1. New Orleans, Louisiana
   Charleston, South Carolina
2. Nashville, Tennesee
   Biloxi, Mississippi

Tennessee's capital, Nashville, is known as the "country music capital of the world." Some famous country musicians who currently live there are Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Billy Ray Cyrus and Martina McBride.

1. Tallahassee, Florida
   Miami, Florida
2. Orlando, Florida
   Destin, Florida

This giant sphere is the iconic symbol of Epcot, one of Disney World's four kingdoms. (The others are Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.) Disney World is located in Orlando, Florida, not to be confused with Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

1. El Paso, Texas
   Jackson, Mississippi
2. Tallahassee, Florida
   Lafayette, Louisiana

Lafayette is a culturally rich city in Louisiana's Acadian region (AKA, "Cajun Country"). The French Acadians were expelled from the British Canadian maritime provinces in the 18th century and migrated to then-Spanish Louisiana under the watchful eye of their patron saint, Our Lady of the Assumption. French is still spoken there today.

1. El Paso, Texas
   El Dorado, Arkansas
2. San Antonio, Texas
   Pine Bluff, Arkansas

The infamous Battle of the Alamo was fought in 1836 between Mexico and Texans, who were fighting for independence. Mexico won, and the vast majority of Texans were killed. The few survivors were women, children and/or slaves.

1. Eureka Springs, Arkansas
   Tulsa, Oklahoma
2. Fayetteville, Arkansas
   Ardmore, Oklahoma

Made by Gerald L. K. Smith (who also worked on Mount Rushmore), the statue stands at 65.5 feet in height. The mountainous town of Eureka Springs is also known for its picturesque cottages and winding streets and stairways.

1. Austin, Texas
   Washington, D.C.
2. Memphis, Tennessee
   New Orleans, Louisiana

Mardi Gras parades are organized by "krewes" (some big, some small, some historic, some new) of residents who band together every year to make elaborate floats and costumes. The Krewe of Joan of Arc traditionally kicks the season off on January 6th (Twelfth Night) with a parade in honor of the teen martyr. Zulu, St. Anne and Rex are just a few krewes that march on the day itself.

1. Hot Springs, Arkansas
   Knoxville, Tennessee
2. Richmond, Virginia
   Atlanta, Georgia

"Gone with the Wind" is a historical novel that takes place over the Civil War and Reconstruction. It follows the story of Scarlett O'Hara, a southern belle who lives on the plantation her father owns and centers around themes such as slavery, war and coming-of-age.

1. Clarksdale, Mississippi
   Natchez, Louisiana
2. Chattanooga, Tennessee
   Destin, Florida

One of the most famous bluesmen of all time, Muddy Waters, had an illustrious career both in his native Mississippi and up north in Chicago. Today, Clarksdale is a hub for live blues of the highest caliber.

1. Birmingham, Alabama
   Austin, Texas
2. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
   Charleston, South Carolina

One of the south's most liberal cities, Austin is full of artists, musicians and young transplants of all sorts. It definitely has a lot to offer, although some longtime residents complain that it's becoming a bit of a caricature of itself.

1. Galveston, Texas
   Brunswick, Georgia
2. Port St. Lucie, Florida
   St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the continental US. Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon landed there in 1513, and it was officially founded as a city in 1565.

1. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
   Vidalia, Georgia
2. Murfreesboro, Tennessee
   Norfolk, Virginia

Named after a Choctaw chief and originally spelled "Tuskaloosa," this city was incorporated in 1819 and served as Alabama's capital from 1826 to 1846. It was nicknamed "Druid City." (Not, oddly enough, for the Stonehenge-y looks of Capitol Park, but for the water oaks lining its streets. The Celts were known oak-worshippers.)

1. Jonesboro, Arkansas
   Leeds, Alabama
2. Asheville, North Carolina
   Macon, Georgia

Jonesboro is the fifth-largest city in Arkansas and home to Arkansas State University. The city was also the location of the Westside Middle School school shooting in 1998, a tragic occurrence that resultant in the deaths of five people.

1. Orlando, Florida
   Key West, Florida
2. Houston, Texas
   Montgomery, Alabama

Houston got its nickname in 1967 when it became home to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. (Hence that old saying, "Houston, we have a problem.") It's also the only major U.S. city with no zoning laws.

1. Dallas, Texas
   Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2. Jackson, Mississippi
   Atlanta, Georgia

That's right; the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta is the largest in the world, both in terms of the number of fish and amount of water (more than one million cubic feet.) It opened in 2005, largely thanks to a donation made by one of the co-founders of Home Depot.

