Hi there, i'm not sure if this is the right way of doing things, but i have a question. me and my girlfriend is going to US next monday and we plan to be in NY for 5 nights and then we plan to go to New Orleans and stay there for 3 nights before we rent a car that will take us to Memphis where we will spend 2 nights. My question is do You have som ideas what we shouldn't miss on our trip from New Orleans to Memphis, we have 4 nights to spend before we have to leave our car in Memphis? I would be greatful for some great ideas. we are interested in a lot of things ;o).

Buskas

First, get off the Interstate motorway.

Use Google Maps to outline the following route:
New Orleans-Natchez, MS (historic ante-Bellum houses),
Natchez-Vicksburg (civil war battlefield)
Vicksburg-Greenville (capital of the Delta and home of famous restaurant Doe's Eat Place)
Greenville-Memphis, TN (through the heart of the Delta)

Most of this trip is on the famous "Blues Highway" US 61, also famed from Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited.

If you are interested in blues, a good side trip is to take US 82 east of Greenville to MS 3, which goes to Parchman, MS, the state prison farm. Soon after, you rejoin US 49 which will get you back onto US 61.

This trip will take more than one day, but you can subtract it from Memphis.

This is not the most beautiful or prosperous section of the US, but it is steeped in musical, social, and political history.

Took some digging (inop search function) but I found a real wordy trip report I did a couple of years ago, pre-Katrina.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...1&tid=34460759

Agree with Ackislander - IH 55 is fine if you want to make time, but it's a very straight freeway with lots of trees and forests up to the edge of the freeway most of the way. So not very interesting. Also try and schedule part of your trip on the Natchez Trace highway.

thank you for all good suggestions, i think we will try to make as much as possible of this trying to see and experience as much as possible.

An alternative route is the Natchez Trace Parkway. It's a quiet and serene drive with a few historical points along the way. I always feel I've slipped back a century when I drive on it.

another diversion.

http://www.nps.gov/arpo/

How long do you have between New Orleans and Memphis planned?

When you leave New Orleans, go out to the great River Road and tour some plantations. I'd recommend Oak Alley and Laura Plantation. Then wind your way back to I-55 and head straight up to the Natchez Trace Parkway. Stop in Vicksburg and tour the monuments there.

Enjoy the US. I'm glad to see some international travel to the Deep South. You'll have a blast in New Orleans and be sure not to miss Graceland in Memphis.