The best road trip stops on the Memphis to Detroit drive are Nashville, Louisville and Cincinnati. The distance from Memphis to Detroit is 744 miles, with an 11h driving time.
Planning a Memphis to Detroit road trip itinerary
A Memphis to Detroit road trip takes you from the home of Elvis in Tennessee to Michigan’s city of motors and Motown.
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.
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.
Detroit has a rich motors and Motown history, plus massively underrated architecture – the Guardian building is one of the all-time great Art Deco buildings. The Michigan Science Center, Detroit Institute of Arts and Detroit Historical Museum cover science, art and heritage, while the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant is the birthplace of the Model T Ford.
Top things to do in Detroit include the excellent architecture walking tours, the Sealife Michigan Aquarium and the Legoland Discovery Centre. For a quick escape, however, head to Belle Isle in the Detroit River, where you’ll find the Belle Isle Aquarium and Dossin Great Lakes Museum.
5 great Detroit experiences to book
- 🏛️ Discover why Detroit is America’s most architecturally underrated city on a specialist architecture walking tour.
- 🍔 On a downtown Detroit food tour, taste Motor City’s specialities.
- 🚁 See the Detroit skyline – and Canada – from above on a helicopter ride.
- 🍸 Take a Detroit bar tour – and learn the city’s history while hopping between bars.
- 👻 Encounter murder and mystery on a Detroit ghost tour.
Memphis to Detroit distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Memphis to Detroit is 744 miles. That makes for a driving time of around eleven hours. The quickest route is largely along the I-75 and I-40.
The best stops on a Memphis to Detroit road trip are Nashville, Louisville and Cincinnati.
Memphis to Detroit 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.
Memphis to Detroit road trip attractions: Louisville, Kentucky
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.
Top Louisville accommodation choices include the history-drenched Brown Hotel and the art-packed 21C Museum Hotel.
Best stops between Memphis and Detroit: Cincinnati
Five great things to do in Cincinnati
- 🕳️ Take an underground tour – and discover the secrets beneath the city streets.
- 👻 Hear dark tales – on an after-dark ghost tour.
- 🚋 Enjoy a streetcar food tour – with tastings at several restaurants and Findlay Market.
- 🍺 Learn how Cincinnati was built on beer – during a historic walking tour.
- 🏰 Discover Cincinnati’s hidden brewery caverns – with beer-tasting included.
Cincinnati has a surprising wealth of historic attractions, such as the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, Harriet Beecher Stowe House and William Howard Taft National Historic Site. For something a little quirky, try the American Sign Museum.
Top Cincinnati activities include underground tours – some with beer tasting – and food tours by streetcar. You can also try baseball history tours, indoor skydiving and guided ghost walks.
More Memphis and Detroit road trips
- Gettting to Memphis: Guides to the Dallas to Memphis drive, Houston to Memphis drive, Nashville to Memphis road trip, Little Rock to Memphis drive and Louisville to Memphis drive.
- Road trips from Memphis: The best stops on the Memphis to Atlanta drive, Memphis to Austin drive, Memphis to Birmingham AL drive, Memphis to Hot Springs AR drive, Memphis to Montgomery drive and Memphis to Oklahoma City drive.
- Getting to Detroit from elsewhere in Michigan: The best stops on the Grand Rapids to Detroit drive, Kalamazoo to Detroit drive and Lansing to Detroit drive.
- Getting to Detroit from Ohio: What to see on the Cincinnati to Detroit drive, Cleveland to Detroit drive and Columbus to Detroit drive.
- Road trips from Detroit: The best stops on the Detroit to Atlanta drive, Detroit to Chicago drive, Detroit to Indianapolis drive, Detroit to Nashville drive and Detroit to St Louis drive.
