Memphis, Nashville & New Orleans

[Tiger74]

We have booked a 27 day holiday flying into Washington and driving down through the Southern States to Orlando.

We've got it pretty much planned but are flexible about what we do around Memphis, Nashville and New Orleans. We are taking our 14 year old son with us but he's pretty happy to do whatever we want as long as he gets his week at Disney.

So has anyone any suggestions for must do things in these places which we are unlikely to think of.

[kjtinlin]

The incline railway in Chattanooga, Tennessee is really good - fantastic view! I did this ten years ago when I worked in Nashville for four months (wow, was it really that long ago?!) and it is still going strong today.

Incline Railway (http://www.carta-bus.org/CARTA%20Web%20Site/Incline/Incline%20Home%20Page.html)

There is also an aquarium in Chattanooga that I remember being pretty good.

In Nashville itself, try the Wildhorse Saloon and get yourself some line dancing lessons - good for a laugh :D

Kerry

[Pino_Spetzberg]

In addition to the Look-Out Mountain Incline Railway, visit Ruby Falls subterranean waterfall and see Rock City.
Chattanooga Choo Choo and the historic Civil War battlegrounds, there are quite a few things to see and do in Chattanooga - well worth the trip.
http://www.seerockcity.com/flash/index.htm

http://rubyfalls.com/fun/plain/index.html

http://www.choochoo.com/

http://www.nps.gov/chch/

Visit Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, see the beautiful Smokey Mountains, check out Dollywood.

http://www.gatlinburg.com/

http://www.dollywood.com

A visit to the Jack Daniels Distillery is a great day out and the setting is really picturesque.

http://www.jackdaniels.com

http://www.lynchburgtn.com

[Pino_Spetzberg]

Regarding NOLA

For a first time visit, stay in the French Quarter ( Vaux Carre ), it's worth paying a little extra to be able to walk ( crawl ) straight back to your hotel. Five good places to try would be Monteleone Hotel, Hampton Inn Downtown FQ, Alexis Hotel on Canal Street, the Omni Royal Orleans or Bienville House. Either of these are really close to Bourbon Street ( one block ) or you could stay a little further down the quiet end of things at Le Richelieu ( Paul & Linda McCartney stayed on the whole top floor with Wings here whilst recording an album ). To give you an idea, outside Mardi Gras week, a double room at Le Richelieu will cost around $59 to $109 depending on season.

You will not need a car, streetcars ( one named Desire of course ), taxis are readily available, or just walk ( take advice first regarding personal safety ).
The bars, stripjoints, lap dancing are abundant, plus you can drink as you walk from bar to bar in plastic Go-Cups as you sample local brews and Dakiri cocktails. Try Pat O' Briens, Crescent City Brewhouse, the jazz halls, hundreds of places worth a look, grab a beer in the starlit carousel spinning bar at Monteleone, watch the world go from a window seat.
Harrahs Casino is close by too, Dedication Hall, the aquarium, if you have time, walk along the riverfront malls, take a free ferry across the Mississippi to Algiers and a free bus will take you to Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World. They make the floats for parades here, and for Disney, well worth a few hours.

Take a vampire ( Anne Rice ) tour, haunted trail, visit the cemetaries ( not by yourself, accompanied tour group ), visit the Garden District, so much to see and do.

Best of all, if you like Cajun cuisine New Orleans has a great reputation for food, you won't be disappointed.
Erm, I could go on .......

There are plenty of bars with no cover charge now, on Bourbon Street and all around. Some places will beckon you to a table with waiter service as you walk in but you may go straight to the bar yourself if you prefer, hence no cover charge and fewer tips to pay.
The paddle boat evening cruises are disappointing, one tip is not to pay for the dinner buffet, just pay for the jazz cruise instead. It's the same boats either way, the buffet is so dis-organised that any one can help themselves to the food, whether they have a dinner ticket or not. The food is of such poor quality that your conscience will not be troubled by the fact you didn't pay.
There isn't much to see on the daylight cruises either, container ships mostly, but on a sunny day with a nice breeze, a trip up the Mississippi is no hardship.
I would be content with the free Algiers crossing. This will allow camera opportunities of New Orleans skyline from across the water.

[kjtinlin]

Pino_Spetzberg - thanks for the reminder of Ruby Falls. I've been there too and they were fantastic - have some great photos somewhere of the formations. I believe the JD distillery is good too - we went, but I was on crutches from a basketball injury and couldn't do the tour - had to make do with a video made sometime in the late 70s while my friends got the proper tour :(

Kerry

[Pino_Spetzberg]

Kerry,
Our guide on the JD tour was a great character, all the way around he cracked us up with his Tennessee manner of speaking and funny stories, he was a giant fella - sort of a cross between Fred Flintstone and Dan behind Al's bar in Deadwood.

One thing we always remember when we think back to walking through the low ceiling caves of Ruby Falls was a man and his wife slightly behind us that sounded just like William H. Macy as he was talking. The guy in front of us looked down to adjust his camera at the wrong time and bumped his head on a low hanging rock. He said " I guess I picked the wrong time to play with my camera. " I ducked under it, next thing we heard was William H. Macy saying " Ouch ! " then his wife said " Oh Honey did you hit your head too ? " He replied " Yes I did, Goddammit !!! "

I suppose it was funnier if you were there at the time - but everytime we see William H. Macy in films - we always think of that day. :D

[Tiger74]

Thanks

Will have a look at the links later. Thanks for all the tips.

[Pino_Spetzberg]

Originally posted by Tiger74
Thanks for all the tips.

If you can think of anything to ask don't hesitate, have been to this area many times and may be able to help out - otherwise I would only be watching Eastenders !




Regarding Memphis we have tried various options.

