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Southern USA

Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2025

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Exterior of 19th century plantation house at Oak Alley Plantation.

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Overview

The South falls from the granite, forested fists of Kentucky and Tennessee into craggy hill country and thick woods. This rugged landscape slowly changes as the waters of its rivers – including North America's greatest, the Mississippi – saturate the land into boggy, black-water blankets and sun-seared marsh, all thinning into the salty membrane of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

Must-see attractions