Alabama & the Sounds of the South

Your journey through the American South begins in New Orleans, where you'll spend your first two nights discovering one of America's most distinctive cities.

Arriving in the mid to late afternoon, make your way to your hotel and enjoy a relaxed first evening. With no need for a car during your stay, you're free to start exploring on foot and soak up the atmosphere of the French Quarter, where historic buildings, colourful balconies and lively streets provide an unforgettable introduction to the city.

The following day is yours to experience New Orleans at your own pace. Explore Jackson Square and the surrounding French Quarter, stroll along the Mississippi River or ride one of the city's historic streetcars. Food is an essential part of the experience, from Creole and Cajun cooking to beignets and classic local dishes, while those wanting to delve deeper into the city's story can discover its fascinating cultural and architectural heritage.

Music provides the perfect soundtrack to your stay. As evening arrives, head towards Frenchmen Street, where jazz, blues and live performances spill from intimate venues, or find a restaurant and simply enjoy the unmistakable energy of the city.

This morning, collect your hire car and leave New Orleans behind as your road trip gets underway. Travel east along the Gulf Coast towards Mobile, your first stop in Alabama and home for the next two nights.

On arrival, begin discovering a city shaped by more than 300 years of history. Explore the characterful streets of Downtown Mobile, admire the architecture of the city's historic districts and learn about Mobile's claim as the birthplace of America's original Mardi Gras celebrations at the Mobile Carnival Museum. For a different perspective on the city's past, visit USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, where the enormous battleship USS Alabama forms the centrepiece of an impressive collection of military history.

With a full day to explore, there is also time to discover Mobile's connection with the water. Visit the waterfront, explore the city's museums and galleries or venture across Mobile Bay to experience some of the communities and coastal landscapes surrounding the city. Nature lovers can discover the extraordinary biodiversity of the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, one of the largest river deltas and wetland ecosystems in the United States, with guided boat trips offering opportunities to experience its waterways and wildlife.

Back in the city, enjoy Mobile's growing food scene, where Gulf seafood and Southern flavours feature prominently. As evening arrives, the restaurants, bars and entertainment venues around Dauphin Street provide an atmospheric place to round off your first taste of Alabama.

Leave Mobile this morning and travel north through the heart of Alabama towards Montgomery, the state capital and your home for the next two nights.

Montgomery occupies an extraordinary place in American history. It was here that Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her bus seat helped ignite the Montgomery Bus Boycott, while Dr Martin Luther King Jr. served as pastor of Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church. Visit the Rosa Parks Museum, walk the streets where pivotal moments in the Civil Rights Movement unfolded and see the Alabama State Capitol, where the Selma to Montgomery marches concluded in 1965.

Allow time for the powerful Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice, which explore the history and continuing legacy of racial inequality in America. Together with the city's other Civil Rights landmarks, they make Montgomery one of the most important destinations in the country for understanding this chapter of American history.

There is much more to discover beyond Montgomery's Civil Rights story. Music fans can visit the Hank Williams Museum, while the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum reveals another fascinating connection to American culture. Explore the revitalised downtown and riverfront areas, discover local restaurants and experience the modern city that has grown around its remarkable history.

With two nights here, you'll have time to experience both sides of Montgomery: a place where some of America's most consequential stories unfolded and a welcoming Southern capital continuing to write its next chapter.

Leave Montgomery behind and continue north to Birmingham, Alabama's largest city and your base for the next two nights.

Birmingham played a defining role in the American Civil Rights Movement, and the Birmingham Civil Rights District provides an essential starting point for understanding that story. Visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, see the historic 16th Street Baptist Church and spend time in Kelly Ingram Park, where sculptures and memorials recall the people and events that helped bring national attention to the struggle for equality.

Beyond its Civil Rights heritage, discover a city that has reinvented itself from its industrial beginnings. Birmingham grew rapidly around the iron and steel industries, a story brought to life at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, while Vulcan Park and Museum combines the city's industrial history with panoramic views from beneath its enormous cast-iron statue overlooking Birmingham.

Today, that heritage sits alongside one of the South's most exciting food scenes. Explore revitalised neighbourhoods, independent shops, breweries and restaurants showcasing everything from Alabama barbecue and Southern favourites to contemporary cuisine.

Sports fans can also visit the Negro Southern League Museum, celebrating the history of African American baseball, while the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum houses an extraordinary collection of motorcycles and racing cars.

With two nights in Birmingham, there is time to experience a city where powerful history, Southern flavours, sport and a renewed creative energy come together.

Leave Birmingham this morning and continue north towards Huntsville, where a completely different side of the state awaits.

Known as Rocket City, Huntsville played a pivotal role in America's space programme and remains one of the country's leading centres for aerospace and technology. Make the U.S. Space & Rocket Center the centrepiece of your visit, where an extraordinary collection of rockets, spacecraft and exhibits tells the story of America's journey into space, from the early days of the Space Race to the missions of today.

Afterwards, discover more of the city itself. Wander through the historic Twickenham District, explore the shops, restaurants and entertainment at MidCity District, or head to Campus No. 805, a former school transformed into a lively collection of breweries, restaurants and entertainment venues.

For those who prefer some time outdoors, Huntsville Botanical Garden provides a peaceful contrast to the city's high-tech attractions, while nearby Monte Sano State Park offers walking trails and elevated views across the surrounding landscape.

Spend the evening enjoying Huntsville's restaurants and craft beer scene before continuing west tomorrow towards one of the most important musical destinations in the American South.

Leave Huntsville this morning and travel west across northern Alabama towards Muscle Shoals and The Shoals, a collection of communities whose influence on American music reaches far beyond their size.