Stay at a Holiday Inn / Best Western / Hampton Inn or similar along Interstate ( I-40 ) paying around $40 + tax.

Stay at Days Inn or Heartbreak Hotel opposite Graceland paying around $99+ tax.

Stay on Beale Street at The Peabody or Hampton Inn paying around $160+ tax.

The advantage of staying on the Interstate is the low cost, it is minutes away from Downtown and Graceland. The disadvantage is finding somewhere to park near Beale Street at night - the lots fill up early.

The advantage of staying opposite Graceland is you can visit as soon as it opens - so the crowds are smaller. The disadvantage is that you are paying twice as much as staying on I-40 for similar standard of accommodation - actually the hotels near Graceland are pretty tired. Once you have visited the house, the museum, the planes and watched the film in their theatre - everything else you want to do will be near Beale Street anyway.

The advantage of staying on Beale Street is that you are right in the middle of everything. BB King's, A. A. Schwab General Store, Gibson Guitar Factory & Museum, and the bars and food places.
Beale Street at night is perfectly safe but if you have to walk a block or more to your hotel or parking you have to venture the rat-run past hookers, pan-handlers and assorted street characters.
This is why staying at Hampton Inn Beale Street is so enjoyable -you walk straight from the main tourist area directly into your hotel - The Peabody is best visited to see the famous Peabody ducks - the Hampton Inn is a better place to stay - and slightly cheaper. A lot of the locals know that there will be a stream of tourists from Beale Street to The Peabody - so to avoid them - enter the hotel's rear entrance rather than walking round to the front.
The disadvantage of staying on Beale Street is the additional cost of car parking - around $28 for 24 hours if self-parking. If you don't have the car then stay at Beale Street !

The area attractions are well known but make sure you visit Sun Studios and the Martin Luther King Museum ( Lorraine Motel ). Have a chat with the lady protesting about the museum - she's been sitting out there for years !
You can't take a camcorder into Graceland - they make you store it in a locker before you board the bus to cross the road and enter the gates - but you will see people that have smuggled in smaller camcorders using them as you take your self-tour - ordinary cameras are no problem but they don't like you to use flash. They sell glossy photograph books in the souvenir shop.
If you don't know - when you enter Graceland Mansion - there is a stairway directly in front of you with a chain across - the door at the top is always locked - nobody is allowed upstairs. We asked a member of staff why this was so - she let me in on a secret - Elvis lives up there and watches his fans visit from the bedroom windows.
Even for a non-Elvis fan - Graceland is a very enjoyable day.

We really like Memphis - but as with New Orleans - it can be genuinely dangerous to stray from the main tourist areas. We have strayed pretty far to be honest though and everybody we encountered was really friendly - you just need to be sensible :D

[traceyt]

when i was in nashville i went to visit "the hermitage", the home of president andrew jackson. it was absolutely beautiful. also, whilst in new orleans don't forget to visit a cemetary. i know it sounds odd, but it's a really strange experience - do it with a guide though, not on your own. i stayed in the marriott in the french quarter, an absolutely beautiful hotel. obviously in memphis, you have to do gracelands. if you're not a fan going in you will be coming out. it's a really spiritual experience, believe it or not, and i felt quite sad how everything went out of control for elvis. his life could have been so wonderful.

[kjtinlin]

Traceyt - I totally agree abou Gracelands being spiritual. I went twice within a couple of months (the second time being during 'Elvis week') and loved it both times and it was even more spiritual the second time.

Pino - you're bringing back some great memories for me. The Peabody ducks are good to see and I loved the tour we did of Sun Studios.

::sigh:: I think I might have to go back to TN some day.

Kerry :)

[Pino_Spetzberg]

Regarding Nashville.

http://nashville.about.com/

Have stayed at Opryland - on the doorstop for Grand Old Opry and Music Valley attractions. The Opryland Hotel itself is worth visiting - take the boat tour through the hotel and visit the mall.
The Opryland Hotel itself is expensive - stay elsewhere and just visit instead. Near Briley Parkway a Red Roof Inn or similar will cost around $39 plus tax - you can walk around everything in Music Valley from there. Staying at Opryland will cost over $200 plus tax.

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/nashville/A23551.html

http://www.redroof.com/reservations/inn_details.asp?innNumber=579

We have also stayed in downtown Nashville - at The Hermitage -around $179 plus tax - first night Bill Clinton was dining there so we had to eat elsewhere - the lobby and dining room is a must see, food excellent too. Handily placed for the honky tonks on 2nd Avenue, Tootsie's Wild Orchid, Roberts Bar, the micro breweries and not far to walk to Ryman Auditorium, Country Music Hall of Fame, Gaylord and Wild Horse Saloon.
The Hilton Suites directly opposite the bars on Music Row / Printers Alley is better value than The Hermitage - the rooms are much nicer - and the view across the Nashville skyline ( Hi Bob ! :D ) is spectacular. You can enjoy a good night watching the bands and have a couple of beers then walk across the road straight into your hotel - very safe. Cost around $149 plus tax.
A cheaper alternative - a little further up 2nd Avenue is the Holiday Inn Express ( refurbished former Ramada ) - around $59 plus tax.
Nashville has a lot to offer - but you need to visit both areas, Opryland and Downtown to make the most of a trip. One tip - if visiting Country Music Hall Of Fame - make sure to take the included bus tour to RCA Studio B - don't miss it. :smile:

http://www.thehermitagehotel.com/index.cfm

http://www.nashvillehilton.com/

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ex/hd/BNABW?refid=1

[kjtinlin]

Pino - you're right, the Opryland Hotel is well worth a look. I worked at the Oprlyand theme park (when it was still there!) and the hotel was owned by the same company. It was gorgeous inside.

Kerry :)