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Étaperia

Chicago, the Midwest and the South in 18 days: itinerary to New Orleans

From the architecture of Chicago to the nights of New Orleans, by way of the temple of speed in Indianapolis, the longest cave in the world and the capital of country music.

Sequenced by Kylian Updated on 6 September 2026

Cloud Gate in Millennium Park and the Chicago skyline
  • 18 days
  • 45 places
  • 18 nights
  • sustained pace
Start
Sandusky, Ohio
End
New Orleans
Main transport
Car, returned in New Orleans at the end of the stage
Recommended season
May-June and September-October are the most pleasant windows; hurricane season runs from June to November on the Gulf

What you get

  • The complete itinerary: 18 days sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening / Hotel
  • The card of every hotel, with the address and a direct booking link
  • Quota tickets, fixed-date tickets and surcharges flagged in advance
  • The country quick guide: weather, transport, formalities, budget
  • A PDF file of 26 pages

What the price does not include

  • Flights
  • Hotel nights
  • Tickets and admission fees
  • Travel insurance
  • On-the-ground assistance during your trip

The travel book preview

The free day in full, with its hotel card. This is the sample.

Day 13

Nashville, Music City

Morning

Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

After 1 h 30 of driving (back to Central Time), the great museum of country music in its building shaped like a bass clef: Elvis's gold Cadillac, Nudie's rhinestone suits and the rotunda of the inductees, from Hank Williams to Dolly Parton.

Afternoon

RCA Studio B and Ryman Auditorium

On Music Row, Studio B (1957) saw Elvis record more than 200 tracks, among them Are You Lonesome Tonight in complete darkness; it is reached by guided tour from the Hall of Fame. Then the Ryman Auditorium (1892), a tabernacle that became the "Mother Church of Country Music", home of the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974.

Evening

Broadway

The honky-tonks of Lower Broadway play free live music from midday to 3:00 AM, neon and all: Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, Robert's Western World and their neighbours. Entry is free, tipping the musicians is the rule.

Good to know

Back to Central Time. The RCA Studio B tour is only sold with the Country Music Hall of Fame ticket, in a timed slot. The Ryman offers a self-guided visit during the day and turns into a concert hall in the evening: check the programme before choosing.

Hotel · Night 13

Drift Nashville, a Member of Design Hotels

A Design Hotels boutique hotel east of the river, with an open view of the skyline, the Dawn café and The Sun Room bar on site, and a seasonal outdoor pool. Nissan Stadium is 8 minutes' walk away, Broadway a few minutes by car.

Address
· East Nashville, east of the Cumberland River
Website
· drifthotels.co (new tab)
Check-in
3:00 PM (to be confirmed) · Check-out 11:00 AM
Book this hotel (new tab)

Buy this itinerary

€39 incl. tax

that is €2.17 per day of travel

The buy button becomes active once the box is ticked.

  • Secure payment through Stripe, bank card, Apple Pay and Google Pay
  • Available immediately in your customer account: online reading with clickable booking links, downloadable PDF for offline use
  • Method: what is checked, and when

A hotel in the itinerary closed or impossible to find, a place to visit permanently closed?

Within 12 months of purchase, email contact@etaperia.com

Itinerary corrected within 7 days, or refunded in full. Terms in article 12 of the T&Cs, on top of the legal warranty (new tab)

€39 incl. tax · 18 days

Buy

A question before buying? Email Kylian, reply within 48 working hours.

