Destination: USA
LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: The Great River Road
10 DAYS TO TWO WEEKS/MINNEAPOLIS TO NEW ORLEANS
It shouldn't be this easy. Just about all of the epic, legendary, even revolutionary history of American music can be experienced along this 1200-mile stretch of the Mississippi River. Throw in a 400-mile sidetrip to Nashville, and what you have is the musical journey of a lifetime.
The Mississippi River marks a physical and psychological divide, and along this spine runs America's greatest music: blues, jazz, and rock and roll. Hwy 61 is the legendary route, though numerous other roads join up, run parallel and intersect with it.
Progressive, artistic, youthful Minneapolis is the easiest starting point, though some might want to start further north in Hibbing, Bob Dylan's birthplace. Hwy 61 then winds scenically on either side of the Mississippi River to Hannibal, Missouri, the birthplace of Mark Twain. Gateway to the West, St Louis also bills itself as the 'Home of the Blues,' though original rock and roller Chuck Berry still plays here, too.
The next major destination is Memphis, where you can pay homage to Elvis Presley at Graceland and to rock and roll at Sun Studio. To complete your musical pilgrimage, take a quick detour on I-40 to Nashville, the home of country music. South of Memphis, Hwy 61 runs through the Mississippi Delta, where the blues was born: Clarksdale is where Robert Johnson bargained with the devil. The town's still jumpin' with blues joints, while Natchez is full of antebellum homes.
South of Baton Rouge, a detour along Hwy 1 leads past the famous 19th-century Mississippi River Plantations. Then you get to New Orleans, birthplace of jazz. The 'Big Easy,' despite its recent hard times, is a place where lazy mornings blend into late nights, and you should leave plenty of time to go with the flow.
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