Romantic Trails of the South

Welcome to New Orleans, Louisiana’s most important port city. People from all over the world have been arriving in New Orleans since the Sieur de Bienville laid out the city’s streets in 1718. The city today is a unique blend of Spanish, French, Caribbean, African and Anglo-Saxon influences. This is obvious in the food, architecture and of course, the music. Your Tour Director will be available to you in the evening to plan your stay in this charming and bustling city.

The day is yours to immerse yourself in the charm and excitement of one of America’s most unique cities. Your Tour Director will assist you with planning the day’s activities. Perhaps start the day with an early morning optional taking you to a famous Louisiana Plantation followed by a Jazz Brunch in the Quarter. Enjoy window shopping along Royal Street’s art galleries, or while away the day lazily sipping coffee in the Cafe Du Monde. Take a stroll along the Mississippi River or ride the St. Charles street car through the Garden District, an area known for its magnificent architecture.

Today you will enter the state of Mississippi as you travel towards Natchez. Every year thousands of people come to Natchez for the pilgrimages that offer visits of the many Antebellum homes in the area. The gracious citizens open their homes, which have been lovingly restored, so that visitors can get a glimpse of the southern prosperous life. The town itself is a great example of late 19th century architecture. Enjoy a stroll through town and peek into the charming shops.

Leave Natchez and drive on to Memphis. As a large river port, it was one of the most important links in the cotton trade before the Civil War. Memphis is also known as the “Home of the Blues.” It was here that W. C. Handy first played his Memphis Blues and many other tunes that earned him the reputation of “Father of the Blues”. A brief city tour will take you to the city’s liveliest street, Beale Street, where the Blues and other types of music are played nightly in almost a dozen clubs. Travel along historic Front Street, known as Cotton Row in the days when cotton traders and merchants conducted business here. Look across the Mississippi River to Arkansas as Hernando De Soto did in 1541, as the first European to see the Big River. Of course, no visit to Memphis would be complete without a visit to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley (optional).

Today you will continue on to Nashville, known as the capital of country music. The city earned its title with the first airing of the WSM Barn Dance radio program, the forerunner of the Grand Ole Opry. The renovated Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, once home of the Grand Ole Opry, the studios near Music Row, and Opryland itself attest to Nashville’s reputation as the most  important city in country music.

Leaving Music City, we head to Chattanooga, home to the famous Choo Choo and which has received national recognition for the renaissance of its beautiful downtown and redevelopment of its riverfront. You will have an opportunity for lunch here (optional). Our trails lead us to Atlanta, Georgia via Roswell, home to Bulloch Hall, one of the outstanding plantation homes of the area (admission included).

Your Tour Director will be available to assist you in arranging individual transfers to Atlanta International Airport or with sightseeing recommendations for the day should you want to enjoy this great city further. We hope you have had a memorable journey and look forward to the opportunity to host your next visit to America.