Tennessee Music Trail to New Orleans

Reiseverlauf 2024

1. Tag 1

   Nashville

   <
   Welcome to Nashville, Tennessee! This energetic city celebrates boot-scooting, whiskey shooting and rootin’-tootin’ country music like nowhere else. Your adventure kicks off with a welcome meeting at 10am, where you’ll meet up with your local leader and the other travellers joining you on your journey, then it’s time to dive straight into the city’s history with a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame. This fabulous piano-shaped building is a work of art in itself, and contains Elvis’s gold Cadillac among other impressive memorabilia. While here you’ll pay a visit to Studio B – Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison and “The King” Elvis Presley have all laid tracks in this studio, and today you’ll be joining this prestigious list. Meet with a professional sound engineer for your own recording session and find out what it takes to create the Nashville sound. Enjoy a free afternoon to explore the city – you may like to check out the Nashville murals, visit the much-loved Goo Goo candy store, or swing by the Johnny Cash Museum. Get back together in the evening for  an optional dinner (at your own expense) with your group and leader at a local restaurant.
2. Tag 2

   Memphis

   <
   Hit the road this morning and make tracks for Memphis, Tennessee, a city overflowing with musical history and legends. If time allows, your first stop on arrival will be Sun Studio. This studio may be tiny, but its impact on the world of music is immeasurable. BB King, Johnny Cash, Howlin' Wolf and Elvis Presley have all recorded here, and the studio claims to be the 'Birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll' (and they may just be right!). The rest of the day is yours to discover the sights and sounds of Memphis. No visit to this city would be complete without checking out Beale Street, lined with traditional blues clubs – ask your leader where the locals hang out so you can avoid the tourist hotspots.
3. Tag 3

   Memphis

   <
   After breakfast this morning, head to Memphis’s most iconic site – Graceland! Elvis’s former home and his final resting place, a visit to Graceland is like stepping back into the 1970s, with a glamourous and kitschy twist. Explore a fascinating world of green shag-carpet ceilings and yellow vinyl walls while getting a sneak peek into the glitzy side of the Deep South. Then it’s time for a change of pace as you leave Graceland and visit the National Civil Rights Museum at the former Lorraine Motel – where Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated – for a dose of history that is both confronting and inspirational. The rest of the afternoon is free for your own discoveries – your leader will have some tips on how to get the most out of this lively city.
4. Tag 4

   New Orleans

   <
   Today you’ll be road-tripping from Memphis to New Orleans, enjoying some charming Southern scenery along the way. Stop off en route to tuck into some classic Southern food for lunch, then arrive into New Orleans in the early afternoon. Jazz is not just a part of the city’s history – it’s alive and kicking today. You will join a local expert guide as you take a scenic stroll around the beautiful Louis Armstrong park and check out Frenchmen Street’s most happening music venues. The evening is yours to further explore this fascinating city – your leader will have some great recommendations on where to grab a bite to eat and listen to live music.
5. Tag 5

   New Orleans

   <
   Today begins with a visit to the Whitney Plantation, where you’ll learn about what life was like for those enslaved on a Louisiana sugarcane plantation. With a focus on the lives of slaves rather than the opulent house the slave owners lived in, exploring this plantation is a sobering and eye-opening experience. You’ll then enjoy an afternoon at leisure – you may like to see a wilder side of the city and take a kayaking tour through the surrounding swamps. This evening you’re in for a real treat – not only famed for its music scene, the food in New Orleans is some of the best in the country. This evening you’ll learn how to create one of the region’s most beloved dishes, a crawfish boil, then tuck into the finished product for your dinner. Perhaps take the chance to reminisce with your group about all you’ve seen, heard and tasted on your adventure.
6. Tag 6

   New Orleans

   <
   Just like a good song, your adventure must come to an end, with things wrapping up this morning. If you’d like to spend more time exploring New Orleans, just get in touch ahead of time and we can arrange additional accommodation (subject to availability).