The best indoor things to do in Memphis cluster downtown: the National Civil Rights Museum, Sun Studio, the Belz Museum, the Fire Museum of Memphis, Bass Pro at the Pyramid, and indoor axe throwing all sit within about a mile of each other, with Stax, Memphis Rox, Crosstown Concourse, MoSH, and Graceland a short drive away.
We run Craft Axe Throwing Memphis at 344 Floyd Alley downtown, so every distance below is measured from our front door - and we’ve sorted the list by how far you have to dash through the rain. One warning up front that the big listicles never give you: several Memphis museums close on Monday, Tuesday, or both. Check the closed-days column before you drive anywhere on a rainy start-of-the-week day.
Indoor Memphis at a glance (with closed days)
| Indoor pick | Area | From 344 Floyd Alley | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belz Museum of Asian & Judaic Art | Downtown | ~0.4 mi (8-min walk) | Mon–Tue |
| Fire Museum of Memphis | Downtown | ~0.4 mi (9-min walk) | Sun |
| National Civil Rights Museum | Downtown | ~0.7 mi (14-min walk) | Tue |
| Sun Studio | Downtown edge | ~0.9 mi (4-min drive) | Open daily |
| Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid | Downtown | ~1.3 mi (5-min drive) | Open daily |
| Craft Axe Throwing Memphis | Downtown | You’re here | Mon–Tue |
| Stax Museum of American Soul Music | Soulsville | ~2.5 mi (8-min drive) | Mon |
| Memphis Rox climbing gym | Soulsville | ~2.5 mi (8-min drive) | See site |
| Crosstown Concourse | Crosstown | ~3 mi (9-min drive) | Open daily |
| MoSH at the Pink Palace | East Memphis | ~5 mi (12-min drive) | See site |
| Graceland | Whitehaven | ~9 mi (15-min drive) | Open daily |
Hours and prices change - always confirm on each attraction’s own site before heading out.
What indoor things can you walk to downtown?
If you’re already downtown, these five are short dashes between doors.
Belz Museum of Asian & Judaic Art (~8-min walk)
The most underrated indoor stop in Memphis. Tucked on the concourse level at 119 S Main St, the Belz packs about 1,000 objects into 14,000 square feet - including a remarkable collection of carved Qing Dynasty jade (locals call it “the Jade Museum”) and a moving Holocaust Memorial Gallery. Open Wednesday through Friday 10-5 and weekends 12-5, closed Monday and Tuesday. Details at belzmuseum.org.
Fire Museum of Memphis (~9-min walk)
An interactive fire-history museum inside the restored Fire Engine House No. 1 at 118 Adams Ave - great with kids, and one of the few museums in town open on Mondays (Mon-Sat 9-4:30, last admission 3:45, closed Sunday). Adult admission runs about $10; confirm at firemuseum.com.
National Civil Rights Museum (~14-min walk or 3-min drive)
The NCRM at the Lorraine Motel is almost entirely indoors - more than 20 exhibits tracing the civil rights movement, so a full visit easily fills a rainy half-day. Open Monday and Wednesday through Sunday 9-6, closed Tuesdays, last entry 5 PM; adult tickets are about $25. Plan at civilrightsmuseum.org.
Sun Studio (~4-min drive)
The birthplace of rock ‘n’ roll is a guided indoor tour - you’re inside the actual recording room the whole time. Tours run hourly on the half-hour from 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM, seven days a week, first-come first-served (no reservations); about $20 for adults, $15 for kids 5-11. Details at sunstudio.com.
Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid (~5-min drive)
The entire attraction is inside the Pyramid: an indoor cypress swamp with live alligators, the Sky High Ride up to the observation deck, a bowling-alley-meets-aquarium bar, and full restaurants. Walking in and browsing is free; the observation-deck ride is ticketed - check prices and hours at basspro.com.
Where should you go for a short indoor drive?
Stax Museum of American Soul Music (~8-min drive)
Built on the original Stax Records site at 926 E McLemore Ave, with listening stations and a hall of records that can absorb hours. Open Tuesday through Sunday 10-5 (last admission 4), closed Mondays; adults about $20. See staxmuseum.org.
Memphis Rox (~8-min drive, same block as Stax)
The world’s largest nonprofit indoor climbing gym - bouldering, top rope, yoga, and a juice bar, run on a pay-what-you-can mission so no one is turned away. It’s the active counterweight to a museum-heavy rainy day, and it pairs naturally with Stax next door. Hours and passes at memphisrox.com.
Crosstown Concourse (~9-min drive)
A 1.1-million-square-foot vertical urban village where you can spend an entire wet afternoon under one roof: restaurants, Crosstown Brewing Co., the Crosstown Arts galleries, the Memphis Listening Lab, and shops. The building is open daily 8 AM-9 PM; individual tenants set their own hours - crosstownconcourse.com.
MoSH at the Pink Palace (~12-min drive)
The Museum of Science & History has natural- and cultural-history exhibits, a planetarium, and a giant-screen theater - a reliable indoor pick with kids. Check current hours, admission, and open days at moshmemphis.com before you go.
Graceland (~15-min drive)
The mansion tour plus the huge Elvis Presley’s Memphis complex - the ICONS exhibit, the car museum, and Elvis’s planes - is open daily 9 AM-4 PM. Honest rainy-day note: a full visit involves shuttling between buildings, but the exhibits themselves are all indoors. Tours start around $53; tiers at graceland.com.
Where can you actually DO something indoors in Memphis?
After a museum or two, most groups want to move. That’s us. Craft Axe Throwing Memphis is fully indoors at 344 Floyd Alley - 13 throwing lanes, a full bar, ninja stars included in every session, plus ping pong, cornhole, and HDTVs, with free parking in three lots surrounding the building. Sessions start at $20 per thrower for 45 minutes, and our coaches get complete beginners sticking throws fast. We’re open Wednesday through Sunday (Wed-Thu 4-9, Fri 3-11, Sat 12-11, Sun 2-8), so on a rainy weekend we’re the walk-in-friendly answer three blocks of downtown already knows about. Book a lane at our Memphis location and the weather stops mattering.
Planning a work event instead? Our Memphis corporate outing guide covers group-sized downtown itineraries.
What’s open indoors on a rainy Monday or Tuesday?
This is the trap that catches visitors: Memphis’s museum closures stack up at the start of the week.
- Open daily: Sun Studio, Graceland, Bass Pro at the Pyramid, Crosstown Concourse
- Open Mondays (closed elsewhere in the week): Fire Museum of Memphis (closed Sundays)
- Closed Mondays: Stax Museum
- Closed Tuesdays: National Civil Rights Museum
- Closed Mondays AND Tuesdays: Belz Museum, Craft Axe Throwing Memphis (we open Wednesday at 4 PM)
One more to watch: the new Memphis Art Museum is slated to open downtown at Front and Union in December 2026 - a future addition to this list.