There is more to this town than music, though. Nashville boasts several good museums, including the Tennessee State Museum, the Cheekwood Museum of Art & Botanical Garden, and the Cumberland Science Museum.

A few other places you might want to stop by are the Travellers Rest Historic House Museum, the Belle Meade Plantation, and the Historic Manskers Station Frontier Life Center. All these places will give you an idea of what life was once like in the South. They're also a great introduction to the historical tour that is the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Natchez Trace
The Natchez Trace Parkway runs 438 miles through three states, starting in Nashville, passing through Alabama, and ending in Natchez, Mississippi. In the days before steamships plied the Mississippi River, traders created paths (probably linking old hunting trails) that eventually formed the original Natchez Trace. In the early 1800s, the Trace was a major southern artery for both goods and people. Inns, called "stands," sprang up, catering to travelers. Many of these, some restored, some abandoned, can still be seen along the trail.

The invention of the steamboat meant the end of the overland Trace's heyday. Today what was once a colonial superhighway is now a quaint two-lane parkway. Ironically, trucks are now banned from traveling this old commercial route. What that means for drivers is that the Natchez Trace is one of the most pleasant highways anywhere. No surging traffic. No blaring 18-wheelers. No tacky roadside food courts. The Trace is 400+ miles of leafy, leisurely parkway.

You might be able to drive the whole length in a day. But don't count on it. Low speed limits in places mean the trip will take a lot longer than you expect. And of course, the road's very nature discourages speeding. Go too fast, and you might blow past a prime lunch spot (the roadside is dotted with picnic areas) or a fascinating historic site.

A Few Highlights
The Natchez Trace is lined with history. In some places, you'll see signs every few miles trumpeting restored historic homes, cemeteries, native burial mounds, and nature walks. There are dozens to choose from, and it's unlikely you can hit all of them. Below are a few highlights to give you an idea of what to expect on the trail. Keep your eyes open when driving the Trace, and you're sure to find a few great places to stretch your legs and maybe learn something in the process. (Note: official mile markers are posted along the side of the road; they start at the Natchez end of the road.)

Old Trace: At mile 403.7, you can park at the side of the modern road and walk a nearly half-mile stretch of the old Natchez Trace.

Meriwether Lewis Gravesite: At mile 385.9 is a campground and rest stop at the site where Meriwether Lewis, explorer and governor of the Louisiana Territory, is buried.

Colbert Creek Nature Trail: At mile 330, a marked nature trail (one of many along the Trace), takes you along the banks of a creek. The easy walk takes about 20 minutes.

Freedom Hills Overlook: At mile 317, you can hike up a steep quarter-mile trail to the highest point along the mostly-flat parkway, 800 feet above sea level.

Bear Creek Mound: This ceremonial mound was constructed nearly 1000 years ago by Native American inhabitants.

Confederate Gravesites: At mile 269 you follow a short stretch of original Trace to visit the site of 13 unknown Confederate dead.

Tupelo Visitor Center Park: At mile 266 is a rest area with bathrooms and visitor information. There is also a 20-minute nature trail. You might also want to stop here to explore the city of Tupelo--Elvis Presley was born in the house at 306 Elvis Presley Drive in 1935.

DeSoto Campsite: Spanish Explorer Hernando DeSoto (in school you learned that he "discovered" the Mississippi River) wintered here at mile 243.3 with his men in 1540-41.

Mount Locust: (mile 15.5) This restored house shows what early "stands," or inns, were like along the Trace. From February through November interpretive tours of the house are offered.

On To Louisiana
Approx. 300 miles
Once you've completed your jaunt through Mississippi and the Natchez Trace, take Interstate 55 south to Interstate 10, hang a right, and commence a counter-clockwise journey around Louisiana's Bayou Country. Begin in Baton Rougue, the state capital. It's home to one of America's most unique Capitol buildings, rising 34 floors and made from 26 varieties of marble. Continue west of I-10, past the gloriously named Atchafalaya Swamp-where huge cypress trees tower over the alligator-filled tidal basin. Stop in Lafayette, a friendly city of nearly 100,000 that's full of terrific restaurants and music reflecting the local Creole and Cajun cultures. Just outside of Lafayette sits a reconstructed Acadian Village. Visitors can tour this village to get a good sense of what 19th-century Cajun life was like.

From Lafayette, travel southeast, mostly along U.S. 90, skirting the Gulf of Mexico as you work your way towards New Orleans. A good place to stop is New Iberia, the unofficial center of the state's sugarcane production. Not only is New Iberia the home of the beautifully restored Shadows-on-the-Teche mansion, it's a short drive from Avery Island, where the Tabasco Sauce factory operates to this day. Continue down U.S. 90 through the small towns of Jeanerette (home of the Jeanerette Museum), Franklin and Morgan City, all with quaint houses and historic districts. Check out Houma, a shrimp-fishing town often called the "Venice of America" for the numerous waterways and bridges that dot the landscape.

And then on to New Orleans, the Crescent City, a destination unlike any other in these United States. Here's one place where you can park your car and walk around to really savor the scene. There's so much to enjoy-from the sounds of a brass band emanating from a tiny French Quarter club to the incomparable seafood at Uglesich's Restaurant & Bar to a stroll through the leafy streets and stately mansions of the Garden District--the only question will be, where to begin?•