8 Night Memphis to New Orleans Cruise and Land Tour from Memphis

Enjoy your complimentary stay at the pre-cruise hotel. The evening is yours to become acquainted with the city. For your convenience, American Queen Voyages Hospitality Desk will be located in the hotel, and the friendly staff can assist with everything from general questions about your upcoming voyage to reserving premium experiences. Representatives from AQV and a local port/city partner will be available to provide you with dining, entertainment, and sightseeing options to maximize your time here.

The history and heritage of Memphis begins with the indigenous people who lived by the mighty Mississippi. Throughout the years it has been home to cotton tycoons and enslaved people, to musicians who sounded the first notes of songs that still echo around the world today, and to civil rights icons including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Visitors embrace the diversity of this city that has been coined not only the home of the blues but also the birthplace of rock 'n' roll and its many music-themed attractions. As one of the most famous music destinations in the world, Memphis is a melodious port for American Queen Voyages guests to experience, including Beale Street Historic District, Blues Music Hall of Fame, Center for Southern Folklore, Graceland, Gibson Guitar Factory, Memphis Music Hall of Fame, Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum, St. Blues Guitar Workshop, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Sun Studio, and the W.C. Handy home and museum. Memphis is also rich with arts, sculpture, and painting exhibits offering pieces form Rodin to Renoir. Explore the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis Botanic Garden, Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Metal Museum, Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art, Crosstown Arts, and the Cotton Museum at the Memphis Cotton Exchange. If you prefer to discover a destination by walking its streets, boogie on down to Beale Street - it's alive with quirky places to indulge in some authentic Southern barbeque, shop for souvenirs, and sip on a Blue Suede Tini or some other music-inspired local libation.

In the heart of the Mississippi Delta lies the town of Cleveland, one of the two county seats of Bolivar County. Named for President Grover Cleveland, the town began formation in 1869. Bolivar County has deep roots in the civil rights movement. Amzie Moore, a civil rights pioneer, opened a gas station, beauty shop, and grocery store on Highway 61 in Cleveland. His business also served as headquarters for the area's civil rights efforts. His home was declared a historical landmark on May 13, 2008. Because of the Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railroad that ran through the middle of town, people were drawn to Cleveland from outlying areas. Often called the "Birthplace of the Blues", Cleveland brims with musical history and avenues to learn about it. The blues are very much alive in this Delta community, and one of the best places to experience the heritage and culture that is the blues is just outside Cleveland at Dockery Farms, home to world-famous Delta blues musician Charley Patton. His former home was recently honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail. Today, Cleveland is a nice, college town with friendly neighbors. More of a farming community than "small city", the town's unique Southern culture is the amalgamation of the blues, hand-spun Mississippi mud pottery, and mouthwatering delicacies like catfish and tamales. Cleveland is also home to the GRAMMY museum. Recent exhibits were "Stronger Together: The Power of Women in Country Music" and a special limited-time display celebrating the music of Garth Brooks.

Vicksburg perfectly blends Southern culture and heritage with exciting modern attractions. As a major battle site during the Civil War, this port carries a history unlike any other. Learn about the historic conflicts of the city, taste its cuisine, visit the many museums, and pick out the perfect souvenir. Vicksburg's best-known contribution to history is probably the part she played in the American Civil War. It is the final resting place for 17,000 Union soldiers, 13,000 of whom are unknown. In 1899, the Vicksburg National Military Park was created to commemorate and preserve the infamous siege line and the historic heritage. Visitors can climb the 47 steps to the entrance of the marble Illinois Monument, featuring a domed roof, pillars, and sculpted bronze bald eagle. Also at the park is the USS Cairo Gunboat and Museum - a historic warship that was torpedoed and later raised after spending over 100 years at the bottom of the Yazoo River. Today, visitors can climb aboard to see some original weapons and gear used by the soldiers. Other attractions of note include the Lower Mississippi River Museum and Vicksburg Riverfront Murals. Painted on Mississippi River floodwalls, these impressive murals begun in 2002 capture the past, present, and future of Vicksburg and its defining roles in history, culture, and religion. Visit the Lower Mississippi River Museum to find out how Vicksburg ancestors lived along the river during the 19th and 20th centuries, including interactive exhibits. The museum also offers an aquarium featuring local fish species.

