The Corridors: from Chicago to New Orleans by train - City of New Orleans

Chicago rises along the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, the third-largest city in the United States and the acknowledged birthplace of the modern skyscraper: here, after the Great Fire of 1871, American architecture reinvented itself, giving rise to one of the most famous skylines in the world. Its beating heart is the Loop, the business district encircled by the elevated 'L' train, where masterpieces by Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright stand side by side. A short walk leads to Millennium Park, with the gleaming 'Cloud Gate' sculpture (nicknamed 'The Bean' by locals) and the Jay Pritzker Pavilion designed by Frank Gehry. Nearby, the Art Institute of Chicago, one of America's great museums, guards Impressionist masterpieces and Grant Wood's celebrated 'American Gothic'. Along the water, the Chicago Riverwalk offers another vantage on the city, while the boats of the Architecture River Cruise glide between the façades, recounting a century and a half of building ingenuity. Toward the lake, Navy Pier with its Ferris wheel and the Magnificent Mile, the elegant stretch of Michigan Avenue lined with shops and hotels, set the rhythm of city life. Yet Chicago is also music and flavour: the home of electric blues and jazz resounds in the clubs of the South Side, while its tables serve the hearty deep-dish pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs and the food markets of lively neighbourhoods such as Pilsen and West Loop. Rising to the 412-metre Skydeck of the Willis Tower, the gaze sweeps across the lake and the boundless Illinois plain. A city of lakes and skyscrapers, of jazz and bold architecture, Chicago reveals itself on foot, amid the gusts that earned it the nickname 'Windy City' and the unmistakable energy of the American Midwest.

Memphis is the true capital of blues, soul and rock & roll music. Music lovers won't want to miss the many music history landmarks.

Greenwood stretches across the fertile cotton plains of the Mississippi Delta, a land of blues and deep Southern roots. The town keeps a historic centre rich in period buildings and serves as a base for exploring Delta culture, amid cotton fields, music and Southern cuisine. Its authentic atmosphere tells of deep America. Greenwood is the ideal destination for those seeking Delta culture, blues roots and the genuine flavours of Mississippi. Jackson is the capital of Mississippi, founded along its namesake river in the heart of the Deep South, a city with a crucial role in the history of the civil rights movement. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the house-museum of activist Medgar Evers recount fundamental chapters of this struggle. A cradle of the blues and Delta music, it preserves a deep cultural heritage, while the State Capitol and historic districts attest to its past. The novel (later turned into a film) "The Help" is set here. New Orleans, rising on a bend of the Mississippi river, is the residence of Creole aristocracy, descending from Spanish and French settlers. Although its glory has faded, the French Quarter stands at the core of the city – secretly alive in its narrow, bustling alleys and hidden courts. A night-time tour of Bourbon Street will hurl you into a savage, exciting, riotous world.