Lafayette
Situated on the Vermilion River about 115 mi/185 km west of New Orleans, Lafayette, Louisiana, is the center and de facto capital of Cajun Country—the area settled by French Acadians in the 1700s. There are several sights of note in the immediate Lafayette area, and the town serves as a good base for exploring the true treasures of Acadiana—the smaller towns located within a 30-mi/50-km radius.
To the north of Lafayette is the Cajun Prairie region, which is made up of smaller towns that retain their French Acadian heritage. This is a largely rural area where cattle graze contentedly and flooded rice fields double as crawfish farms.
The tranquil formal gardens of the Academy of the Sacred Heart draw travelers to the town of Grand Coteau. Fans of percussive zydeco music will gravitate toward the towns of Opelousas and Plaisance, where living legends of the style play in dance halls. Traditional Cajun music (less electrified than zydeco but no less danceable) is also a big draw in the area. Fans of the music get up early on Saturday morning to hit Fred's Bar in Mamou, a microscopic barroom-turned-dance-hall that hosts an early-morning radio program that's popular with locals and visitors alike.
Up the road in Eunice, the beautifully restored Liberty Theater features the Saturday-night radio program Rendez-vous des Cajuns. Host and folklorist Barry Jean Ancelet takes the stage 6-8 pm for a live broadcast of Cajun music, stories and culture.
Greenwood
Visit Greenwood, Mississippi, where sites and locations were used in Oscar-winning movie The Help, and many of the city's downtown buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Muscle Shoals Area, AL
A lot of regional culture flows through this area, which was once known for a treacherous series of rapids on the Tennessee River. (The rapids have since been tamed by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Tennessee Valley Authority—the area's Wilson Dam has one of the world's highest single-lift navigation locks.)
Florence, the chief retail center, began as a trading post on a stagecoach route. Travelers today can see the old stagecoach stop, which was built by slaves in the early 1800s. It's now Pope's Tavern Museum, specializing in Civil War memorabilia and antiques (phone 256-760-6439). From the top of the Renaissance Tower, you'll be able to look out over the Tennessee Valley. (There's a restaurant at the top, an aquarium on the second level and a number of high-tech exhibits on the ground floor.) We also suggest that you see the Indian Mound Museum (phone 256-760-6427). At 43 ft/13 m high, the burial mound there is the largest on the Tennessee River (with artifacts dating back 10,000 years). We consider it an absolute must to visit the W.C. Handy Home and Museum, where the Father of the Blues was born—the museum contains his trumpet and the piano he used to compose "St. Louis Blues" (phone 256-760-6434). Florence holds the W.C. Handy Music Festival, a weeklong celebration of music, in August. About 20 mi/32 km east of Florence, in Rogersville, is Joe Wheeler State Park, which overlooks the scenic Tennessee River.
From Florence, drive to Tuscumbia (named for a Chickasaw chief). This town is most famous as the birthplace of Helen Keller. We think it's worth a visit to see Ivy Green, the Keller birthplace and shrine. On June and July weekends, actors perform the play The Miracle Worker. The Alabama Music Hall of Fame is in Tuscumbia and pays tribute to the state's musical heritage. Phone 800-239-2643. http://www.alamhof.org.
In nearby Sheffield, you'll find several legendary rhythm-and-blues recording studios. (Local musician Percy Sledge cut "When a Man Loves a Woman" in one of them.) The best known is Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, which has been the scene of some of the great moments in R&B. Many recording artists (such as Paul Simon, the Rolling Stones, Bob Seger and Aretha Franklin) have sequestered themselves in the area just for the chance to record with the studio's regular lineup of session players. Phone 256-783-2641. http://muscleshoalssound.org.
About 20 mi/32 km southwest is the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard, started in 1937 when a dog named Troop was laid to rest there. It's now the final resting place of nearly 200 coon dogs. Phone 256-383-0783. http://www.coondogcemetery.com.
Ancient canyon walls light up like a starry sky with tiny bioluminescent creatures known as Dismalites at Dismals Canyon 34 mi/55 km south of Florence. This is one of the few places outside New Zealand where these interesting insects exist. A secluded, natural retreat, Dismals Canyon has been designated as a National Natural Landmark by the Natural Park Service. Phone 205-993-4559. http://www.dismalscanyon.com. The Muscle Shoals area is approximately 100 mi/160 km northwest of Birmingham.
