Donna Stoll

My husband and I are going to Nashville for an ed. conference in June. We will rent a car and have 6 days to tour around before flying home. We love history and quaint old architecture. Should we head down toward Vicksburg or head east to Charleston? We've never visited the Southeast...does anyone have some good recommendations? Sorry our time is so limited. Thanks so much! -D.

l & j willett

Nashville in June will be great! Our son went to college there & loved it. We enjoyed the Parthenon & Hermitage in Nashville, the Smoky Mts. & even the Grand Ol' Opry (downtown & the hotel just to see it)

Civil War history abounds...Vicksburg would be delightful as would Charleston. Lovely antebellum mansions etc. Go for it and have fun.

Roger Dolida

If you like history, you will love Charleston. I recommend that you drive east from nashville, stop by Ashville, NC (one of my favorite small cities!), thru Spartanburg, SC, Columbia, SC and into Charleston. Total drive time is ~ 7.5 hours. Go back a different way - thru Atlanta. There are lots of nice places to stay, several new hotels should be finished soon including a new Marriott Courtyard on the water near downtown.
14

Neal A. Parish

I'd have to agree with the earlier message -- go east to or through Asheville, N.C. It's a nice drive through the Great Smokies. While in Asheville, check out the Biltmore Estate.

You probably wouldn't want to follow our example, but we took a six-day trip a few years ago, and went from Nashville to Raliegh-Durham, N.C. -- one way through Asheville, and the other way a bit north and then along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Debra SIlver

You should also definitely check out the Oak Park places where the first nuclear bombs were built in Oak Park. THere is a lot to do around Nashville and I don't think you'll be bored. You could be based there, and maybe do one overnight through the Smokies on your way to Asheville, NC.

southern man

Donna you might enjoy taking the Natchez Trace down to Vicksburg. Nice drive.

Edward

I recommend a trip north into Kentucky. Louisville is 3 hours away and is a beautiful river city. Main Street offers exceptional architecture as does the Humana Building. From Louisville, you can drive east to horse country (Lexington), where you can visit the Kentucky Horse Park and see some of the most beautiful horse farms in the world. From Lexington, I'd suggest a trip down I-75 to Asheville, NC, where you can visit the Vanderbilt's exquisite, and frankly unbelievable, Biltmore Estate.

Personally, I'd suggest avoiding Charlotte, a soulless city with little to offer. Charleston is a great bet, of course, as is New Orleans and it's surrounding antebellum plantations. So much to see in the Southeast, and so little time!

lisa

Not to throw a wrench in your plan, but you might also consider a visit to Memphis and then New Orleans. Both are wonderful towns. Memphis has rebuilt Beale Street, the Peabody Hotel (where the ducks march across the red carpet from their home on the roof to swim in the Travertine marble fountain all day), fabulous BBQ, Sun Studios, etc.

New Orleans is . . . well, New Orleans. It has beautiful neighborhoods, great food, lots of live music and shopping.

I think that itinerary would make a wonderful trip.

Charlotte

Edward, Charlotte may be soulless, but nobody here would give advice to a question posted over four years ago!

Me

People: Donna asked this question in 1997!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edward

Hey, "southern man" dug up this old thread, not me. I guess neither of us noticed the ancient date. Bizarre!

Chris

Several options from Nashville and anyway you go is GOOD!

1) SOUTH - Previous post about the Natchez Trace is right on. Get the book "Traveling the Trace" and go .it will take 3 days to do it right, 2 days to kind of do it and you can drive the whole thing in a very long day, but you have then lost the purpose. Go to Vicksburg on the way and spend DAYS in Natchez history and quaint architecture ABOUND....if you've still got time jot on dwon to New Orleans

2) WEST - Memphis is my favorite city in the world. Some of the character has been lost downtown since Peabody developed a mall, but it's still great

3) EAST - Dont hurt me....The Great Smoky Mountains are great once you get through the crap of Gatlinburg and Pigoen Forge....You could go through and go on the the areas in NC and SC

4) NORTH - Left this until last cause it's home and I don;t want to appear biased. Mammoth Cave Natioanl Park and the central distillary areas are wonderful

xxx

This is over 4 years old. These people no longer need our help.

Patty (TN native)

North: Kentucky Lake @ Dale Hollow: Islands, pennisulas, camping, trout fishing, fishing, boating, hiking, climbing.
East...: The drive to Knox is beautiful, especially in the Spring and Fall. Eat at the cross-eyed cricket (resturant and kitchen are in two separate buildings with conveyer conveying the food (usually fish catch of the day) (sometimes the fish you caught)..
Or try, Tellico Village and the surrounding ... eat at Calhouns on the River (it is out of this world) (has a 40-foot deck) sailboats, yatchs, fish, ducks, and summer wear are your view. Food is EXCELLENT.

The Smokies are 45 min from Knox...so much to do there...and more if you like the tackiness of Pigeon Forge.
Further East: Mountain roads/Blue Ridges (as in Parkway).
A Little Bit South...MEMPHIS...Blues and Bar-B-Que...
And what about a stop at the Jack Daniel's distillery?

Chattanooga: History, history, and more history...and the monuments ...

AND IF YOU ARE REALLY BRAVE, go into the APPLACHIAN MOUNTAINS. Eat at a local dive: cornbread, beans, so on and so forth...mix and mingle...get to know the natives...
The lakes are warm in May and almost like bathwater in July: clean and warm.
More?
ENJOY, ENJOY, ENJOY

connie

It's okay that it is old.

Personally, I don't care who wrote the question and when. I learn by reading the answers.

Surely you don't just read your own answered questions!

x

Just to toss in another option for late June (it doesn't matter what year), Ivy Green in Tuscumbia, Alabama, puts on the annual play, "The Miracle Worker." I've never been there but plan on going someday (when kids aren't in softball tournaments that weekend).

leilaniii

Today is 6/8/2005 and I have just read every one of these above (and many more). Thank you for the info, regardless of date-we leave tomorrow-your information is priceless! It's called RESEARCH folks.