The Deep South

It’s hard to imagine a more seductive city than New Orleans – a rich melting pot of French, Spanish, Creole, and Southern styles. Arrive for Mardi Gras to experience one of America’s most spectacular celebrations; a season of parades and carnivals that runs from Twelfth Night to Shrove Tuesday. But New Orleans is wonderful year-round, from the lively French Quarter’s narrow 1720s cobbled streets, faded buildings and wrought-iron balconies to the constant presence of jazz spilling out of bars, playing on street corners, and hanging in the air on paddle-steamer cruises down the Mississippi River.

While Louisiana’s music scene is also renowned, the state holds a significant place in civil rights history, too. The Louisiana Civil Rights Trail, established in 2021, commemorates the sites and pivotal figures that blazed a trail for equal rights in the 20th century, including the marker outside the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge, where the first bus boycott took place.

Heading to Mississippi, you’ll find Natchez, known for its grand plantation homes that survived the Civil War when the city surrendered without a fight. From here, any Elvis fans can visit Tupelo, his birthplace, or travel to Graceland, his world-renowned mansion in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis, famous for its many music landmarks, is also home to the Rock ’n’ Soul Museum, Beale Street’s live music venues, and Sun Studio, which discovered legends like Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Roy Orbison.

For a different kind of tune, continue to Nashville, the heart of country music and home of the Grand Ole Opry, the world’s longest-running live radio show. Recent years have seen a boom in new attractions here, including the National Museum of African American Music and revitalised neighbourhoods like The Gulch, adding a progressive, renaissance flair to its stalwart Southern charms.

With a captivating mix of Southern charm, history, and music, Alabama adds even more depth to the region’s story. Civil rights landmarks such as the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery and the Civil Rights Institute in Birmingham tell stories of courage and change, while the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, and the iconic FAME recording studios reverberate with musical legacy. Add in the stunning Appalachian Mountains, Birmingham’s thriving arts and culinary scene, as well as Huntsville’s U.S. Space & Rocket Center, and Alabama emerges as a destination that has it all.