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The bayous of Louisiana are very different from upcountry Alabama, which is the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains. In between, there is an immense variety of cities and communities, each with its own unique identify. Many cities of the Old South have transformed into bustling centers of commerce and the arts. Other towns have engaged in dramatic historic preservation projects to display their historic attributes to visitors in a grand manner. Throughout, there is a great cultural texture that pervades life on every front.
We have arranged this tour so that you can enjoy the best of the old and the best of the new in every location you visit. Contrast the US Space Center in Huntsville with Burritt on the Mountain where the oldest structure dates from 1810. Contrast the First White House of the Confederacy in Montgomery with Martin Luther’s speech on the Alabama Capital Steps. Contrast Elvis in Shreveport with the music in New Orleans and Lafayette. Contrast the country music scene in Nashville with the most opulent mansion room constructed in the antebellum South.
Price per person includes:
A good introduction to the city and The South in general is the Atlanta History Center. You will find it in Atlanta’s main museum district, six miles north of downtown and in the upscale Buckhead neighbourhood.
An unusual place to visit is Underground Atlanta, literally under the centre of the city. It was restored in the 1980s and is a great spot for shopping and entertainment. Since the 1996 Summer Olympics, Centennial Park has been the centre of Atlanta. Here you will find one of the world’s largest aquariums, the $200 million Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca Cola where you can view the complete story of the world’s most recognisable and most successful brand.
Distance: 203 miles
Plan to spend the whole day exploring Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s well worth the time. As the Blue Ridge Parkway meanders south, the blue haze which gives the Parkway its name gradually turns to a misty grey, the namesake of the Great Smoky Mountains.Great Smoky Mountains National Park encompasses over 800 square miles and remains one of the most pristine natural areas in of the eastern USA. There are 384 miles of roads to choose from and the speed averages 30 miles an hour. The most visited location in the Park is Cades Cove, a broad valley surrounded by mountains. An 11 mile one way loop road circles the cove. Some of the best opportunities for wildlife viewing can be found here, White-tailed deer are frequent as well as bears, coyotes, and wild turkeys.
At some point you’ll want to travel on the Cherohala Skyway National Scenic Byway which winds 51 miles across the mountaintops at 5,000 feet. The Charles Hall Museum and Skyway Visitor Center are located at the western gateway to the Skyway.
To see autumn’s colours at their peak, plan your trip around the end of October or early November. You’ll be astounded by fiery oranges, deep reds, and glowing yellows of more than 120 species of trees native to the area.
Distance: 245 miles
You can enjoy the scenic beauty of Alabama while driving the Lookout Mountain Parkway south from Chattanooga. The main attractions are waterfalls, canyons, scenic brow vistas, unique towns and villages, state and national parks, nature preserves and other natural wonders. On most of the drive you’ll be looking up at places like De Soto Falls, which drops 104 feet. Looking down, you can marvel at the 17 mile gash in Lookout Mountain that forms the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi.Turing east off the scenic drive, you’ll be headed for Huntsville. The highlight of your visit today is the US Space and Rocket Center where you can become an astronaut for a day. You can launch yourself into space, feel the G forces of acceleration, and experience weightlessness.
Contrast the US Space and Rocket Center with Burritt on the Mountain, where the oldest buildings dates back to 1810. Historical interpreters demonstrate activities typical of a 19th century farm, with real animals, real crops and authentic environments.
Distance: 113 miles
Contemporary Nashville is about music. This city has been the Capital of Country Music since the Grand Ole Opry began broadcasting from here in 1925. This is the show that made country music famous. From humble beginnings as a barn dance in an insurance company building, today the Grand Ole Opry House is a place where you can see superstars, legends and up-and-coming artists perform.Distance: 209 miles
The centre of Memphis attractions is on Beale Street, downtown between 2nd and 4th Streets. The historic district has recently re-emerged as a new and improved bustling entertainment centre.Beale Street is three blocks of music clubs including the most popular, B.B. King’s Blues Club. Make a stop here in the evening for some real live blues music. The Memphis Visitors Bureau also has a handy information booth on Beale Street. If you’d like to learn more about the origins of music in Memphis, then perhaps a visit to the Memphis Rock and Soul Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian, or to the Sun Studio, where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and B. B. King recorded and is considered The Birthplace of Rock and Roll would be ideal.
Check out the Stax Museum which celebrates greats from the 1960s and 1970s, like Otis Redding, Booker T. & the MGs, Issac Hayes, Aretha Franklin, Earth, Wind & Fire and more.
You can learn more about the heritage and culture of Memphis and the lower Delta and it’s relationship to the river at the Mississippi River Museum. Mud Island features River Walk, one of the most unique representations of the Mississippi River in the world. Near Beale Street, the Centre for Southern Folklore documents more about the southern lifestyle.
