Travel South: icons of the south in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama

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.

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.

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.

Once home to blues greats like Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, W.C. Handy, Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf, Clarksdale is a mecca for modern day fans. Head for the Delta Blues Museum where you can learn more about these musicians’ beginnings and careers. The museum also houses the actual cabin which served as Muddy Waters’ home as a child. While in downtown Clarksdale, check out Ground Zero Blues Club, a restaurant and club dedicated to showcasing the best of today’s Delta blues musicians. Ground Zero features live blues acts Wednesday through Saturday nights.

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.

Birmingham, in Alabama, is the city where music and the fight for civil rights come together. In the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, you can find the Carver Theatre where some great performers of the genre have performed; it is recommended to spend an evening in one of the city's juke joints. A visit to the Civil Rights District is a must, where you can find the 16th Street Baptist Church, bombed by the KKK in 1963, Kelly Ingram Park, where demonstrations were held in the 1960s, and the moving Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, which illustrates the history of the struggle for civil and human rights.

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.

The town of Mobile is famous for the USS Alabama museum, which is located inside a historic World War II ship, and for its carnival, very colorful and second in importance only to that of New Orleans, which can be experienced not only in the month of February but throughout the year by visiting the dedicated museum. A short distance away are the Bellingrath Gardens, owned by the founder of Coca Cola, magnificent gardens with a profusion of flowers and variety of plants.