Crossroads of the South

Fly from the UK to Atlanta, then drive to Chattanooga.

Start in Chattanooga, where the Tennessee River winds beneath Lookout Mountain. You'll spend two nights at The Hotel Chalet, a restored railway terminal turned hotel with plenty of character. Walk the Tennessee Riverwalk, wander Rock City Gardens, and ride the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, which climbs a 72.7% grade near the summit, making it one of the steepest passenger railways in the world. The views from the top take in the whole valley.

Nashville puts you right in Music City, staying at Holston House, an art deco hotel a short walk from Broadway. You'll go behind the curtain on a guided backstage tour of the Grand Ole Opry House, where generations of country music's biggest names have performed. Broadway itself runs on live music from late morning to midnight, with a different band behind every honky tonk door.

In Memphis, you'll stay at The Guest House at Graceland, just steps from Elvis Presley's mansion. The Elvis' Graceland Experience with Airplanes takes you through the house and his private jets, a fuller picture of his life than most visitors expect. Beale Street comes alive after dark, its blues bars spilling music out onto the pavement until the early hours.

Jackson, known locally as the City of Soul, is your stop for one night at the Old Capitol Inn, a boutique hotel with rooftop views. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum sets out one of the state's defining chapters clearly and honestly, while the Eudora Welty House gives an insight into the city's literary history. Capitol Street's older buildings are worth a slow walk before you move on.

Natchez sits on a bend of the Mississippi River and is one of the best preserved towns of its kind in the South. You'll spend one night at the Dunleith Historic Inn, itself a restored antebellum estate with oak lined grounds. The historic homes, quiet streets and riverfront views here move at a different pace to the rest of the trip, and that's very much the point.

New Orleans is where Crossroads of the South finds its heart. You'll spend two nights at the Hotel Monteleone, a French Quarter landmark just steps from Bourbon Street, Jackson Square and the Mississippi riverfront. One morning starts with a Jazz Brunch at the Court of Two Sisters, a live trio playing beneath a wisteria covered courtyard while you work through a Creole buffet that's been drawing locals and visitors alike for generations. Beyond that, the French Quarter is made for slow exploring, powdered beignets at Café du Monde, brass bands drifting out of doorways on Frenchmen Street, and streets that seem to hum even when nothing in particular is happening.

The pace slows further at Gulf Shores, where you'll spend two nights at The Lodge at Gulf State Park, set among dunes and coastal pine forest. Days here are yours to shape, whether that's stretches of quiet beach or the nature trails running through the park behind it. After the density of New Orleans, this stretch of the Gulf Coast gives you room to breathe.

ends in Montgomery, with two nights at the Trilogy Hotel and a 2 Day Montgomery Attraction Pass included. The Rosa Parks Museum and the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church mark two of the most significant sites of the Civil Rights Movement, and both are given the space and context they deserve. It's a considered final stop, closing a trip that has moved through music, food and history in equal measure.

Drive from Montgomery to Atlanta, then fly to the UK.