Distance: 130 miles
Right outside of Memphis, you can begin following the Mississippi Blues Trail and have the added bonus of travelling the Mississippi Culinary Trail. In order to get the best of both and if you’re an Elvis fan, you’re going to have a bit of a zigzag today, but it will get you the whole picture. Tunica, just south on Highway 61 is considered the gateway to Blues Alley. Tunica River Park features an interpretive centre illustrating the life and legend of the river. Make sure you try some catfish cakes or catfish stuffed eggplant at Café Marie or the Blues and White Restaurant. Also try fried pickles, another local dish.Next up, Tupelo, Mississippi, birthplace of Elvis Presley. After Graceland, the two room shotgun house will seem amazing. Also visit the Natchez Trace Visitor Center where early New Deal cottages from the depression have been rebuilt. Swinging over toward the river now, make sure to stop at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. The Rock n’Roll and Blues Heritage Museum is also there. From Clarksdale, you will drop south to Greenwood where you can visit the Greenwood Blues Heritage Museum and stay the night. Foodies may also like to take a class at the Viking Range Cooking School.
Distance: 213 miles
Natchez is the oldest town in Mississippi, founded in 1716. French fur traders established the city at the terminus of the Native American Natchez Trace, today a scenic byway. The region was the first to establish plantations using the rich loess soil for robust crops. Slaves were introduced by French colonists from the Caribbean. Natchez is also one of the most beautiful and best preserved towns in the South due to the fact that the town surrendered to Grant’s army without a fight. As a result it has over 500 antebellum homes, more than any other city in the United States. It’s worth spending some time just driving around the historic district filled with impeccably preserved structures with white columns and inside filled with Italian marble, imported crystal and sterling silver.The best place to start your visit is at the Natchez National Historical Park. The Park itself includes two very different properties. Melrose, situated on 80 acres of lush oak covered land, was occupied by a prominent Southern family beginning in 1841. The William Johnson House on the other hand, was built and owned by a freed-slave who had slaves himself. The area’s Native American heritage is illustrated at Emerald Mound one of the largest mounds in the United States. Monmouth Plantation delivers outstanding accommodations in an authentic plantation home. Their restaurant also offers fine dining. Biscuits and Blues has been voted America’s #1 blues nightclub by the Memphis Blues Foundation, the W.C. Handy Organization and the San Francisco Blues Society.
Distance: 197 miles
It may be hard to believe, but it was in Shreveport, not Memphis, that Elvis got his start by borrowing money to eat and stay in motels to earn $200 a night performing at the Louisiana Hayride. Today, Shreveport is second only to New Orleans in Louisiana, in welcoming both US and international visitors. Get ready to party and be entertained. Riverboat casinos that have starred in many Hollywood productions line both sides of the Red River.On the softer side of Shreveport, at 42 acres, the American Rose Center is the nation’s largest rose garden. The R. W. Norton Art Gallery chronicles more than four centuries of American and European art, featuring the work of Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. In spring more than 10,000 azaleas bloom in the garden.
Louisiana State Exhibit Museum focused on the artifacts and art indigenous to northwest Louisiana. Like Mississippi and Alabama, portions of Louisiana were also originally occupied by Native Americans. This museum showcases the regions Indian lore. The J. Bennett Johnston Waterway Regional Visitors Center illustrates the history of the Red River in the region. The Boom and Bust Scenic Byway takes you through Oil City, Vivian, Plain Dealing, Sarepta, Homer and Lisbon, all small towns chock full of history and places to eat.
Distance: 313 miles
New Orleans is one of the most historic cities in America. Napoleon sold the land to the United States in 1803. New Orleans dominated trade between the US and the Caribbean for decades which accounts for the many residents of New Orleans who are descendants of West Indies families. As a result, the city is a melting pot of French, Spanish and Caribbean influences.We recommend that you set aside your first day in New Orleans to explore the French Quarter. Grab a French Quarter map, take a seat at Café du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait and acquaint yourself with this wonderful city. Be sure to visit the French Quarter Visitors Center, one of the six sites of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, which introduces you to traditions and life in the area. Rangers lead daily walks through the French Quarter to tell the story of this district and its ties to the Mississippi River.
The New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center, and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South region. Collections have been building over 40 years. The Ogden Museum of Southern Art adds to the story through fine art and artifacts focused on the South. Check with Preservation Hall to see if there are performances during your stay. If you want to learn Cajun cooking first hand, book a course at the New Orleans School of Cooking.Ocean Springs, Mississippi earned the name City of Discovery for its commemoration of the French settlement of 1699, although Native Americans had been enjoying the sparkling blue waters and fertile coastal marshes long before that. More than 80% of the Gulf Islands National Seashore is submerged land, teeming with marine life. Conditions here are so tropical that the US Army established a training camp during World War II to simulate the South Seas. You can explore a Spanish Fort and a World War II Battery, or soak in more nature along the Live Oak Bicycle Trail and other trails throughout the Seashore.
For a look at the origins of Birmingham in 1871, learn the story of steel making at the Sloss Furnace National Historic Landmark where you can tour an actual steel mill. The industry was critical to making Birmingham the city it is today.
Call the USA travel specialists at Bon Voyage to discuss your Best of the Old South and New South adventure.