Visit Chicago, Louisville, Nashville, Elvis Presleys Birthplace – Tupelo, Muscle Shoals, Memphis, Clarksdale, Natchez & New Orleans.
Spend two exciting weeks on our self-drive American Music Tour. Discover the birthplace of Jazz, Blues, Soul and Rock’n’Roll as you road trip south. The sounds that have enriched all our lives were established along this route between Chicago and New Orleans. Our popular American Music Tour is simply a must-do road trip for any music lover interested in discovering the origins of the musical genres we know and love today.
Key road trip highlights:
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We’ll suggest properties to match your preferred budget, be it low-cost, mid-range or high-end luxury that you’re looking for. We can also mix it up so you’ll experience a range of standards and experiences along your road trip.
All of our American road trips can be tailored to meet your requirements. Do you have more or less than 14 days for your road trip? No problem, we can bolt on extra nights to allow more time to explore or shorten the number of destinations as required.
After touching down at Chicago O’Hare, you’ll jump in a cab and head downtown towards one of the world’s best skylines. After settling into your hotel, which we carefully selected for you, you’ll have three nights and two full days to get to grips with this incredible city on Lake Michigan’s shoreline. If you wish to stay longer and explore more of Chicago, just let us know when you request your quote.
Most visitors to Chicago head straight to the ‘Magnificent Mile’, a vibrant street home to upscale shops, trendy restaurants and posh hotels. Landmarks include the historic Chicago Water Tower, the neo-Gothic Tribune Tower and the 100-story Hancock Center, which has a rooftop observation deck called 360 Chicago. Spend the rest of the day exploring some of the other attractions found north of the Chicago River. These include Navy Pier, Wrigley Field and the beaches along the shoreline of Lake Michigan.
On your final full day in Chicago, we recommend that you spend time visiting the city’s attractions that are located south of the Chicago River. Many of America’s best museums are found here, including the Art Institute, the Alder Planetarium, and the Field Museum of Natural History. Be sure to stroll around Millennium Park; you’ll find world-famous outdoor artwork like Cloud Gate and Crown Fountain for those all-important social media snaps. Lastly, before leaving town, make sure you spend at least one evening partying at Buddy Guy’s Legends Nightclub.
On your way to Louisville, you’ll pass by Indianapolis. Motorsport fans should check out Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home to the iconic Indy500 and more. Next, you’ll cruise south to Louisville, which you may know due to its rich horse racing pedigree; after all, it’s home to the legendary Kentucky Derby. Or, maybe you’ve drunk a drop or two of bourbon with Louisville written on the label? Additionally, Louisville is famous for Folk music, baseball and amazing fried chicken.
Today’s options include a visit to the beautiful Churchill Downs Racetrack, educating yourself on the life and times of arguably the greatest sportsmen of the 20th Century at the Muhammad Ali Center or perhaps just spend the day sampling the products of numerous bourbon distilleries found in the city or along the Bourbon Trail.
Nashville is the proud home of Country Music, and this booming city boasts about its musical heritage at every opportunity. Home to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the legendary RCA Studio B, where Elvis, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson all recorded hits. It’s not all about country music mind, the region has a rich blues history too, with singers and songwriters from every genre calling ‘Music City’ home.
Head to the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge (colloquially known in Nashville as simply the ‘Pedestrian Bridge’), which spans the Cumberland River. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better view of the Nashville skyline anywhere. After the sun sets and for the complete traveller experience, head down to Broadway and stop by a honky-tonk or two for a one-of-a-kind night of drinking and live music.
Today, you’ll leave the home of Country Music and go in search of the spiritual homes of the Blues, Soul and Rock’n’Roll. To get you to Memphis you’ll follow the first half of the delightful Natchez Trace Parkway, which was originally an old Indian trading route. Today, this scenic Parkway is used as a serene way to cruise by Muscle Shoals, where artists like The Rolling Stones and Aretha Franklin recorded hits before moving onto Tupelo, where Elvis was born and raised.
Today is all about the King, Elvis Presley. Start the day off by visiting the tiny house Elvis was born in and the neighbouring church where he sang as a child. You’ll then leave Tupelo and move on to Memphis, along the way, you’ll pass Graceland, the final resting place of Elvis. Second only to The White House, Elvis Presley’s Graceland is arguably the most iconic home in America and a must-see for anyone visiting Memphis. Finally, after settling into your Memphis hotel, we highly recommend you hit Beale Street for live music, soul food and dancing.
Memphis has plenty more to offer, including the legendary Sun Studios and the moving National Civil Rights Museum. In our humble opinion, Memphis is the Barbecue Capital of America, so make sure you try a rib joint or two if you can. As always, your personalised Road Trip Pack will show you the full range of things to see and do in the city, and you can do as much or as little as you please.
Today, you’ll drive south through the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta, exploring small towns like Clarksdale, Indianola and Cleveland as you go. These towns were the birthplace of The Blues and thus Rock ‘n’ Roll as we know it today. By the time you reach the plantation houses of Natchez, your understanding of 20th Century music will be transformed. End the day by taking in a tour of one of the many antebellum plantation houses found in Natchez, followed by drinks at the Under the Hill Saloon.
Continue south along the Great River Road to your final destination – New Orleans. Along the way, we highly recommend you stop by the historic Oak Alley Plantation for a quick tour of the house and grounds. If you only do one plantation home, then this is the one in our opinion. Once you arrive in “The Big Easy”, the French Quarter will be waiting to offer you dinner, drinks, and all that Jazz.
Built on the mouth of the Mississippi, New Orleans is the home of the jazz, voodoo and the craziness that is Mardi Gras. The French Quarter offers so much charm; it’s a great place to take a walking tour, whilst sampling great food and live music as you stroll.
This will be your final full day of your American Music Tour. Use it to discover more of New Orleans’s must-see attractions and to sample the nightlife. The following day, you’ll leave for the airport to fly home. Whether you call it NOLA, The Big Easy or just plain old New Orleans, we’re confident this vibrant city will stay with you for many years.
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You’ll find answers to most of your questions right here. If you still need assistance, Feel free to get in touch, and we’ll be sure to get back to you promptly!
Not a problem. If you are lucky enough to have extra time to explore more places or add more rest days, then just let us know and we’ll adjust your trip to match your preferred timescale.
We strongly advise that you purchase travel insurance for your holiday to cover you against medical expenses, theft and other financial costs. Should you need to cancel before travelling, some insurance policies may pay out for any loss of funds that have been paid to us and which cannot be refunded under our cancellation policy.
Many of our trips have a different end destination than the starting point, so this is not a problem. Please note a fee sometimes applies for one-way rentals between other regions or states, which will be paid to the supplier directly when collecting the vehicle. We’ll endeavour to inform you of this charge within your quote.
No, far from it. We work with a range of properties from 3* to 5*, so we can adapt the trip to match most budgets. We have access to rooms in more than 800 hotels, motels, lodges and B&Bs across North America.
The minimum age to rent a car is 21 in the United States or Canada, although, in addition, any drivers under 25 years of age will generally incur a surcharge.
Please use the form below to request a quote from our team. Fields marked with an * are mandatory. Please note that we currently only serve customers based in the UK & The EU.
Not quite what you’re looking for? Get in touch to discuss your Bespoke Road Trip plans, or check out these similar road trip itineraries…
ARTCo customers can be confident that we only work with the very best service providers, such as Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Alamo. Any payments made to us are fully protected via the government’s ATOL scheme (Flight packages) or Financial Failure Insurance (Non-Flight Packages).
