Historic Charm and Southern Spirit: The American South from Georgia to the Car

The capital of Georgia has many faces, so you’re sure to find something you’re interested in here. In popular culture, Atlanta is best known as the place where Margaret Mitchell set Gone with the Wind. You can visit the author’s house in the city’s Midtown and learn more about its history through permanent exhibitions. If you’re a Coca Cola fan, immerse yourself in the World of Coca Cola, a fun and fabulous museum with a tasting room where you can sample different flavours of Coke from all over the world. For something a little more cultural, head to the High Museum of Art or the Georgia State Capitol. An afternoon stroll in the Centennial Olympic Park among the fountains, musicians and Ferris wheel will round off your day perfectly.

Atlanta is also the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. While you’re here, visit his birth home and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park, which covers around 35 acres and includes several sites dedicated to the activist. The Ebenezer Baptist Church is where King was baptised and where, like his father, he served as a pastor. The visitor centre also houses a museum that chronicles the history of the African American civil rights movement.

Today you’ll drive to Asheville, about three-and-a-half hours away. While you’re in this stunning part of the US, don’t miss a trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic route offering incredible views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. If you like, stop and hike along the Appalachian Trail, or take a detour to the beautiful Anna Ruby Falls or Tallulah Falls and Gorge.

After your day of exploring the region’s stunning natural sites, you’ll spend the night in a cosy 1920s hotel. If the weather is good, enjoy a drink in a rocking chair on the veranda, or take a stroll through the flower garden past the fountain before dinner at the hotel restaurant.

While you’re in Asheville, we’ll organise for you to visit the Biltmore Estate. This private estate belonging to the wealthy Vanderbilt family comprises a 250-room castle, built in 1895, and a 12.3-square mile estate whose gardens were designed by America's first landscape architect: Frederick Law Olmsted. Once the luxurious family home of George and Edith Vanderbilt, Biltmore House is a marvel of architecture and elegance. As you make your way through the house, you’ll find sumptuous clothing, accessories and artwork by the likes of Renoir and John Singer Sargent. Outside, wander along paths through the rose garden – home to over 250 varieties – verdant forest and the meadows of Deer Park. As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a vineyard where you can taste the wines produced on site.

Less than an hour’s drive from Asheville you’ll find Chimney Rock State Park, the perfect place for a hike and the setting for Michael Mann’s The Last of the Mohicans. There are routes that last between 45 minutes and two hours here, so even if you’re not a keen walker, you can still take in the incredible views of waterfalls and the Hickory Nut Gorge and Lake Lure, where parts of Dirty Dancing were filmed.

When you’ve finished having the time of your life (see what we did there?) you’ll drive on to Charleston where you’ll spend the next three nights. From the top floor of your hotel, you’ll get a beautiful view of the city’s historic district.

We’ll organise for you to visit the Edmondston-Alston House while you’re here, a beautiful 19th-century home and museum. As you explore, you’ll discover remarkably well-preserved rooms that have survived over 150 years of civil war, a devastating earthquake and hurricanes.

Afterwards, you’ll have the rest of the day to spend at your leisure. We recommend a visit to the French Quarter, founded in the 18th century by Huguenot families who left France after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Bordered by the Cooper River, Broad Street, Meeting Street and Market Street, this district is recognisable by its charming old houses including The Pink House Gallery. While you’re here, you can wander the pleasant streets, pick up some clothing or crafts at the market, and visit the many art galleries that make this district one of the most creative in town.

Today you’ll visit the Middleton Place plantation, a National Historic Landmark that extends over 61 acres and is home to the US’s oldest landscaped gardens. Here, you can tour the manicured gardens, visit the animals in the Stableyards and learn more about both the Middleton family and the enslaved people who lived and worked on the estate. Afterwards, head to Isle of Palms or Sullivan’s Island for a change of scenery as you stroll along the sand and breathe in the fresh sea air.

Today you’ll drive on to Savannah, around two hours away. Along the way, stop for lunch in the old-fashioned town of Beaufort, where you can choose from riverside bistros and cosy taverns serving fresh fish and wood-fired pizzas. For an after-lunch stroll, make your way to the historic district (listed on the National Register of Historic Places) to enjoy the seafront promenade or venture to the wild beaches of Hunting Island Park.

When you reach Savannah, you’ll set down your suitcases for three nights in a contemporary hotel in the historic centre. Round off your day with a dip in the pool before a cocktail on the rooftop.

Today you’ll visit the Mercer-Williams House. Once belonging to the art and antiques collector Jim Williams, it’s more famous for being the scene of the deadly shooting of Danny Hansford by Williams in the 1980s. This famous case has since been immortalised in the book and film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The ground floor of this elegant Italianate mansion has been transformed into a museum.

You won’t be short of things to fill the rest of your time with in Georgia’s oldest city: take a stroll underneath the century-old oaks in Savannah’s 22 green squares; get lost on the paved streets of the Victorian Quarter as you admire the beautiful 19th-century houses; picnic in Forsyth Park, 30 acres of greenery, playgrounds and a famous fountain located north of the city; visit Colonial Park Cemetery, the oldest in Savannah where there are no less than 9,000 graves; and discover the waterfront district and River Street, where redbrick cotton warehouses have been taken over by southern restaurants, sushi spots and lively bars.

East of Savannah, you’ll find the Bonaventure Cemetery, a magnificent space full of leafy paths and mossy trees that give it a romantic, even magical feel. 30 minutes from here at the mouth of the Savannah River is Tybee Island. This small coastal town has a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere and one of the most beautiful beaches in the region. Walk in the dunes to the small lighthouse, or even take some time to visit the state’s Golden Isles. Sapelo is the wildest of them all, and today is a reserve and research centre.