Must do's in Texas, New Orleans, Memphis and Nashville

Looking for recommendations on what to see and do in these places, any experience people have had, must see's.

We are in each location for a couple of nights. We love doing pretty much everything, so the more suggestions the better.

Trying to build up an itinerary of things to see and do.
We love live music, beer/wine/whiskey, history, historic locations, theme parks, good food, nice bars and restaurants, movie, you name it.

It's a fly and drive holiday from the UK in May and visiting in this order.

San Antonio
Austin
Houston
New Orleans
Memphis
Nashville
Dollywood

Everyone's recommendations welcome.

There is nowhere any "must do". It always depend only what YOU want to do and to see.
You will find all the activities you have written down in every city you mentioned. We cannot list them individually, it's too much. So the only recommendation I can give: take a good guidebook and read it. Or have a look at the tourist-information center of every mentioned city.

You don't mention how many days you plan to spend on the trip, and what your entry and exit points will be in the U.S. Will you be renting a vehicle at one location and dropping it off in another? Will you be taking short domestic flights, or is it entirely a road trip? If it's the latter, have you calculated the time it takes to drive from one metropolitan area to another? The U.S. is a the world's fourth-largest country by area; only Russia, Canada and China are larger. Then there's traffic, especially during the morning and evening rush hours. You might find some destinations on your route will be worth more than two days, and some might only be worth a day to visit the major sites. Personally, I'd spend more than two days in New Orleans, particularly if you want to sample its cuisine, music, nightlife, etc. There might be a festival, or two, while you're there. We witnessed one in the Garden District, complete with floats from which trinkets, such as strings of colorful beads, were thrown. It's experiences like this that can make a trip especially memorable.

[ Edit: Edited on 5 Mar 2024, 20:38 GMT by berner256 ]

It's easy to find lists of top ten things to do in any city. Most of these lists revolve around tourist attractions and museums, and that's what most people like to do when they travel. I've found that this works to a certain extent but the best way to interface with American cities especially is to look up event calendars to find local festivals and cultural events that match up with our interests. Hardly any tourists do this so if you are interested in seeing what Houstonians do for fun in Houston rather than what tourists do in Houston this is a good approach. Farmers markets are another great way to experience the local lifestyle.

Regarding your itinerary it's been eight years since we were in Texas so some things may have changed. In San Antonio I would allot plenty of time for the River Walk. It is very unique and fun. The Japanese garden is really nice. We also went to a really good drive-through wildlife park outside San Antonio but I forgot the name. It might have been Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch.

In Houston, one thing you won't find on the top ten lists is the network of pedestrian tunnels that connect the downtown office buildings and are filled with interesting little stores and restaurants. We also liked Bayou Bend, Hermann Park, Rice University campus, and the Montrose neighborhood.

I have to run but if I get time this evening I'll add in your other cities. I've written up New Orleans in my blog here and here.

Google type search will give you a few options to consider.

In Texas, perhaps look into a visit to a "Dude Ranch" and play cowboy for a couple days.

The month you visit may determine some of the "outside" things you can do.

Have fun.

I only have a lot of experience in Memphis and New Orleans.

I visited New Orleans before Katrina (2004) so some things have changed. The start of our visit (leaving out flying in) is https://grandmarmercedes.travellerspoint.com/42/ You can get to subsequent or previous sections by clicking Next or Previous or going to the Table of Contents

Our trip to Memphis was 2 years later https://grandmarafv.travellerspoint.com/40/|

I've visited the first four of the places you mention. I agree with BeateR that any "must do" is a question of personal preference. It's a pitty you don't seem to like natural sights, as (in my opinion) that's Texas's selling point. When I only consider cities, San Antonio stood out for me because of the River Walk (plenty of shade to make it doable even in the Summer). Plenty of bars and restaurants along the way to add to a nice atmosphere that is unrivaled in any other American city I know. Texans will probably list the Alamo as the number 1 sight in San Antonio, but to me it was a "meh".

[ Edit: Edited on 25 Mar 2024, 17:26 GMT by brabo1978 ]

I went to Nashille before, and one of the things you shouldn't miss out on is the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.