Texas & the Deep South

Flight from Zurich via Frankfurt to Dallas. Welcome by the local tour guide, followed by transfer to the hotel.

A local tour guide introduces you to the highlights of the largest city in Texas. In the afternoon you can explore further highlights of Dallas, such as the John F. Kennedy Museum, on your own.

Drive south through the state of Texas to Houston. You will get to know the city nicknamed "Space City USA" on an orientation drive. Houston is a renowned cultural centre with a world-famous theatre district and outstanding museums. The programme includes a visit to the Space Center, where NASA's most important decisions are made. Shopping opportunities can be found at "The Galleria", "Highland Village" and "Rice Village".

Drive through the state of Texas to Louisiana, first to Lake Charles, the vibrant heart of Cajun Country. The city's highlights include a thriving artists' colony, the historic Charpentier District with its intricate architecture, casino boats and an inland beach with white sand. The journey continues to Lafayette. You can spend the afternoon in one of the museums, where you will learn how the "Cajuns" lived. You will hear their music and taste their traditional dishes.

Experience the immense beauty of the Mississippi Delta. The route takes you via Baton Rouge to Oak Alley Plantation. On a tour of the grounds you will learn about life on a plantation in the 19th century. You then continue along the Mississippi, where you will see several magnificent plantation houses with their typical tree-lined avenues. In the late afternoon you reach New Orleans, known as "Big Easy". This vibrant city is legendary for its enchanting paddle steamers, live music in the small bars of the French Quarter, spicy Creole cuisine, Mardi Gras, great shopping, fascinating museums and a seemingly endless series of festivals. In the evening you can take a stroll along Bourbon Street.

City tour in the morning, presenting the highlights of New Orleans. This includes the French Quarter and the local cemetery culture. Because of the high water table, the cemeteries are built above ground with crypts. The best known is certainly Lafayette Cemetery. The rest of the day is at your leisure. In the afternoon you can take an optional trip on one of the typical paddle steamers on the Mississippi.

You leave the city of blues and jazz and head north. Today your companion is the Mississippi. Passing Baton Rouge, a city captured by the British in 1763, you reach Natchez. On a walk you will gain an impression of its former wealth and its past.

Drive to Memphis, the home of blues and rock'n'roll. You first visit Graceland, where Elvis composed many of his songs. On a tour of the house of the "King of Rock'n'Roll" you gain an insight into his eventful life and see how Elvis Presley lived and ultimately died. Not to be forgotten is the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King was shot on the balcony on 4 April 1968 at 18:01. Afterwards you can stroll along Memphis's best-known shopping street, Beale Street.

In the morning you get to know Memphis on a sightseeing tour, the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock'n'roll. In the afternoon, continue to Nashville, where country music and whiskey are celebrated and a Wild West flair can be felt. Famous singers such as Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash and Barbara Mandrell are just a few of the names who made country music a success in this city.

Tour of Nashville, including a visit to Capitol Mall State Park, a memorial to veterans of the Second World War. The journey then continues to Chattanooga, where the Tennessee River awaits you. The state owes its name to this river. A visit to Chattanooga station, where you can see the Chattanooga Choo-Choo train, is part of the programme. In the evening you reach Atlanta. The capital of the state of Georgia is best known for hosting the 26th Summer Olympic Games in 1996.

On a city tour you will see the birthplace of Martin Luther King. Nuremberg is one of its twin cities, and Coca-Cola has its headquarters here in Atlanta. You have the opportunity to visit the famous Coca-Cola Museum (optional).

The morning is at your leisure. Return flight in the afternoon.

Arrival in Zurich and individual journey home.

Swiss citizens require an electronic travel authorisation (ESTA) to enter the USA, which must be applied for online by yourself before departure.