Natchez is known for its elegance, hospitality, and impressive preservation of historic homes - found on every street corner. It seems as if history fell asleep and awoke unscathed by the changing of times in this magical port. Natchez is home to over 1,000 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Most of the homes survived the American Civil War and their history flows in abundance along the Mississippi. Natchez has a long and fascinating history, dating back to 1716, making it the oldest continuous settlement on the Mississippi. Even before Natchez was settled by Europeans, the area was home to the Natchez Indians, noted for being the only Mississippian culture with complex chiefdom characteristics to have survived long into the period after the European colonization of America began. The Natchez District, along with the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia, pioneered cotton agriculture in the United States. The city recovered from its post-war decline to become one of the state's leading industrial centers. Today the production of wood pulp, lumber, petroleum, and natural gas form the basis of the economy; tourism - including casino gambling - and the manufacture of tires are also important. Shops and restaurants now occupy the site of Natchez Under-the-Hill, a 19th-century town of bordellos and taverns that was a haven for outlaws and boatmen. During your visit, explore the unique shops, restaurants, museums, and historic homes, all of which inspired Hugh Bayless to include Natchez in his book "The 100 Best Towns in America".

St. Francisville today is a testament to the lifestyle of a bygone era, with its cache of charming pre-war homes and striking architecture. With over 140 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, sprawling estates nestled in the countryside, and bustling main street shops, this quaint port situated on the Mississippi has a style all its own. This oldest town in the Florida Parishes, St. Francisville has been called the town two miles long and two yards wide; it lies on a loessal ridge created by the dust storms of the Glacial Period. Swept in from the western plains, this soil formed vertical cliffs sometimes 90 feet high which rested on the sand and clay bottom of an ancient sea. These formations occur only in a narrow strip of land extending from Baton Rouge into Tennessee; the ridges are the actual foothills of the Appalachians. This bluff attracted Spanish Capuchins in need of a highland burial ground. They received a land grant from their king and built a wooden monastery between 1773 and 1785. The settlement which straggled up around the cemetery and monastery took its name from the order's gentle patron. By 1785 the number of land grants taken up by settlers prompted the Spanish leaders to create the district comprising the instep of the boot that is Louisiana today. St. Francisville has survived and reflects the growth and character of the surrounding countryside. A stroll through its historic center awakens a sense of place and an awareness of two centuries of architecture and lifestyles.

Baton Rouge grants a strikingly different experience from those of the small-town stops throughout your voyage. In 1699, French visitors called the spot "red stick" (baton rouge) because of a boundary marker pole, stained with animal blood, on the river bluff. This energetic port houses over 300 years of history, seen in the unique architecture and through the unique arts and culture scene. Here, history-facing museums and landmarks fraternize with forward-looking art and industry to showcase all that Baton Rouge has to offer. Choose to hop on one of our deluxe motorcoaches to explore the diversity of this city, take a walk down the river path alongside the boat or meander through the city streets. Politics is engrained into the culture of Baton Rouge. The contrast can be seen in the accounts of past settlers on display at the Old Louisiana State Capitol, and inside the corridors of the current capitol - an Art Deco skyscraper. As the home of the Louisiana State University main campus and several smaller colleges, Baton Rouge buzzes with a youthful zeal of a college town while holding fast to its graceful Southern traditions. During the fall, LSU's home football games pack the immense Tiger Stadium, and the revelry is known to spill into the streets. A revival has begun in the city center; sites of interest include a riverfront casino, the USS Kidd floating museum, and Shaw Center for the Arts, an ultra-contemporary complex that clusters an art museum, gallery spaces, theaters, and restaurants in the heart of downtown.

American Queen Voyages features an exclusive port at Nottoway, located in White Castle, LA, on the south bank of the Mississippi River, part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan area. Here you can visit the estate of sugarcane magnate J. H. Randolph - the largest standing pre-war mansion in the South (53,000 square feet) - an intricate building with impressive detail. Original furnishings mingle with era-appropriate antiques to create an atmosphere that does justice to the home's original ambiance. It is fascinating history and a luxurious aesthetic - an authentic Southern experience you will not want to pass up. The surrounding town of White Castle was established as a town in the 1880s with the influx of people and business brought by the logging industry in the cypress swamps of the area. When the cypress wood was depleted, the main economic activity reverted to the sugar cane industry which had been established in the latter part of the 18th century. Individual plantation sugar mills gave way to larger mills servicing many plantations. By 1970, White Castle had three major sugar mills: Cora Texas, Cedar Grove, and Catherine Supple Plantation. Only one, Cora Texas, is still in operation. During the 1950s, the chemical industry entered the area, congregating around the Mississippi between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. This industry brought economic growth which took White Castle into the 1980s. Companies establishing chemical plants in the area near White Castle were Dow Chemical north of Plaquemine, Georgia Gulf and Hercules north of White Castle, and Ciba-Geigy on the east bank of the Mississippi.

As your American Queen Voyages journey concludes, there are other opportunities for you to take in the town - whether it's an optional premier post-cruise experience or a quick transfer to the airport for your final trip home - your AQV team can pre-arrange everything for you.