Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Southern USA
The story of the Smoky Mountains began in primordial times when clashing supersized continents created a chain of mountains that are today among the…
Must-see attractions in Southern USA
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
In Appalachian parlance, a cove means a valley, but Cades Cove is far more than that. One of the most popular destinations in the Tennessee section of…
Chattanooga
Myriad songbirds of the avian variety call Tennessee home, but Chattanooga's newly revamped Songbirds – an innovative interactive learning space devoted…
New Orleans
Live oaks, Spanish moss and lazy bayous frame this masterpiece of urban planning. Three miles long and 1 mile wide, dotted with gardens, waterways and…
Savannah
Less than a 10-minute drive east of Savannah’s Historic District you’ll find one of the most peaceful, quiet, green escapes tucked away next to the…
Chattanooga
Just ten minutes from downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, rising along the upper rim of the city, Lookout Mountain is rich in both Civil War history and…
Savannah
The 33-acre Forsyth Park, Savannah’s largest, was named after Georgia’s 33rd governor John Forsyth and is home to the most famous fountain in the city…
Savannah
In a city filled with cemeteries, Laurel Grove is among the most picturesque. The Victorian-era gravesites hint at the city’s history and the lovely…
New Orleans
Of all the cemeteries in New Orleans, Lafayette exudes the strongest sense of subtropical Southern Gothic. The stark contrast of moldering crypts and…
Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site
Atlanta
The Civil Rights movement owes a great debt to the actions of various martyrs, communities and political actions throughout the American South, but almost…
Atlanta
Atlanta's modern High Museum was the first to exhibit art from Paris' Louvre and is a destination as much for its architecture as its world-class exhibits…
New Orleans
The South has one of the most distinctive aesthetic cultures in the US artistic universe, a creative vision indelibly influenced by the region's…
Center for Civil and Human Rights
Atlanta
The striking Center for Civil and Human Rights was a 2014 addition to Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Park. It is a sobering $68-million memorial to the…
Sydney & Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden
New Orleans
The sculpture garden that sits just outside the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park is a wooded quilt of streams, pathways, lovers' benches and, of…
Memphis
If you only make one stop in Memphis, it should be here: the sublimely kitschy, gloriously bizarre home of the King of Rock and Roll. Though born in…
Memphis
This dusty storefront is ground zero for American rock and roll. Starting in the early 1950s, Sun's Sam Phillips recorded blues artists such as Howlin'…
Memphis
Housed partly inside the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King Jr was fatally shot on April 4, 1968, is the gut-wrenching National Civil Rights Museum…
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
Memphis
Wanna get funky? Head directly to Soulsville, USA, where this 17,000-sq-ft museum sits on the site of the old Stax recording studio. This venerable spot…
Birmingham
The Sloss Furnaces constitutes one of Birmingham's can't-miss sites. From 1882 to 1971, this was a pig iron–producing blast furnace and a cornerstone of…
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
Birmingham
A maze of moving audio, video and photography exhibits tell the story of racial segregation and the Civil Rights movement, with a focus on activities in…
Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
Mississippi
Whether it's a voice from overhead yelling at you to 'keep on moving,' graphic photos of lynchings hitting you with a gut punch, or the towering wall of…
National Memorial for Peace & Justice
Alabama
Stark and harrowing in its simplicity, this memorial stands in honor of 4400 African American victims of lynching. Great rectangular steel slabs, each the…
Louisiana
The Whitney is the first plantation in the state to focus on slavery, and in doing so they've flipped the script on plantation tours. Whereas before the…
Asheville
Charmed by Asheville's natural beauty, shipping and railroad heir George Washington Vanderbilt II decided to build a summer home modeled after three…
Chattanooga
Situated on the Tennessee River in downtown Chattanooga, TN, the Tennessee Aquarium is home to 10,000 animals. The aquarium, Chattanooga’s most visited…
Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center
Chattanooga
A 317-acre green oasis just 15 minutes from downtown Chattanooga, Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center pairs outdoor recreation with botanical and…
Nashville
One of Music Row's most historic studios, this is where Elvis, the Everly Brothers and Dolly Parton all recorded numerous hits. The latter did a little…
Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art
Nashville
Cheekwood is a botanical garden with an arty inclination, just southwest of downtown Nashville. The numerous gardens combine themes (Japanese, water,…
Alabama
Blankets of white-topped pitcher plants can be found here, a 2100 acre plot of land owned and protected by the non-profit Nature Conservancy. Walk into…
North Carolina
The beautifully preserved core of the Moravian settlement of Salem extends across several blocks south of downtown. You’re not obliged to pay for…
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Mt LeConte (6593ft) is the park’s third-highest peak and one of its most familiar sights, visible from practically every viewpoint. The only way to get to…
Charleston
The only surviving urban town-house complex, this 1820 abode gives a fascinating glimpse into antebellum life on a 45-minute self-guided audio tour. The…
Savannah
A short drive from downtown, on the beautiful Isle of Hope, this is one of the most photographed sites in town. As soon as you enter, you feel as if you…
Guardians of Charleston Harbor
Charleston
The first shots of the Civil War rang out at Fort Sumter, on a pentagon-shaped island in the harbor. A Confederate stronghold, this fort was shelled to…
Charleston
Formerly called Ryan's Mart, this building once housed an open-air market that auctioned African American men, women and children in the mid-1800s, the…
Nashville
A beautiful day trip or extended road trip from Nashville, the Natchez Trace Parkway runs for 444 miles through three states until reaching its eponymous…
Martin Luther King Jr Birthplace
Atlanta
The home where Martin Luther King was born and spent the first twelve years of his life is now part of the National Historic Site. Free first-come, first…
Louisville
This must-see museum tells the tale of the city's most famous native: a local boxer nicknamed the Louisville Lip or, simply, The Greatest. Highlights…
Alabama
If you ever entertained dreams of playing Major Tom to someone's ground control, head here. This Smithsonian-affiliated museum boasts one of the world's…
Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory
Louisville
See how baseball's most famous bat is made. Hillerich & Bradsby Co have been manufacturing the Louisville Slugger here since 1884. Admission includes a…