Nashville
Nashville is the perfect destination for all kinds of visitors - from music lovers to history buffs to Southern lovers to sports enthusiasts and nature lovers. Nashville is the Country Music capital of the world. Have fun searching through the past or getting close to the Country Music stars of the present. Hike, bike, golf, go for a balloon ride and take tours guiding you through the history of country music. View homes of current stars including: Joe Diffie, Bryan White, Brooks & Dunn, Lorrie Morgan, George Jones, Reba McEntire, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Marty Stuart, Dolly Parton and more. Find tons of historic sites from the Civil War dating back to the 1700s.
Memphis
Memphis is known as the home of Elvis Presley and as birth place of the blues. Don't forget to travel down Beale Street and listen to some of the worlds best blues bands. Hike, bike, golf, go for a balloon ride and take tours through the history of Elvis Presley's life. Don't forget some great sites in Memphis such as: Alex Haley's Home, Beale Street, and the W.C. Handy Home. Take a trip to the Memphis Zoo or jump on exiting amusement park rides at Libertyland Amusement Park.
New Orleans
New Orleans is a happy, high-spirited city with the pulsing beat of Dixieland jazz. It delights visitors with its riverboats, Creole cuisine, quaint antique shops and narrow streets of the French Quarter. While here, be sure to take a ride on one of the picturesque trolley cars. Eccentric, elegant New Orleans is strongly connected to both the Mississippi River and the South, but its identity remains aloof from any regional or even national affiliation. It reminds some visitors of European cities, in part because French and Spanish colonial architecture adds an Old World backdrop to some streets. But the feeling of foreignness goes deeper: The celebrated New Orleans atmosphere, cuisine, music, traditions and lifestyle are rooted in an embrace of the decadent and assimilation of the unconventional. New Orleans welcomes all, but is familiar to none, and the result is a city which attracts the romantic, the spiritual, the wild and the inquisitive—all while successfully promoting itself as corporate America’s playground. No matter what is expected from a visit to New Orleans, no one goes home disappointed.
Situated on the Vermilion River about 115 mi/185 km west of New Orleans, Lafayette, Louisiana, is the center and de facto capital of Cajun Country—the area settled by French Acadians in the 1700s. There are several sights of note in the immediate Lafayette area, and the town serves as a good base for exploring the true treasures of Acadiana—the smaller towns located within a 30-mi/50-km radius.
To the north of Lafayette is the Cajun Prairie region, which is made up of smaller towns that retain their French Acadian heritage. This is a largely rural area where cattle graze contentedly and flooded rice fields double as crawfish farms.
The tranquil formal gardens of the Academy of the Sacred Heart draw travelers to the town of Grand Coteau. Fans of percussive zydeco music will gravitate toward the towns of Opelousas and Plaisance, where living legends of the style play in dance halls. Traditional Cajun music (less electrified than zydeco but no less danceable) is also a big draw in the area. Fans of the music get up early on Saturday morning to hit Fred's Bar in Mamou, a microscopic barroom-turned-dance-hall that hosts an early-morning radio program that's popular with locals and visitors alike.
Up the road in Eunice, the beautifully restored Liberty Theater features the Saturday-night radio program Rendez-vous des Cajuns. Host and folklorist Barry Jean Ancelet takes the stage 6-8 pm for a live broadcast of Cajun music, stories and culture.
Visit Greenwood, Mississippi, where sites and locations were used in Oscar-winning movie The Help, and many of the city's downtown buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
A lot of regional culture flows through this area, which was once known for a treacherous series of rapids on the Tennessee River. (The rapids have since been tamed by the Army Corps of Engineers and the Tennessee Valley Authority—the area's Wilson Dam has one of the world's highest single-lift navigation locks.)