The day-by-day rundown

17 stops, 1,510 km as the crow flies

  1. Day 1 Arrival in Chicago along Lake Michigan The road from Sandusky to Chicago Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  2. Day 2 Millennium Park, the Art Institute and Winnetka Millennium Park, Cloud Gate and Crown Fountain Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  3. Day 3 Lincoln Park, from the zoo to the lake Lincoln Park and Lincoln Park Zoo Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  4. Day 4 Grant Park and the historic Loop Grant Park, Buckingham Fountain and the historic grand hotels Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  5. Day 5 From the Garfield Park glasshouses to 360 Chicago Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago Theatre and Hamburger University Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  6. Day 6 The Shedd Aquarium, then on to Indianapolis John G. Shedd Aquarium Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  7. Day 7 Indianapolis, the temple of speed Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum and track lap Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  8. Day 8 Monument Circle, then the US Air Force in Dayton Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument and Monument Circle Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  9. Day 9 Louisville: the Derby, Ali and the Slugger Kentucky Derby Museum Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  10. Day 10 Louisville, from the river to Old Louisville Frazier History Museum and Big Four Bridge Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  11. Day 11 Mammoth Cave, underground and on the water Historic Tour of Mammoth Cave Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  12. Day 12 Hiking the ridges of Mammoth Cave First Creek, McCoy Hollow and Wet Prong Loop Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  13. Day 13 Nashville, Music City Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Free
  14. Day 14 The Parthenon and the Hermitage Parthenon and Centennial Park Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  15. Day 15 The long run south to New Orleans The road from Nashville to New Orleans Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  16. Day 16 The French Quarter Café du Monde, Jackson Square and St Louis Cathedral Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  17. Day 17 The Second World War, the Garden District and the Mississippi National WWII Museum Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  18. Day 18 Bayous, City Park and Bourbon Street Airboat trip in the bayous Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF

Found an error in this itinerary? Report an error

Country quick guide and logistics

The essentials of the country, scannable in ten seconds.

Weather and when to go

  • Continental in Chicago (hot summers, wind off the lake), subtropical in New Orleans: May-June and September-October are the most pleasant windows.
  • Hurricane season runs from June to November on the Gulf, peaking in August and September: the last four days of the stage are exposed to it.
  • Heavy heat in the South in summer, keep hydrated.

Transport and permits

  • The stage crosses two time zones: the return to Central Time happens on the road to Nashville.
  • City parking is expensive, up to $40 to $70 a night in Chicago: hotel parking is often charged separately.
  • The first rental car is returned in New Orleans at the end of the stage, with drop-off fees to be negotiated at booking.
  • In Chicago as in New Orleans, use ride-hailing for late returns.

Formalities and safety

  • A valid biometric passport and a current ESTA, obtained before departure at esta.cbp.dhs.gov.
  • A French driving licence is accepted everywhere on this stage, an international permit is recommended alongside it.
  • The guided tours of Mammoth Cave have slots that go fast: book three months ahead.
  • Mosquitoes are plentiful in Louisiana: repellent for the bayous.

Budget and meals

  • Meals: $15 to $25 at lunchtime, $25 to $45 in the evening excluding drinks, an 18 to 20% tip.
  • In New Orleans, po'boys and gumbo let you eat very well for $15.
  • Admissions and guided tours to plan for: Mammoth Cave, plantations, airboat, the steamboat Natchez.
  • The honky-tonks of Lower Broadway in Nashville play for free: tipping the musicians is the rule.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly do I receive?

Your Étaperia itinerary, available immediately in your customer account after payment: readable online with clickable booking links, and downloadable as a PDF for the trip. Every day is sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening, with the hotel for each night, its address and its booking link, and timed-entry tickets flagged in advance.

How is this better than what an AI gives me?

A generative AI composes a plausible list in seconds, without saying what was checked or when. At Étaperia, every itinerary is sequenced by hand, place by place, with the booking constraints spotted before it is too late to get them. The Method page says what is checked, against which source and on what date.

Can I adapt it to my dates and my pace?

Yes. The days are self-contained blocks: you can shift the departure, stretch a stage or skip a day without breaking what follows. Only timed-entry tickets require adjusting the dates accordingly, and they are all flagged.

What if a hotel or a place in the itinerary has closed?

Email contact@etaperia.com within 12 months of your purchase. If a hotel in the itinerary is closed or can no longer be found, or a place to visit has closed permanently, the itinerary is corrected in your customer account within 7 days, or you are refunded in full. A hotel fully booked on your dates, a seasonal closure or a change in opening hours or prices is not covered. This guarantee comes on top of the legal warranty of conformity; details in article 12 of the terms and conditions of sale.

Who is selling you this itinerary

  • Kylian, sole trader, SIRET 927 587 709 00035
  • Consumer mediator: ANM Consommation
  • Payment handled by Stripe: Étaperia never sees your card number
  • Publisher, not a travel agency: you book flights, hotels and tickets yourself

In the same country

This module is one leg of the full itinerary: Eastern United States in 88 days: the grand loop from New York

The complete itinerary

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