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.
- All you need to know before visiting Virginia Safari Park near Roanoke.
- What you should know before visiting the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond.
- What to know before visiting the White House of the Confederacy in Richmond.
- Plan your visit to the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News.
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, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
- The best of the DC Smithsonian Museums – including the National Museum of the American Indian and National Museum of Natural History.
- Learning where Washington DC’s power lies on a Pennsylvania Avenue walking tour.
- What to expect at the Museum of the Bible, National Postal Museum, National Building Museum and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC.
- What to see and do on a visit to Dumbarton Oaks and Rock Creek Park, Washington DC.
- Plan your visit to Washington DC’s quirkiest sight – the National Capital Columns.
- National Mall bus tour vs bike tour: What’s the best way to see Washington DC’s monuments and memorials?
- Getting to Washington DC: The best stops on the Chicago to Washington DC drive.
- Road trips from Washington DC: What to see on the Washington DC to Pittsburgh drive.
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.
- Plan your visit to Riverview at Hobson Grove in Bowling Green.
- 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.
- Plan your visit to the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, 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.
- Getting to Louisville: Where to stop on the Pittsburgh to Louisville drive.
- Road trips from Louisville: The best stops on the Louisville to Cincinnati drive, Louisville to Indianapolis drive and Louisville to Nashville 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, Louisville to Nashville drive and Pittsburgh to Nashville drive.
- Road trips from Nashville: The best stops on the Nashville to Cincinnati drive and Nashville to Houston 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 Atlanta to Chattanooga drive, Birmingham to Chattanooga drive, Clarksville to Chattanooga drive, Memphis 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.
- Shelby Farms Park, Memphis: Guide to access, activities and opening hours.
- Plan your visit the music heritage attractions of Memphis: Sun Studio, Memphis Rock ‘N’ Soul Museum, Memphis Music Hall of Fame and Stax Museum of American Soul Music.
- Gettting to Memphis: Guides to the Dallas to Memphis drive, Houston to Memphis drive, Nashville to Memphis road trip, Little Rock to Memphis drive and Louisville to Memphis drive.
- Where to stop on the Memphis to Austin drive and Memphis to Oklahoma City drive.
South Carolina travel articles
- Plan your visit to Cowpens National Battlefield in Gaffney.
- The best places to see dolphins in South Carolina.
- Key information for visiting the Harbour Town Lighthouse on Hilton Head Island.
Charleston travel guides
- What you need to know before visiting the Nathaniel Russell House Museum in Charleston.
- Guides to historic plantations around Charleston: Boone Hall, Drayton Hall, Magnolia Plantation and Middleton Place.
- All you need to know about catching the Fort Sumter ferry in Charleston.
- Relive scenes from the Notebook at Cypress Gardens near Charleston.
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.
- What you need to know before catching the St Mary’s to Cumberland Island ferry.
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.
- Getting to Atlanta: The best stops on the Memphis to Atlanta drive and Nashville to Atlanta drive.
- Road trips from Atlanta to Florida: Where to stop on the Atlanta to Gainesville 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.
- Planning a road trip from Memphis to Birmingham, Alabama.
- Visitor guide to DeSoto Falls near Mentone, Alabama.
- Where to stop on the Memphis to Montgomery drive.
Mississippi travel articles
- Plan your visit to the Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Louisiana travel articles
- Plan your visit to the World War II Museum in New Orleans.
- What to know before visiting St Joseph Plantation, Felicity Plantation and Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana.
- The Old Ursuline Convent in New Orleans: Visitor guide with hours, prices and history.
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, Houston to Hot Springs drive and Memphis to Hot Springs drive.
- Where to stop on the Little Rock to Dallas drive, Little Rock to Houston drive and Little Rock to Memphis drive.
- Learning about the history of Eureka Springs on a golf cart tour.
