Musical Cities, Civil Rights and the Smoky Mountains

Fifteen nights in a loop from Atlanta, self-guided, through the music and the civil rights history of the South, with the flights included.

Eleven stops in fifteen nights sounds relentless and is not: the legs are short, several stops get two nights, and the route is built round places that genuinely warrant the stop.

Atlanta opens it for two nights, with the Martin Luther King Jr National Historical Park, Ponce City Market, the aquarium and the Coca-Cola museum. Birmingham follows, with the Civil Rights Institute and Railroad Park, then Muscle Shoals, where two small studios produced a remarkable share of American soul and rock, and Tupelo, where Elvis Presley was born in a two-room house. Oxford comes next, with the university and Rowan Oak, William Faulkner’s home. Memphis follows for two nights, with Graceland, Beale Street and the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, then Nashville for two, Knoxville, Pigeon Forge for two with Dollywood and the Great Smoky Mountains, Chattanooga with its aquarium and Lookout Mountain, and Atlanta to finish.

Return flights to Atlanta, a checked bag each way, fifteen days of fully inclusive car hire and fifteen nights across the eleven stops are included; fuel, resort fees, most meals and the Dollywood and other admissions are not. The price shown is per person sharing. Spring and autumn are the seasons, and the Smokies in mid-October are the best week of the year for the colour. Sixteen days with the flights and the car in the price is strong value for an itinerary this full, and the civil rights sites through Atlanta, Birmingham and Memphis are the thread that gives the route its weight.