Florence, the chief retail center, began as a trading post on a stagecoach route. Travelers today can see the old stagecoach stop, which was built by slaves in the early 1800s. It's now Pope's Tavern Museum, specializing in Civil War memorabilia and antiques (phone 256-760-6439). From the top of the Renaissance Tower, you'll be able to look out over the Tennessee Valley. (There's a restaurant at the top, an aquarium on the second level and a number of high-tech exhibits on the ground floor.) We also suggest that you see the Indian Mound Museum (phone 256-760-6427). At 43 ft/13 m high, the burial mound there is the largest on the Tennessee River (with artifacts dating back 10,000 years). We consider it an absolute must to visit the W.C. Handy Home and Museum, where the Father of the Blues was born—the museum contains his trumpet and the piano he used to compose "St. Louis Blues" (phone 256-760-6434). Florence holds the W.C. Handy Music Festival, a weeklong celebration of music, in August. About 20 mi/32 km east of Florence, in Rogersville, is Joe Wheeler State Park, which overlooks the scenic Tennessee River.
From Florence, drive to Tuscumbia (named for a Chickasaw chief). This town is most famous as the birthplace of Helen Keller. We think it's worth a visit to see Ivy Green, the Keller birthplace and shrine. On June and July weekends, actors perform the play The Miracle Worker. The Alabama Music Hall of Fame is in Tuscumbia and pays tribute to the state's musical heritage. Phone 800-239-2643. http://www.alamhof.org.
In nearby Sheffield, you'll find several legendary rhythm-and-blues recording studios. (Local musician Percy Sledge cut "When a Man Loves a Woman" in one of them.) The best known is Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, which has been the scene of some of the great moments in R&B. Many recording artists (such as Paul Simon, the Rolling Stones, Bob Seger and Aretha Franklin) have sequestered themselves in the area just for the chance to record with the studio's regular lineup of session players. Phone 256-783-2641. http://muscleshoalssound.org.
About 20 mi/32 km southwest is the Key Underwood Coon Dog Memorial Graveyard, started in 1937 when a dog named Troop was laid to rest there. It's now the final resting place of nearly 200 coon dogs. Phone 256-383-0783. http://www.coondogcemetery.com.
Ancient canyon walls light up like a starry sky with tiny bioluminescent creatures known as Dismalites at Dismals Canyon 34 mi/55 km south of Florence. This is one of the few places outside New Zealand where these interesting insects exist. A secluded, natural retreat, Dismals Canyon has been designated as a National Natural Landmark by the Natural Park Service. Phone 205-993-4559. http://www.dismalscanyon.com. The Muscle Shoals area is approximately 100 mi/160 km northwest of Birmingham.
Nashville is the perfect destination for all kinds of visitors - from music lovers to history buffs to Southern lovers to sports enthusiasts and nature lovers. Nashville is the Country Music capital of the world. Have fun searching through the past or getting close to the Country Music stars of the present. Hike, bike, golf, go for a balloon ride and take tours guiding you through the history of country music. View homes of current stars including: Joe Diffie, Bryan White, Brooks & Dunn, Lorrie Morgan, George Jones, Reba McEntire, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Marty Stuart, Dolly Parton and more. Find tons of historic sites from the Civil War dating back to the 1700s.
Memphis is known as the home of Elvis Presley and as birth place of the blues. Don't forget to travel down Beale Street and listen to some of the worlds best blues bands. Hike, bike, golf, go for a balloon ride and take tours through the history of Elvis Presley's life. Don't forget some great sites in Memphis such as: Alex Haley's Home, Beale Street, and the W.C. Handy Home. Take a trip to the Memphis Zoo or jump on exiting amusement park rides at Libertyland Amusement Park.
New Orleans is a happy, high-spirited city with the pulsing beat of Dixieland jazz. It delights visitors with its riverboats, Creole cuisine, quaint antique shops and narrow streets of the French Quarter. While here, be sure to take a ride on one of the picturesque trolley cars. Eccentric, elegant New Orleans is strongly connected to both the Mississippi River and the South, but its identity remains aloof from any regional or even national affiliation. It reminds some visitors of European cities, in part because French and Spanish colonial architecture adds an Old World backdrop to some streets. But the feeling of foreignness goes deeper: The celebrated New Orleans atmosphere, cuisine, music, traditions and lifestyle are rooted in an embrace of the decadent and assimilation of the unconventional. New Orleans welcomes all, but is familiar to none, and the result is a city which attracts the romantic, the spiritual, the wild and the inquisitive—all while successfully promoting itself as corporate America’s playground. No matter what is expected from a visit to New Orleans, no one goes home disappointed.
