Experience the unique culture, history, music of America’s Deep South, home of the blues, plus the charms and classic images of Texas, the ‘Lone Star State’.
Take one of America’s classic ‘road trips’ exploring the Deep South, renowned for its gracious hospitality, its charming southern drawl, its unique Creole and Cajun cuisine and, of course, the most popular music genres of the 20th century – jazz, rock n’ roll, the blues and country.
Flying into Atlanta, Georgia, site of the 1996 Olympic Games, which really put the city on the map. In Memphis visit The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, an engaging cultural attraction of America’s historical milestones. Atlanta has a lovely laid-back southern charm and is the perfect start to a fascinating tour. We then travel through the rolling rich farmland of Tennessee, past the cotton fields of Mississippi to Louisiana’s moss covered bayous and the vast South Texas plains. You’ll stay in some of America’s most fascinating cities: Austin, Nashville, Memphis, the amazing New Orleans, as well as Houston, San Antonio and Dallas. We drive through state capital city of Texas, Austin, an inland city bordering the hill country.
We stay two nights in Nashville, known as Music City USA, the centre of the huge country music industry – where aspiring artists come to start their careers, songwriters try out their new songs and where anyone can walk into one of the myriad of live music venues and hear some of the best music-making in North America.
Not too far down the road lies another of America’s great musical cities – Memphis. Home of the remarkable Sun Studios that launched Elvis’ stratospheric rise to fame and the site of his sprawling home, Graceland; Memphis also played a pivotal and tragic role in the civil rights movement as the place where Martin Luther King was assassinated.
We stay three nights in New Orleans, ‘The Big Easy’ with its motto ‘Laissez les bons temps rouler’ – let the good times roll, depicts exactly what makes this city such a rewarding place to visit. Its famously progressive spirit and liberal attitudes date back to its French roots, when convicts were freed on condition that they settled there. Then it became an unruly smuggling enclave ensuring its rebellious streak continued to thrive. Always pushing the boundaries, it was inevitable the exceptional French, Spanish, American and African cultures fused so harmoniously producing a unique city which has given birth to jazz and its most famous son, the remarkable Louis Armstrong. It was also home to some of the greats of American literature such as Mark Twain and Tennessee Williams, who famously said that ‘America only has three cities, New York, San Francisco and New Orleans. All the rest are Cleveland!’
Our extension into the ‘Lone Star State’ of Texas includes a visit to the very soul of Texas – the Alamo, where in 1836 an estimated 183 men were killed by Mexican troops trying to prevent Texas from gaining its independence. As the second largest US state, Texas is unbelievably almost three times the size of the UK, and has a proud cowboy tradition dating from the 19th century. We discover this almost legendary western heritage during our visit to a working cattle ranch learning how the life and back-breaking work of cowboys evolved into the sport of rodeo, next we see the Fort Worth stockyards, in their heyday the world’s largest.
Who can ever forget the excitement, hope and sheer exhilaration the US gave the world during the 1960s and ‘70s at the height of its space program, the moonshots and those immortal phrases ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’ and of course probably the world’s most famous understatement, ‘Houston, we have a problem!’ We’ll tour the Johnson Space Centre and NASA’s ‘Mission Control’ from where the ill-fated Apollo 13 crew was saved from almost certain disaster by the innovative thinking of some of the best scientists and engineers in the world. It does not seem so long ago, but would you believe the return trajectory through the earth’s atmosphere was calculated using a ‘slide rule’ – how the world has changed! The space centre is still used today to train astronauts and develop the new technologies for future manned missions to Mars.
Finally it’s Dallas, which during the 1980s was the setting of the world’s most watched TV programme! However probably more famously, in 1963 the ’Big D’ was propelled to world attention when (allegedly!), Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy, for whatever reason we shall ultimately never know and after which it seemed the entire planet went into mourning – especially so when his son poignantly saluted his father’s coffin. We see the ‘grassy knoll’ and learn all about the events of that famous day.
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You should arrive at the airport for your flight to Atlanta and on arrival you will be met and transferred to the Holiday Inn Express hotel, in Downtown.
Driving into Tennessee to Lynchburg, this quintessential little town is a true slice of unspoilt ‘50s America, with its red-brick courthouse, general store and one traffic light! It’s a great place to just browse the shops and get a bite to eat before we visit Lynchburg’s claim to fame: the Jack Daniel Distillery. Obviously it’s where Jack Daniel’s whisky is made, since 1884 and a tour is a great experience. Interestingly, the county is ‘dry’ and locals are not allowed to consume the product they are most famous for! Continuing across Tennessee’s rolling green hills we soon arrive at ‘Music City USA’, Nashville, staying two nights at the three-star Courtyard by Marriott, with continental breakfast.
This evening, we enjoy an informal drinks reception followed by dinner for a chance to get to know our travel companions a little better.
In downtown Nashville we visit the Country Music Hall of Fame. A huge museum of all things ‘Country & Western’, it has floors of fascinating exhibits from the earliest days of country music to the megastars of today. There are films and videos of music’s greatest, with their life-stories and costumes. The famed Music Row is close by, lined with studios and record company offices, where we visit the legendary RCA Studio B, where Elvis recorded many of his greatest hits, followed by a ‘who’s who’ of recording superstars such as Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. Lower Broadway is Nashville’s nightlife centre, with stupendous live music in famous honky-tonk bars like Robert’s Western World and The Stage on Broadway and many more. There’s a fantastic atmosphere along the entire street and an evening here is a real ‘must’! Experience a country music show at the Grand Ole Opry. 'Pre-book only'
Today we say goodbye to Nashville and head to the far west of Tennessee and the city of Memphis and America’s artery, the Mississippi. From its earliest beginnings as a small French garrison, Memphis grew into a magnet for freed slaves after the Civil War and as a cotton trading centre. More infamously, in 1968 Martin Luther King visited to help in a sanitation workers strike and was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, now converted into the Civil Rights Museum.
