The American South is one of the USA’s most culturally rich and geographically varied regions — a place where presidential history, civil rights heritage, great food and genuinely eccentric roadside attractions sit comfortably side by side. The US South travel guides on this page cover a wide sweep of states, from Virginia and Washington DC in the north down through Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, to Arkansas in the west. Texas and Florida are covered separately, but everything else you’d associate with the South is here.
The content spans an impressive range. Washington DC features heavily, with guides to the International Spy Museum, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the National Mall memorials — including the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Memorial — and a walking tour of Pennsylvania Avenue. Virginia offers presidential plantation homes, the thought-provoking slavery legacy of Mount Vernon and the spectacular Natural Bridge State Park. Kentucky brings thoroughbred horse farms, the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville, the Muhammad Ali Center and the appealingly quirky National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. Nashville covers the Johnny Cash Museum and Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, Atlanta delivers the World of Coca-Cola and Martin Luther King Jr sites, and Savannah rounds things out with military history, railroad heritage and the American Prohibition Museum. Alabama and Arkansas also get their due — from Birmingham’s McWane Science Centre to the genuinely unique experience of digging for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Virginia travel articles
- The small-scale Virginia cider makers driving the cider renaissance.
- Guide to Sherwood Forest – President John Tyler’s plantation.
- Discovering presidents and the first Thanksgiving at Berkeley Plantation.
- Virginia’s best presidential homes for visitors.
- The uncomfortable slavery legacy of Mount Vernon.
- A practical visitor guide to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Centre in Chantilly.
- What’s so special about the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke?
- Guide to visiting Booker T Washington National Monument near Roanoke.
- Plan your visit to Natural Bridge State Park.
- What you should know before visiting the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond.
Washington DC travel articles
- Living out James Bond fantasies at the International Spy Museum.
- Discovering Abraham Lincoln’s private life at Lincoln’s Cottage.
- The most impressive memorials on the National Mall – including the Dr Martin Luther King Jr Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
- The best of the DC Smithsonian Museums – including the National Museum of the American Indian.
- Learning where Washington DC’s power lies on a Pennsylvania Avenue walking tour.
- What to expect at the National Postal Museum.
- Plan your visit to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
- Guide to the National Building Museum in Washington DC.
- What to see and do on a visit to Dumbarton Oaks and Rock Creek Park, Washington DC.
- National Mall bus tour vs bike tour: What’s the best way to see Washington DC’s monuments and memorials?
Kentucky travel articles
- Enjoy railroad heritage at the La Grange Railroad Museum.
- The strange sinkhole history of the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
- What to know before visiting Cumberland Falls near Corbin, Kentucky.
- How to see the bison at Big Bone Lick State Historic Park in northern Kentucky.
Lexington travel guides
- Visiting Mary Todd Lincoln House and Ashland: The Henry Clay Estate in Lexington, Kentucky.
- How to do a thoroughbred horse farm tour from Lexington, Kentucky.
- What to expect on a visit to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky.
- Exploring the Camp Nelson National Monument near Lexington, Kentucky.
- Getting to Lexington: The best stops on the Louisville to Lexington drive.
Louisville travel articles
- Practical guide to visiting the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville.
- The information you need to visit the Frazier Kentucky History Museum in Louisville.
- What to expect at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory Tour in Louisville.
- Celebrate The Greatest at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville.
- How to make the most of the Kentucky Science Center in Louisville.
- What to see on the Louisville to Cincinnati drive.
Tennessee travel articles
Nashville travel articles
- Plan your visit to the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, Legends of Country Music Museum and Johnny Cash Museum in Nashville.
- What to know before visiting Madame Tussauds Nashville.
- First time visitor guides to Belmont Mansion and Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage in Nashville.
- Practical visitor guide to Lane Motor Museum and the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville.
- Getting to Nashville: What to see on the Lexington to Nashville drive and Louisville to Nashville drive.
- Road trips from Nashville: The best stops on the Nashville to Cincinnati drive.
Chattanooga travel articles
- How to ride the incredibly steep Lookout Mountain Incline Railway in Chattanooga.
- Visiting Ruby Falls and Rock City Gardens from Chattanooga.
- Practical guides to visiting Chatanooga Zoo and the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga.
- Plan your visit to the Hunter Museum of American Art and Sculpture Fields at Montague Park in Chattanooga.
- What to expect at Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District in Chattanooga.
- Getting to Chattanooga: The best stops on the Clarksville to Chattanooga drive and Nashville to Chattanooga drive.
- Road trips from Chattanooga: What to see on the Chattanooga to Sevierville drive.
Memphis travel articles
- What to know before visiting the Memphis Botanic Garden.
South Carolina travel articles
- Plan your visit to Cowpens National Battlefield in Gaffney.
- What you need to know before visiting the Nathaniel Russell House Museum in Charleston.
- Drayton Hall visitor guide: Hours, prices and what to expect at this historic Charleston plantation.
Georgia travel articles
- What are the best stops on the Atlanta to Savannah drive?
- The best stops on the Savannah to Jacksonville drive.
- Complete guide to the Tybee Island Marine Science Center.
- The best places to see manatees in Georgia.
Atlanta travel articles
- Tasting history at the World of Coca-Cola.
- Learning about civil rights history at Atlanta’s Martin Luther King Jr sites.
- All you need to know before visiting the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
- Practical guide to visiting the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.
- Why you should book Zoo Atlanta tickets in advance.
- Why the Fernbank Museum of Natural History offers more than you’re probably expecting.
- Plan your visit to the Atlanta History Center.
- Visiting the home of the Gone With The Wind author – Margaret Mitchell House.
- Road trips from Atlanta to Florida: Where to stop on the Atlanta to Gainesvilles drive, Atlanta to Tallahassee drive and Atlanta to Tampa drive.
Savannah travel articles
- First time visitor guides to the Webb Military Museum, Savannah History Museum and American Prohibition Museum in Savannah.
- What to expect on a visit to Old Fort Jackson in Savannah.
- Plan your trip to the Georgia State Railroad Museum in Savannah.
Alabama travel articles
- Discover the birthplace of American Carnival at the Mobile Carnival Museum.
- Plan your visit to the McWane Science Museum in Birmingham, Alabama.
- Visitor guide to DeSoto Falls near Mentone, Alabama.
Arkansas travel articles
- Dig for diamonds at Crater of Diamonds State Park, Murfreesboro
- First-time visitor’s guide to Fort Smith, Arkansas.
- The best stops on the drive from Dallas to Hot Springs, Arkansas.