At the heart of your two-night stay is the area's remarkable recording history. Visit FAME Recording Studios, where artists including Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett and Etta James recorded, before touring Muscle Shoals Sound Studio at 3614 Jackson Highway, created by the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. Together, these studios tell the story of the distinctive Muscle Shoals Sound and the musicians, producers and performers who helped shape soul, rock and popular music.

There is more to The Shoals than its recording studios. Across the Tennessee River in Florence, explore an attractive downtown filled with independent shops, restaurants and local character. Music fans can also visit the W.C. Handy Birthplace, Museum & Library, celebrating the Florence-born musician known as the "Father of the Blues".

Architecture provides another fascinating connection to the region's cultural story. Rosenbaum House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is one of Alabama's architectural treasures and offers a striking contrast to the area's musical heritage.

You could also spend time beside the Tennessee River, discover the wider communities of Florence, Sheffield and Tuscumbia, or visit Ivy Green, the birthplace and childhood home of Helen Keller.

With two nights in The Shoals, there is time to go beyond the famous studios and discover a corner of Alabama where music, history, architecture and Southern culture have created an influence felt around the world.

Leave The Shoals behind this morning and cross into Mississippi as you make your way towards Corinth for an overnight stay.

The journey takes you into an area that played a major role in the American Civil War. Before reaching Corinth, consider visiting Shiloh National Military Park, site of one of the war's most significant early battles. Explore the battlefield, historic sites and visitor exhibits to understand the events of April 1862 and why control of this part of the South was so strategically important.

Continue to Corinth, a small Mississippi city whose location at the junction of two important railroads made it a crucial prize during the Civil War. Visit the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center, which tells the story of the Battle of Corinth, the wider conflict in the region and the experiences of those whose lives were transformed by the war.

Allow some time to explore historic downtown Corinth, with its locally owned shops, restaurants and traditional Main Street character. For a taste of local Americana, stop at Borroum's Drug Store, established in 1865 and one of Mississippi's oldest operating drugstores, where its old-fashioned soda fountain recalls another era.

Your overnight stay in Corinth provides an interesting bridge between the music and cultural heritage of northern Alabama and the blues, soul and rock 'n' roll history awaiting you in Memphis.

Leave Corinth this morning and continue north-west towards Memphis, where you'll spend the next two nights discovering a city that has changed the course of American music.

Music is woven into the fabric of Memphis. Visit Sun Studio, where Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins helped shape the sound of rock 'n' roll, before heading to Graceland to explore the life and legacy of Elvis Presley. At the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, discover the story of the legendary record label behind artists including Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes and Booker T. & the M.G.'s.

Memphis also played a pivotal role in the American Civil Rights Movement. The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Dr Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, provides a powerful exploration of the struggle for equality and creates a natural continuation of the Civil Rights history experienced earlier in Montgomery and Birmingham.

Allow time to experience the city beyond its museums. Walk along the Mississippi River, see the famous Peabody Ducks, sample authentic Memphis barbecue and head to Beale Street, where blues clubs and live music continue a musical tradition stretching back generations.

With two nights in Memphis, you'll discover how blues, soul, gospel and rock 'n' roll came together in one extraordinary city, continuing the musical story that began in Alabama's Muscle Shoals before the journey heads towards its final stop in Nashville.

Leave Memphis this morning and travel east across Tennessee towards Nashville, where your journey concludes with two nights in Music City.

Nashville's musical heritage provides a fitting finale to a road trip that has already followed the sounds of jazz, blues, soul, rock 'n' roll and the legendary recording history of Muscle Shoals. Visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum to discover the artists and songs that shaped country music, tour the historic RCA Studio B, where Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton and many other stars recorded, or step inside the Ryman Auditorium, one of America's most celebrated music venues.

For another perspective on the city's musical story, explore the National Museum of African American Music, which traces the influence of Black musicians across gospel, blues, jazz, R&B and other genres that have helped shape American music.

There is plenty to experience beyond Nashville's musical landmarks. Explore the restaurants, boutiques and neighbourhoods beyond Downtown, discover the city's thriving food scene or visit Centennial Park, home to Nashville's remarkable full-scale replica of the Parthenon.

As evening arrives, experience the live music for which the city is famous. Head to the honky-tonks of Lower Broadway, seek out one of Nashville's smaller songwriter venues or, if your dates allow, spend an evening at the legendary Grand Ole Opry.

After travelling from New Orleans through the heart of Alabama and onwards through Mississippi and Tennessee, Nashville provides the perfect place to celebrate the final nights of a journey shaped by Southern history, culture, food and some of America's greatest musical stories.

Enjoy a final morning in Nashville before making your way to the airport. Depending on your flight time, there may be an opportunity for a final breakfast, some last-minute shopping or one more stroll through Music City.

Return your hire car at Nashville International Airport and check in for your return flight to the UK, bringing an unforgettable journey through the American South to an end.

Not Ready to Go Home?
Your adventure doesn't have to end in Nashville. Extend your road trip further into Tennessee and discover the spectacular landscapes and mountain communities of the east of the state.

Head towards Knoxville, combining Southern culture, food and a lively downtown with easy access to the mountains, before continuing to Pigeon Forge and nearby Gatlinburg.

From here, spend a few days exploring Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where forest-covered mountains, waterfalls, wildlife, scenic drives and walking trails reveal another side of the American South.

Whether you add a few nights in the Smokies, combine Knoxville and Pigeon Forge or create a longer Tennessee road trip, a Discover North America Travel Specialist can tailor the extension around how much more you'd like to see.