This afternoon we have a guided tour around the birthplace of Rock n’ Roll – the legendary Sun Studio, where Elvis recorded his first hit. This insignificant, yet iconic 1950s building, was the starting point for Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison amongst others and is a designated National Historic Landmark. You can still see Jerry Lee’s piano and Elvis’ microphone! We stay in Memphis for two nights at the three-star Springhill by Marriott Memphis Downtown hotel.
Today we visit one of America’s biggest tourist attractions, Elvis’ Graceland. The ‘King’ bought the Graceland mansion for $100,000 in 1957 when he was just 22 and it was his main home until his death. From the time it opened to the public in 1982, Graceland has expanded to include Elvis’ private airplanes and his extensive car collection. One of the most iconic houses in America, Graceland’s Meditation Garden is also Elvis’ final resting place.
This afternoon we step back into America’s historical milestones visiting the National Civil Rights Museum at The Lorraine Motel. It was here Martin Luther King was shot on 4th April 1968. Five years previous on 28th August 1963 he delivered his famous speech “I have a dream” around the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC to a crowd of 250,000 people. The following year in 1964, King won the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through non-violent resistance. In that same year President Johnson got a law passed prohibiting all racial discrimination
This evening is at leisure to sample the music scene at Memphis’ famous Beale Street.
After an early start, this morning, we board a trusty coach to the legendary city of New Orleans. We'll journey through sprawling forests, passing charming farms and catching glimpses of the quaint 'southern' towns that dot the east bank of the mighty Mississippi River, like pearls on a necklace - each with its own story to tell. So sit back, relax, and soak in the scenery as we make our way to the heart and soul of the Big Easy!
New Orleans has a unique and distinctive charm. Its heady combination of rich culture, history and a vibrant atmosphere makes the city a must-see destination for any Americanophiles.
In the evening, why not step out and try New Orleans’ famed Cajun cuisine – there are plenty of fantastic restaurants.
This morning we have a walking tour of New Orleans’ famous French Quarter with an expert local guide. We see the charming art galleries and antique shops along Royal Street, the white stucco St Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square, full of artists, musicians and fortune tellers, and walk up the iconic Bourbon Street, centre of the city’s nightlife. The afternoon is free for you to explore this charming city at your leisure. In the evening why not step out and try New Orleans’ famed Cajun cuisine – there’s loads of fantastic restaurants. This evening you have the opportunity to enjoy an evening jazz cruise with dinner on board the Steamboat Natchez – New Orleans’ only steamboat.
A free day to relax in the ‘Big Easy’ and explore further afield. Alternatively, you may choose to visit some of the most fascinating Antebellum Plantations outside New Orleans combined with a fascinating boat tour of the nearby Louisiana swamps, known for their alligators, snapping turtles, experiencing close-up fauna including moss-draped cypresses in the native bayous of South Louisiana. Oak Alley Plantation is a National Historic Landmark and is considered to be the Deep South’s most spectacular mansion. Dating from 1839 with two rows of mighty oaks leading down towards the Mississippi River, the house has been fully restored to its magnificent 19th century opulence and grandeur.
We leave New Orleans this morning heading ever westwards along Louisiana’s Cajun country towards Texas. As we enter the outskirts of Houston, our first stop is at the world-famous NASA Johnson Space Centre, still a working NASA base from where the international space station is controlled. We visit ‘Mission Control’, now restored to its 1965 look with all the original equipment and furniture – a unique experience.
We also see a full-size Saturn V rocket which famously has no on-board computer, they were just too big at the time, plus the huge indoor training facility for the astronauts of the International Space Station. Tonight we stay at the nearby three-star Courtyard by Marriott NASA Clear Lake hotel.
We continue further into the south Texas plains arriving in San Antonio this afternoon. Originally settled by the Spanish who built a mission station here, the Alamo, whose name was destined to be one of the most evocative words in American history. It was here in 1836 that a seriously outnumbered group of settlers, including Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, were besieged by the Mexican army for nearly two weeks before they were overrun. Tonight we stay at the three-star Menger Hotel in San Antonio, including complimentary breakfast, just round the corner from the Alamo and within easy walking distance to the charming Riverwalk area with its many bars and restaurants, ideal for trying out the region’s famed Tex-Mex cuisine.
Enjoy a day at leisure to exploring the city of San Antonio.
Once a frontier settlement in the Wild West, San Antonio has become a city full of modern amenities. There's plenty of shopping to be done with upscale boutiques multiple shopping malls and the largest Mexican market in the USA. Just around the corner from our hotel is the city's famous River Walk stretching for more than 24km, The River Walk has shaded pathways that connect you to hundreds of shops, restaurants and hotels as well as historic landmarks, museums and attractions. In the North, you'll find museums filled with everything from Picasso to eastern memorabilia. To the South you'll find four UNESCO-protected Spanish missions that once provided shelter for the frontier settlers - and still provide some of the best birdwatching spots around.
This morning we say goodbye to friendly San Antonio and travel North to Dallas. On arrival in Dallas, we’ll visit the infamous Dealey Plaza, where President John F Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. The floor in the Texas Book Depository from where the fatal shots were fired has been converted into the excellent 6th Floor Museum dedicated to explaining the background and the events of that fateful day on the 22nd of November in 1963.
This afternoon we visit the historical Stockyard District. We challenge you to name anything that embodies Western heritage better than the Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District. With the original brick walkways and the wooden corrals, every inch of the Stockyards tells the history of Texas’s famous livestock industry.
Transfer to the airport for your return overnight flight.