1. Houston, Texas
   Shreveport, Louisiana
2. Miami, Florida
   Savannah, Georgia

With its parks and fountains and quaint historic architecture, Savannah is a true southern belle. The city is widely known for its art scene. Visitors also enjoy the open-carry policy that allows them to stroll around admiring the art and beauty, cocktails in hand.

1. Richmond, Virginia
   Annapolis, Maryland
2. Frankfort, Kentucky
   Washington, D.C.

Washington D.C. was specifically constructed to serve as the U.S. capital as part of an agreement to appease the pro-slavery southern states; they'd taken issue with the seat of government previously being so far to the north, first in Philadelphia, then in New York City. Northern Maryland and southern Virginia each ceded a small amount of land to found the District of Columbia.

1. Jackson, Mississippi
   Birmingham, Alabama
2. Oxford, Mississippi
   Montgomery, Alabama

Medgar Evers was the first state field secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He was assassinated in 1963, and after extenuated legal proceedings, his killer was finally sent to prison in 1994. President Barack Obama dedicated Evers' home as a National Historic Monument in 2017.

1. Lake Charles, Louisiana
   Natchitoches, Louisiana
2. Pineville, Louisiana
   Myrtle Grove, Louisiana

Even older than New Orleans (as residents are fond of reminding visitors), Natchitoches was founded in 1714 by a French explorer named Louis Juchereau de St. Denis. Beyond just being the oldest city in Louisiana, however, it's actually the oldest (European) permanent settlement within the boundaries of the entire Louisiana Purchase, which is over one-fifth of the area of the whole United States.

1. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
   Richmond, Virginia
2. Raleigh, North Carolina
   Little Rock, Arkansas

A nature lover's paradise, this park boasts well over 2,000 acres of diverse terrain. Pinnacle Mountain is the crowning centerpiece. The city of Little Rock is also historically important as a site of civil rights protests and activism.

1. Dallas, Texas
   Memphis, Tennessee
2. Charlotte, North Carolina
   Sarasota, Florida

The spherical observation deck nicknamed "The Ball" sits 470 feet in the air and is full of telescopes, high-zoom cameras and interactive exhibits. It was built in 1978 and has become a key part of the city's skyline.

1. Asheville, North Carolina
   Charleston, South Carolina
2. Macon, Georgia
   Gulf Port, Mississippi

Charleston was founded in 1670 as a British settlement and named for King Charles II. Today it's a major U.S. city as well as a lovely historic town known for its horse-drawn carriages, cobblestone streets and houses painted in pinks and yellows.

1. Huntsville, Alabama
   Knoxville, Tennessee
2. Roanoke, Virginia
   Raleigh, North Carolina

Raleigh is a popular place for families to live because of its green spaces, quaint neighborhoods, high quality of life and affordability. It's not a city that's known for its nightlife or public transportation system.

1. Gatlinburg, Tennessee
   Eureka Springs, Arkansas
2. Jacksonville, Florida
   Asheville, North Carolina

Quirky little Asheville is home to various locally owned bars, breweries and cafes. A popular stop for touring musicians of all genres, it's particularly known for its bluegrass and Appalachian-style music scene.

1. Texarkana, Texas
   Roanoke, Virginia
2. Fayetteville, Arkansas
   Greensboro, North Carolina

Be sure not to confuse Roanoke, Virginia, with "the Lost Colony" of Roanoke Island, North Carolina. The latter refers to the hundred-plus English settlers who arrived on Roanoke Island in 1587 and were found to have disappeared without a trace when more supplies arrived in 1590. History still doesn't know what happened to them.

1. Nashville, Tennessee
   St. Augustin, Florida
2. Mobile, Alabama
   El Paso, Texas

One of the oldest cities on the Gulf Coast, Mobile is located in the tiny piece of Alabama that dips down to touch the Gulf of Mexico. Its residents are known for really getting into the spirit of Mardi Gras, although the celebrations are somewhat overshadowed by those of their neighbors two hours away in New Orleans.

1. New Orleans, Louisiana
   Gulfport, Mississippi
2. Atlanta, Georgia
   Miami, Florida

To name just a few of Miami's popular beaches, there's Haulover, SoFi, Crandon, Matheson Hammock, 12th Street, 8th Street, Surfside, Lummus and Bill Baggs. Miami is also known for its Latin music, Cuban food and clubbing scene.

1. Altanta, Georgia
   Birmingham, Alabama
2. Richmond, Virginia
   Charleston, South Carolina

The debates surrounding the statues (in Richmond as in other southern cities) involve questions like, "Can we in good conscience continue to display monuments dedicated to pro-slavery forces?", "Do we act as if history didn't happen by taking them down?" "Can the Confederate statues represent aspects of regional pride separate from slavery, or are they unconditionally intertwined?", etc.

