About your tour
Explore America's musical heritage from the birthplaces of country music and the blues to bustling New Orleans, home of jazz.
Included Highlights
Chicago City sightseeing
St Louis City tour including Gateway Arch
Nashville City tour, Country Music Hall of Fame & Grand Ole Opry
Memphis Orientation tour
Graceland Guided audio Platinum tour
City of New Orleans Rail Journey
Lafayette Atchafalaya Basin Cruise
New Orleans City sightseeing
Holiday price includes
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Flights: UK - Chicago; New Orleans - UK
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Accommodation on tour in twin room with private facilities
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Professional tour director on tour and local representative's assistance at other times
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Porterage at hotels during tour (for one suitcase per person)
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Transfers between overseas airport and hotels
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All local and airport taxes/service charges
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Single share option no supplement to pay
Extend Your Holiday
New Orleans
Another chance to experience this fascinating city.
New Orleans' location makes it a perfect spot for seafood. Fresh fish, shrimp, crab, oysters and crayfish abound. Enjoy a wealth of fabulous restaurants and be sure to stop by at the famous Café du Monde to savour a breakfast of beignets and café au lait. To hear traditional jazz at its best visit Bourbon Street or Preservation Hall, where musicians play every evening.
On day 12 continue your stay at your New Orleans hotel, the Holiday Inn Express for the next two nights. On day 14, an included transfer to the airport for your overnight flight home.
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Your itinerary
Day 1: UK - Chicago.
Fly to Chicago where you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel for a two night stay.
Day 2: Chicago. Included sightseeing.
Start the day with an included sightseeing tour and see all the landmarks of the 'Windy City'. The afternoon is at leisure. Ride the elevator to the top of the Sears Tower, or stroll in Grant Park along the waterfront. Perhaps this evening you would enjoy dinner on the Navy Pier, with its collection of shops and restaurants?
Day 3: Chicago - St Louis. Included sightseeing.
Travel across the fertile Illinois farmlands today en route to St Louis, the 'Gateway to the West'. Cross the mighty Mississippi River as you enter St Louis. Your city sightseeing includes the towering Gateway Arch, which commemorates the city's key role in westward expansion. Be sure to visit the museum under the arch, celebrating the famous expedition of Lewis and Clark two hundred years ago.
Day 4: St Louis - Nashville.
Start today's journey by re-crossing the Mississippi River, and rolling south-east to Paducah, on the Ohio River, by lunchtime. Late afternoon arrival in Nashville, in the heart of Tennessee.
Day 5: Nashville. Morning sightseeing. Evening performance at the Grand Ole Opry.
Start the day with a sightseeing tour of Nashville's famous landmarks and the recording studios of Music Row. Afterwards visit the Country Music Hall of Fame with its glittering costumes, rare instruments, and Elvis Presley's solid-gold Cadillac! Tonight you have reserved seats for an unforgettable show at the world-famous Grand Ole Opry, a mecca for country musicians.
Note: Customers departing UK on Wednesday will attend Grand Ole Opry Show on Day 4.
Day 6: Nashville - Memphis.
Across Tennessee today to Memphis, the 'Home of the Blues', and a city with a distinct southern flavour. On arrival acquaint yourself with the town during the included orientation tour. Join the optional excursion that includes a visit to famous Sun Studio, where Rock n' Roll was first recorded.
Day 7: Memphis. Included visit to Graceland.
A good portion of the day is devoted to Graceland, Elvis Presley's beautiful estate. Your platinum tour includes the splendid garden, private planes, and opulent 15,000-square-foot mansion. Return to Memphis mid-afternoon. Tonight you may want to visit a blues club on famous Beale Street.
Day 8: Memphis - Amtrak® City of New Orleans train - Lafayette.
The City of New Orleans, the famous train of story and song, provides the locomotion for today's trip through the state of Mississippi and into the Mississippi River delta. Cotton fields and catfish ponds slide past the windows as the train enters Louisiana. In Hammond, leave the train and board a coach for the short drive into the heart of Cajun country to Lafayette, first settled by French Acadian farmers expelled from Nova Scotia by the British in the 1700's.
Day 9: Lafayette - Atchafalaya Basin Cruise - New Orleans.
On to St Martinville to see the famous oak tree of Longfellow's poem 'Evangeline'. Next, board your boat for a cruise through the winding, swampy waterways of the Atchafalaya Basin. Then across bayou country into New Orleans, the capital of Dixieland and 'The City Care Forgot'. You are free this evening to begin exploring this lively city at your own pace or maybe you would like to join an optional Mississippi River dinner cruise aboard an authentic riverboat, where you'll enjoy a delightful buffet dinner, complete with live jazz - the perfect finale to a memorable touring adventure of the South.
Day 10: New Orleans. Morning sightseeing.
A full morning dedicated to the sights and sounds of New Orleans, featuring a tour that includes the French Quarter landmarks: St Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, and visit a unique above ground cemetery. The rest of the day is free. Your tour director will suggest several optional outings as well as the best places to shop and dine.
Day 11: New Orleans.
A free day with a wide selection of activities to choose from, including a visit to a beautiful plantation home. For shoppers, Canal Street and the French Quarter offer an extensive variety of speciality shops and boutiques.
Day 12: New Orleans - UK.
Transfer to New Orleans airport for your overnight flight to the UK.
Day 13: Home landing in the UK.
Hotels On Tour
Chicago: Essex Inn; St Louis: Millenium Hotel; Nashville: Holiday Inn Express; Memphis: Crowne Plaza; Lafayette: La Quinta Hotel & Suites; New Orleans: Holiday Inn Express.
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