Grand Journey from the Deep South to Route 66

Our Grand Tour begins with a direct flight to Atlanta, so today you'll head to the airport and hop on a flight arriving in Atlanta later the same day.

We'll leave Georgia and head into Tennessee to the quintessential little town of Lynchburg. This is a true slice of unspoilt 50s America (well, the good parts) with its red-brick courthouse, general store and one traffic light. Lynchburg's famous landmark, known as Point of Honor, was home to Dr George Cabell Sr., the doctor of famous patriot Patrick Henry who famously said, 'give me liberty or give me death".

This charming town is a lovely place to just browse shops and grab a bite to eat before we visit Lynchburg's other claim to fame: the Jack Daniels Distillery.

Jack Daniel’s Distillery

We'll tour the site where Jack Daniel's Whiskey has been made since 1884 and find out what goes into making that signature oaky, sweet taste. What's interesting about the location of the distillery is that the county is 'dry', and locals are not allowed to consume the product they're most famous for.

Later, we'll continue across Tennessee's rolling green hills to 'Music City USA', Nashville.

The rapidly growing city of Nashville has a unique, go-getting attitude all of its own. Music drips from every pore, floating on the breeze from bars and restaurants. Today, we'll explore the city's music heritage, starting in the Country Music Hall of Fame. A huge museum of all things ‘Country and 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.

Music Row

Then, we'll head to the nearby Music Row, 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

Later, we'll visit Lower Broadway, 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’!

Say goodbye to Nashville and head to the far west of Tennessee to 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.

Sun Studio

This afternoon, we'll 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 stand in the spot where Elvis first recorded and see priceless memorabilia like Jerry Lee’s piano and Elvis’ microphone!

No doubt you've heard his music, now see the place Elvis called home on a visit to one of America's biggest tourist attractions, Graceland. The 'King' bought the Graceland mansion for $100,000 in 1957 when he was just 22 and it was his main home until he died. Today we'll explore the beautiful mansion, walk to the garden where he found peace, tour the aircraft that he travelled in from show to show and see his extensive classic car collection. You can uncover more about the musician's life through the legendary costumes, artefacts and personal mementoes from Elvis and his family. And pay your respects to the man himself at his grave.

National Civil Rights Museum

This afternoon, we'll step back into America's historical milestones, visiting the National Civil Rights Museum at The Lorraine Motel. We'll learn more about slavery, the boycotts, assassinations and black powerhouses that played a part in the history of the uprising that pushed national and international civil rights forward, while looking back on the momentous events that shaped the USA's future.

It was here Martin Luther King was shot on 4th April 1968. Five years previous on 28th August 1963, he delivered his famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech 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 passed a law prohibiting all racial discrimination.

This evening is at leisure but those in the know will want to head down to the Beale Street Entertainment District - three blocks of restaurants, shops and bars in the heart of downtown Memphis. It's a melting pot of delta blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll, R&B and gospel that has played host to some legendary live music - you can see why it's a National Historic Landmark district.

We'll be up early this morning to catch the renowned 'City of New Orleans' Amtrak train service to The Big Easy, travelling the history-laden musical crossroads of Mississippi to New Orleans — the birthplace of jazz. You'll be riding in the shadows of giants of American music like Louis Armstrong, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and Elvis Presley.

The double-decker, classic silver-coloured train carriages, so typical of the US, feature comfortable reclining armchairs with plenty of legroom, as well as a panoramic glass observation deck and dining car. Our journey takes us through vast forests, farms and the small southern towns lining the eastern bank of the Mississippi like pearls on a necklace. Nearing New Orleans, excitement mounts as we cross Lake Pontchartrain where, bizarrely, it appears like the train is travelling on the water.

New Orleans comes alive at night - and no, we're not talking about the ghosts and ghouls - the city stays up late and music is the language of the night. This evening is a chance to enjoy live music, catch a cabaret show or taste the city's traditional fare - crawfish etouffee or a hearty bowl of gumbo are always our go-to's.

Nestled in a bend on the Mississippi River, the first New Orleans settlers built their community in what is now the French Quarter. Thanks to their foresight, and the relatively high elevations, this historic Quarter has survived for over 300 years - it was even spared the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. So, it's the perfect place to get to know the history of the city, which we'll do on a walking tour this morning with an expert local guide.

The French heritage of the city shines brightest here in the military-style grid design, the central green spaces and street names like Bienville and Iberville. There's also plenty of evidence of its Spanish heritage - after a fire in the late 1700's the Spanish rebuilt many parts of the city in the newer architectural styles. You can see this in the Town Hall and the Presbytere (priests' residence). On our tour, we'll 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, the centre of the city’s nightlife.

A free day to relax in the ‘Big Easy’ and explore further afield.

We’ll leave New Orleans this morning, heading westwards along Louisiana’s Cajun country towards Texas, The Lone Star State. As we enter the outskirts of Houston, our first stop is at NASA’s world-famous Johnson Space Centre. For more than half a century, the Space Centre in Houston has led the USA and the world on a continuing adventure of scientific exploration and discovery, and it's still a working NASA base today. It's from there that the International Space Station is controlled.

