Travel South: on the road of music and civil rights

Inhabited by the creole aristocracy descended from Spanish and French settlers, New Orleans embraces a bend in the Mississippi River. At the center of it all is the French Quarter, decadent but still alive, with narrow bustling streets and hidden courtyards. Stop for a few days to soak up the atmosphere, taste the beignets & café au lait at Café du Monde, discover Bourbon Street at night, excessive, raucous, infamous, with music pouring out of every window; board the St Charles streetcar to reach the seductive Garden District and stroll among elegant homes and majestic trees. Exploring the surrounding area, with an airboat tour in a nearby swamp or a visit to a historic plantation, completes the vision of a nostalgic and fascinating South.

Montgomery, the capital of Alabama, is the city where the famous bus boycott by Rosa Parks took place. The Rosa Parks Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice are must-see attractions. In 1965, the historic civil rights march led by Martin Luther King started from here, heading towards Selma, 80 km away. Among the other iconic places in the town, it is worth visiting the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge and the numerous art installations along the route to Montgomery.

Nashville – aka Music City, USA, draws millions of music enthusiasts every year to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman Auditorium and the Johnny Cash Museum – the shrines of country and pop music. Nashville and its surroundings are also brimming with typical honky-tonks. The city overlooks the Cumberland river, making for very pleasant riverbank walks.

Memphis in three words: Blues, Barbecue, Elvis. Perhaps even more than Nashville, Memphis is the capital of popular music, with essential pilgrimage sites. Even for those who are not fans of the king of rock, Graceland is worth a visit: the house, the car museum, the private plane, the huge collection of gold and platinum records, the stage costumes, and of course the Meditation Garden, where Elvis is buried. However, the visit to the city must start from the legendary Sun Studio, where in the early 1950s Elvis Presley marked the birth of rock 'n' roll, exciting even for non-experts. Other stops for enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts include the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, the Gibson's Guitar Factory, and the nearby Rock 'n' Soul Museum.

Another exciting day awaits you down the Mississippi river, to the notes of Southern music and the stories of times past. Natchez is the oldest settlement on the Mississippi River. It still exudes a genuine Antebellum feeling, with quaint plantations and antique houses. The view of the Mississippi is unmatched.

Enter Cajun Country, where the descendants of the Acadian French fleeing from Nova Scotia (Canada) still live. A semitropical region, it stretches from Houmas to Texas, interspersed with swamps and cypresses eerily covered in lichens – a land still infused with old pirate legends and voodoo rites. Lafayette is famous for its music and festivals, but also for its excellent and numerous restaurants specializing in Cajun and Creole cuisine. The city is located in the center of a very scenic and historic area and is a great base for exploring the attractions of the region, such as Acadian Village, Acadiana Park, Avery Island, and St. Martinville.