Courtesy Greater Birmingham CVB
In the great cities of the South, groups can experience the past by strolling through Ybor City in Tampa, Fla., where 125-year-old Cuban traditions are still part of daily life, or by taking a walk down historic Beale Street in Memphis, Tenn., where the blues resonate from every direction.
Groups can also experience the newest in travel attractions: the Victory Theater at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans brings war to life on a 120-foot-wide screen, and a ride on a River Taxi in Tampa offers not only transportation but also the best of scenery in this city on Tampa Bay.
Thanks to different cultures, the old and the new in these destinations give group travelers distinctly different experiences.
Memphis, Tenn.
When African Americans left the Mississippi Delta in the early 1900s, they came to Memphis with their musical tales of woe. That music became known as the blues.
“Groups can indulge in the blues and our famous barbecue on Beale Street any night of the week,” said Jackie Reed, communications manager for the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The music theme continues at Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley. “While Elvis is a man who will never get old, Graceland is celebrating the 75th anniversary of Elvis’ birthday in January,” said Reed.
Elvis began his rags-to-riches story when he recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis. Visitors from around the world tour this little studio along with the Stax Museum of American Soul Music and the Smithsonian’s Rock ’n’ Soul Museum.
Beyond the blues and barbecue, Memphis is also home to the National Civil Rights Museum. Inside the Lorraine Motel, the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the museum features an exploration of the Civil Rights Movement.
And, groups should not miss a visit to the Peabody Hotel, home of the duck march. This twice-daily event celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2008, and to commemorate the event, the ducks were awarded a $200,000 Royal Duck Palace on the Peabody’s rooftop.
www.memphistravel.com
(501) 543-5300
Atlanta
Groups relive Gone with the Wind at the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum, where Mitchell wrote the classic epic. The museum showcases memorabilia, including the authentic entrance to Tara. The Atlanta History Center, which operates the Mitchell House, features more of the city’s past, including the largest collection of Civil War artifacts in the world and a wing dedicated to the 1996 Olympic Games, which were held in Atlanta.
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| Courtesy Atlanta CVB |
Groups can enjoy a ballet or a Broadway production at the Fox Theatre, a picture palace built in the 1920s and once the headquarters for the Shriners. The High Museum of Art is offering work from masters such as Claude Monet and Leonardo de Vinci until 2013.
Check out Atlanta’s modern era at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, which features exhibitions from a new list of world-renowned artists, and the CNN Center, the global headquarters of the Turner Broadcasting System, where a studio tour provides a behind-the-scenes peek into the television studios.
The CNN Center is just part of Atlanta’s walkable ring of attractions that surround Centennial Olympic Park. Perfect for group travelers, the ring also includes the new home of the World of Coca-Cola, the National Museum of Patriotism and the Georgia Aquarium, which will open a dolphin exhibit in November.
www.atlanta.net
(800) 285-2682
Charlotte, N.C.
Historic Brattonsville, a living-history site in Rock Hill, S.C., just a short drive from Charlotte, documents the era before the Revolutionary War. The site was “a filming location for Mel Gibson’s The Patriot,” said Amy Rieth, public relations assistant for the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, and there, “groups can learn about the activities that made a plantation tick.”
Plantation life continues at the Historic Latta Plantation, an 1800s cotton plantation and living-history farm where groups enjoy hands-on activities and seasonal celebrations.
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| Courtesy Visit Charlotte |
Glimpses of the past include looks at the decorative arts, historic costumes and Native American exhibitions, along with contemporary and American art, and Romare Bearden collections at the Mint Museum. The Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture, an architectural marvel at 45 feet wide, hosts works by prominent African Americans.
Opening in January, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art will offer a North American debut of mid-20th century art.
“This terra-cotta-tiled structure is a work of art itself,” said Rieth.
Groups can learn about an evangelist’s journey at the Billy Graham Library, enjoy a show featuring the newest in dance at the Knight Theater and taste the latest trends in wine during a custom tour at Yadkin Valley, home to dozens of wineries.
This fast-paced city also offers the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Group members may want to get under the hood of the motorcoach after experiencing a racing simulator and time with a pit crew.
www.charlottesgotalot.com
(704) 331-2748
Louisville, Ky.
It’s a new ballgame at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, according to Nicole Twigg, director of tourism development with the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The museum had a renovation in 2009, and groups experience more hands-on exhibits, memorabilia and history,” she said.