1. Memphis, Tennessee
   Nashville, Tennessee
2. Asheville, North Carolina
   Austin, Texas

Although both Nashville and Memphis are major Tennessee music hubs, the former is more associated with country music and the latter with blues and rock. Memphis is often called "the birthplace of rock 'n' roll," and it's where you'll find Elvis' home, Graceland.

1. Savannah, Georgia
   St. Louis, Missouri
2. Athens, Georgia
   New Orleans, Louisiana

Visitors can experience some local history and culture with dinner and live jazz during a river cruise. This incarnation of the Natchez is actually the ninth and was built in 1975, but its form stays true to the 18th and 19th-century steamboats that roved up and down the river.

1. Birmingham, Alabama
   Knoxvile, Tennessee
2. Richmond, Virginia
   Tallahassee, Florida

Other endangered species living at St. Marks include the flatwoods salamander and the West Indian manatee. Visitors can enjoy hiking, biking and horseback riding. St. Marks Lighthouse (which is still in operation) is the second-oldest in the state, built in 1842.

1. Oxford, Mississippi
   Tupelo, Mississippi
2. Hattiesburg, Mississippi
   Key West, Florida

Usually called by its nickname "Southern Miss," the University of Southern Mississippi is a public research university known for its academics, its golden eagle mascot (called "Seymour de Campus") and its reputation as somewhat of a party school. The University of Mississippi (aka "Ole Miss") is in Oxford, Mississippi.

1. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
   Raleigh, North Carolina
2. Washington, D.C.
   Little Rock, Arkansas

The Capitol Building in Baton Rouge is 460 feet to its tip. Baton Rouge ("red stick" in French) was named for an actual red stick there that caught the eye of French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville in 1699. (The story goes that it was planted by the Bayougoula and Houma tribes to mark the boundary of their hunting grounds.)

1. Macon, Georgia
   Key West, Florida
2. Shreveport, Louisiana
   Corpus Christi, Texas

The looming earthworks here represent the remains of a Mississippian-culture village, one structure of which was carbon-dated to the year 1015. The Mississippian people were the most recent of several cultures to inhabit the area; the earliest we know of (as evidenced by their characteristic Clovis stone projectile points) were the Paleoindians around 17,000 years ago.

1. Columbus, Georgia
   Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
2. Lexington, Kentucky
   Sarasota, Florida

The Ringling Brothers purchased Barnum & Bailey after Bailey passed away, forming Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey in 1919. Sarasota became their winter base as of 1927, and in 1948, the Ringling Museum of the American Circus opened. Today, the Historic Circus Museum is housed at the Ringling Museum of Art, and its offerings have expanded immensely.

1. Knoxville, Tennessee
   Huntsville, Alabama
2. Fort Lauderdale, Florida
   Durham, North Carolina

The structure is 266 feet high, and one of its floors features a free-and-open-to-the-public observation deck that gives visitors 360-degree views of the city. The sphere's glass panels are layered with gold dust, and each cost about $1,000.

1. Montgomery, Alabama
   Virginia Beach, Virginia
2. Chattanooga, Tennessee
   Lexington, Kentucky

The Battle of Lookout Mountain and the Battle of Missionary Ridge are known together as the Battles for Chattanooga. They took place in November of 1863 and resulted in Union victories. Chattanooga shares the park with Chickamauga, Georgia, 9 miles to the south.

1. Atlanta, Georgia
   Augusta, Georgia
2. Alpharetta, Georgia
   Abbeville, Georgia

Woods won his first Masters in 1997 at the tender age of 21. This made him both the youngest person to ever win the tournament and the first non-white person. He has won three additional Masters since, plus many other prestigious golf tournaments.

1. Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
   Charlotte, North Carolina
2. Pensacola, Florida
   Oxford, Mississippi

Charlotte's love of hornets dates back to the American Revolution. In 1780, British general Charles Cornwallis found the city to be a stronghold of resistance to the Crown, causing him to gripe that it was a "veritable hornet's nest of rebellion."

1. El Paso, Texas
   Gainesville, Florida
2. Virginia Beach, Virginia
   Marietta, Georgia

Sunbathers flock to the beach during the warmer months. The boardwalk is a prime spot for walking, jogging, skateboarding, exploring restaurants and perusing souvenir shops and candy stores.

1. Dallas, Texas
   Houston, Texas
2. San Antonio, Texas
   Austin, Texas

With its hip bars and growing reputation as a music mecca, it's sometimes easy to forget that Austin is also the seat of government in Texas. It was made the capital of the Republic of Texas in 1839, and (except for a two-year period in the 1840s) remained the capital throughout Texas' history as a republic and a state. It was originally named Waterloo.