This 14-day tour brings you deep into the heart of the American South, whose lush landscapes draped in Spanish moss and dotted with Antebellum homes will make you feel like you’ve been whisked back in time. Soulful musical traditions await you New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, and Atlanta, and rich history lines the colourful streets of Savannah, Montgomery, and Charleston on this guided trip that includes accommodations and sightseeing tours.
The preserved beauty of the Southern States is downright cinematic, peaking in vintage aesthetics at Stately Oaks Plantation, which inspired Atlanta-resident Margaret Mitchell’s novel and subsequent movie masterpiece Gone With the Wind. The Road to Tara Museum will contextualize the romanticized era from the film, including original scripts and costumes worn. In Atlanta, you’ll also have the chance to visit the childhood home and final resting place of Martin Luther King Jr, learning about the path he paved for the Civil Rights Movement.
You’ll be delighted by the colourful buildings and tree-lined streets of Charleston and Savannah, considered two of the prettiest cities in the USA. Both are places of resilience, holding much Civil War, Revolutionary, and Civil Rights history in their walls which can be seen at many monuments and museums after feasting at some of America’s finest restaurants.
The Civil Rights Movement takes centre stage in Montgomery, where you can visit the Rosa Parks Museum, learning about the woman who took a stand against racial equality and inspired Martin Luther King’s Montgomery Bus Boycott. The protests were organized from the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where a mural commemorates the powerful sermons MLK gave in the mid-20th century. Trace the route to Selma, where King’s Selma to Montgomery March pressured Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act, giving millions of African-Americans the right to vote.
Moving into Louisiana, you’ll experience New Orleans, America’s most flavourful city where Spanish, French, Caribbean, African, and Anglo-Saxon culture collide into an eclectic and vibrant melting pot of food, music, and architecture. You’ll never go hungry in “The Big Easy”, as Creole culture created a delectable cuisine of its own, including gumbo, jambalaya, beignets, po-boys, and etouffee that you won’t find anywhere else. Jazz awaits you on every corner of the French Quarter, floating through the cobblestone streets straight to the life of the party on Bourbon Street. Follow the Mississippi River north to Baton Rouge and Natchez, the historic gem of the waterway famous for its Antebellum mansions and early ancestry of the Natchez Indians.
The home of blues and rock ‘n’ roll awaits you in Memphis, where music legends like Aretha Franklin, B.B King, Louis Armstrong, and more once played on the streets and in the music halls of iconic Beale Street. Established during the Civil War era, this lively entertainment district was historically a hub for black culture and entertainment, and played a key role as a meeting place during the Civil Rights Movement for both business and pleasure. In Memphis you’ll also have a chance to visit Graceland, the home and resting place of Elvis Presley.
Your ears may pick up more of a twang as you head northeast to Nashville, straight to the heart of country music. Take a tour of a recording studio downtown while keeping your eyes peeled for the new faces of bluegrass before exploring Music City, whether that takes you to the Country Music Hall of Fame or the Grand Ole Opry.
Travel to the foothills of the Appalachians to Chattanooga and the banks of its wide river, a newly redesigned area boasting local eateries, sprawling greenery, and the expansive Tennessee Aquarium. You’ll enjoy an afternoon with a peaceful walk along its waters before returning to Atlanta, where your tour guide can help you plan your next steps forward in the American South.
