing Made Simple: Avoid the hassle of downtown parking and traffic while enjoying a comprehensive loop that provides a perfect introduction for first-time visitors.
Best stops between Louisville 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.
More Louisville and Memphis road trips
- Gettting to Memphis: Guides to the Dallas to Memphis drive, Nashville to Memphis road trip and Little Rock to Memphis drive.
- Tennessee road trips from Memphis: What to expect on the Memphis to Chattanooga drive.
- Interstate road trips from Memphis: The best stops on the Memphis to Birmingham AL drive, Memphis to Hot Springs AR drive and Memphis to Oklahoma City drive.
- Getting to Louisville: Where to stop on the Pittsburgh to Louisville drive.
- Road trips from Louisville: The best stops on the Louisville to Cincinnati drive, Louisville to Indianapolis drive and Louisville to Nashville drive.