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| Courtesy Louisville CVB |
More old-time attractions will also be opened with improvements in early 2010. The Belle of Louisville, one of the nation’s oldest operating steamboat paddle wheelers, will offer heating and air conditioning to make those dinner cruises on the Ohio River even more enjoyable, and the Kentucky Derby Museum will reopen this spring after an extensive makeover following damage from flash flooding last summer.
“New exhibits explaining the famous derby will come to life and examine themes like celebrity attendance, the infield experience and the life of a thoroughbred from birth to derby contender,” said Twigg.
Groups can also enjoy the beautiful views of Louisville’s past by taking one of many themed tours of Historic Old Louisville, one of the nation’s largest Victorian neighborhoods.
Louisville’s newest attraction, Mega Cavern, invites guests to hop on an SUV tram for a tour of early cavern formations and a replica of a Cuban missile fallout bunker. “The Mega Cavern was the largest civil defense shelter during the Cuban crisis,” said Twigg.
The cavern, located 100 feet beneath the Louisville Zoo, features 17 miles of underground roadways that were created by more than 40 years of limestone quarrying.
Also new in the Derby City is KentuckyShow at the Kentucky Center for the Arts, a large-screen, multimedia show that looks at Kentucky’s culture and history.
www.gotolouisville.com
(800) 626-5646
Tampa, Fa.
Ybor City, once home to 200 cigar factories, is a group favorite in culturally diverse Tampa. “It all began in 1885 when Don Vicente Martinez Ybor, a Cuban cigar-factory owner, fled the political and labor unrest of Cuba to establish his cigar empire in Tampa. Today, Ybor City has evolved into a Latin Quarter that attracts visitors with a fun, festive atmosphere,” said Lindsey Guthrie of Tampa Bay and Co.
Don’t miss a Cuban meal in this trendy district, perhaps at the Columbia Restaurant, the oldest restaurant in the state.
Also a must, at least in the spring, is a baseball game. Four major league teams train in the Tampa Bay area, and the American League Rays offer viewing opportunities throughout the season.
More than 12,000 years of history are on display at the new Tampa Bay History Center, where visitors stroll through a 1920s cigar store, row up the Hillsborough River and ride along with a cattle drive.
Also new is the Tampa Museum of Art, opening in February; it will offer contemporary and classical art and world-class traveling exhibitions.
Groups will appreciate the Tampa Riverwalk location, where the new Tampa River Taxi is a scenic way to explore points of interest such as Channelside, a shopping and dining mecca, and the Florida Aquarium.
The TECO Line Streetcars are vintage in style yet fashionably green in their commitment to the environment. These charming electric streetcars are also a fun way to travel between the sites.
www.visittampabay.com
(800) 448-2672
New Orleans
Lisa Holland, tourism sales manager for the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, offers group travel planners a list of “10 Things You Must Do in New Orleans.” All of these activities encompass the renowned new and old in this city that journalist Charles Kuralt described as “the unique American place.”
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| Courtesy New Orleans Metropolitan CVB |
These activities include experiencing New Orleans music, cultural neighborhoods, historical museums and culinary diversity.
The heart and soul of music in this birthplace of jazz and melting pot of genres, from Zydeco to gospel, begins in its most famed district: the French Quarter. “If groups can’t attend one of the many annual music festivals, like Satchmo Summerfest or the Voodoo Music Experience, [they should] simply stroll the Quarter to hear it all,” said Holland.
Magazine Street, one of the city’s oldest and most diverse shopping districts, offers six miles of shops and galleries, and the New Orleans Art District, a community nicknamed the SoHo of the South, with museums, shops and entertainment, are two group favorites.
More than a dozen museums, including the Louisiana State Museum, which features an 1850s house and the Old U.S. Mint, and the new Southern Food and Beverage Museum, with its look at the South’s culinary heritage, provide groups myriad opportunities to discover the area’s traditions and customs.
The biggest museum news in the Big Easy is the new phase of the National World War II Museum, which opened in November and that features Beyond All Boundaries, a film produced and narrated by actor Tom Hanks. Shown in the museum’s new Victory Theater, 4-D elements like shaking seats and simulated winds make viewers feel like they are on the battlefield.
“Groups visiting over the holidays will want to visit the Roosevelt Hotel, recently reopened following a $145 million restoration,” said Holland. “With a canopy of white birch branches, thousands of lights, Christmas trees and poinsettias, the Roosevelt’s decorated lobby has been a New Orleans tradition since the 1930s.”
www.neworleanscvb.com
(800) 748-8695, ext. 5053