On our visit, we'll see Mission Control, now restored to its 1965 look with all the original equipment and furniture – a unique experience - and a full-size Saturn V rocket, which famously has no onboard computer (they were just too big at the time). Plus, we'll gain insight into the testing and training each astronaut undergoes in the huge indoor training facility before they are allowed to visit the International Space Station.

We’ll continue further into the south Texas plains arriving in San Antonio this afternoon and checking into our hotel for a two-night stay.

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.

Today we’ll see the remains of the Alamo on a visit. Behind the church is the Alamo’s living history encampment. There are hands-on demonstrations about daily life at the time of the Texas Revolution – what they wore, medical practises and all the skills you’d need to survive.

Tonight, we’ll stay just around the corner from the Alamo and within easy walking distance to the charming River Walk area with its many bars and restaurants, ideal for trying out the region’s famed Tex-Mex cuisine.

Enjoy a day at leisure 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.

You could explore the missions and the Alamo.

Free time in Austin

We'll say goodbye to friendly San Antonio and travel north to Dallas, stopping in Austin - Texas's quirkiest city – with free time to explore.

Dallas

After arriving 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 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'll 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.

Today, we'll drive from Dallas to Amarillo, stopping at Palo Duro Canyon State Park.

Palo Duro is the second largest state park in America, named from the Spanish meaning ' hard stick'. It's often thought of as the Grand Canyon of Texas thanks to its size and dramatic geological features, like the steep mesa walls of the canyon. The entire park is full of lush vegetation with layers of orange and red rock that form the canyon walls, and we'll enjoy otherworldly vistas of colour and natural beauty as we travel some of the same trails used by Native Americans, early Spanish explorers, buffalo hunters and pioneers.

On our way out of Amarillo, we'll stop at Cadillac Ranch, a unique public art installation that's captured the imagination of travellers along Route 66 since 1974. A collaboration between the Panhandle native Stanley Marsh and the San Franciscan art group 'Ant Farm', inspired by the aesthetics and symbolism of Route 66, buried a line of Cadillacs nose-first in the ground. The cars, from the 1949 Club Sedan to the 1963 Sedan de Ville, face west in a straight line and stand nose first in the ground at an angle corresponding to the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. Unlike traditional art exhibits, we're invited to participate in the process by leaving our own mark on the cars.

Free time in Albuquerque

We’ll continue on to Albuquerque in New Mexico, Land of Enchantment, where we stay for one night. This evening you could take a trolley ride or a short walk down to the Old Town - 10 blocks of narrow streets lined with century-old houses, shops and government buildings. It looks much like it did when it was built, 70 years before the US Declaration of Independence was signed. You'll find a wide range of eateries in the Pueblo-Spanish-style architecture and flat roofs - the city is famous for its blend of Native American and Spanish flavours. You may hear the servers ask, "Red or green?" - they mean Albuquerque's signature ingredients: red and green chillies. (If you want to sound like a local, ask for "Christmas" for a mix of red and green chillies - assuming you can handle the heat!)

From Albuquerque, we'll travel to Williams passing towns like Gallup, which has a few monikers, including 'the most patriotic city in America' and 'Indian Capital of the World". Thanks to its location in the middle of a Navajo Reserve - and its long history of the area well before the city was founded - Gallup is responsible for more than 70% of the nation's Native American jewellery manufacturing, not to mention Navajo/Dine rugs, pottery from several tribes, paintings, and more. With 110 trading posts, shops and galleries in Gallup, it’s the undisputed Southwestern centre for authentic Native American art and the perfect place for a break on our road trip.

The Petrified National Forest

Our next stop will be the Petrified National Forest, best known for its Triassic fossils. It's like having two parks in one, in the south the colourful petrified wood of trees that are over 200 million years old; in the north the Painted Desert - an otherworldly paradise of colourful hills, flat-topped mesas and sculptured buttes created by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, wind erosion, and even torrential flooding.

Williams

We'll stay overnight in Williams, a small town nestled in the pine country of Arizona with a retro 1950s vibe. Here the high street is full of old-style shops and diners including six blocks of historic buildings and shops bursting with Route 66 memorabilia - the perfect place to pick up a few souvenirs.

Today, our road trip takes us off Route 66 and up to the Grand Canyon National Park, stopping at some of the best viewing points to provide different perspectives of the ever-changing panorama. Theodore Roosevelt called it "the one great sight which every American should see" (and who are we to argue).

With its red-layered rock, the Grand Canyon is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world - and standing at the Rim, it's not hard to see why. At an average of 10 miles across, up to a mile deep and 277 miles long, its massive 1,904 square miles make it bigger than the entire state of Rhode Island. You can enjoy a mindboggling series of shapes, colours and glaring desert light; contrasted with jet-black shadows, formed by pinnacles of rock interspersed with stark promontories.

While not much of the original Route 66 remains, we will drive along a section of the original Route 66 on our way to the airport this morning as we drive to Las Vegas for our flight home.

Arrive home today with memories of an incomparable tour full of the most extraordinary insights and experiences that the USA has to offer.