Memphis International Airport (MEM) handles direct flights from most major US cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, and Denver. It is not a hub airport, so international travelers typically connect through Atlanta, Chicago, or Dallas. The airport is about 10 kilometres southeast of downtown; a taxi or rideshare to downtown takes 20–25 minutes and costs around $25–35.
Amtrak's City of New Orleans runs daily between Chicago and New Orleans, passing through Memphis. The train journey from Chicago takes around nine hours; from New Orleans, about eight. The station is at Central Avenue and Lauderdale Street, close to downtown. Memphis sits at the junction of two major interstates: I-40, which runs east–west across the country, and I-55, which runs north–south between Chicago and New Orleans. Road connections to Nashville (about four hours east on I-40) and Little Rock (about two hours west) are straightforward.