Nashville to New Orleans road trip: Stops, distance & drive time

The distance from Nashville to New Orleans by car is 533 miles, with a driving time of around seven hours and 44 minutes. The best road trip stops on the Nashville to New Orleans drive are Huntsville AL, Birmingham AL and Meridian MS.

Planning a Nashville to New Orleans road trip itinerary

The Nashville to New Orleans drive connects the Tennessee capital to the hedonistic hub of Louisiana.

Nashville is renowned for its country music, but the National Museum of African American Music is also in the Tennessee capital.

The best Nashville experiences include backstage tours of the Grand Ole Opry House, helicopter flights over the city and tasting tours at the Big Machine Distillery. You can also try line dancing classes, the Country Music Hall of Fame and haunted pub crawls. Or, for lavish old homes, visit Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage, the Travellers Rest Historic House Museum and Belmont Mansion.

Excellent Nashville accommodation choices include the gloriously evocative Belle Air Mansion and Inn, plus downtown’s grand dame, the Hermitage.

New Orleans resolutely refuses to feel like any other American city. From the raucous hedonism of Bourbon Street to the European-influenced charm of the French Quarter, New Orleans is mesmerizingly unusual to hang out in.

Top New Orleans experiences include French Quarter food tours, haunted pub crawls, jazz cruises aboard the steamboat Natchez and cemetery walking tours.

For other attractions, try the National WWII Museum, the Vue Orleans observation deck and the urban enslavement tours at Hermann Grima House.

Nashville to New Orleans distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Nashville to New Orleans is 533 miles. That makes for a driving time of around seven hours and 44 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-65, I-20 and I-59.

The best stops to add to a Nashville to New Orleans road trip itinerary are Huntsville AL, Birmingham AL and Meridian MS.

For more attractions, check out the guides to the Nashville to Huntsville drive, Huntsville to Birmingham drive and Birmingham to Meridian drive.

Nashville to New Orleans road trip attractions: Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville has played a massive part in the space race, and the US Space and Rocket Center is the top attraction. There are lots of ways to experience what being an astronaut is like here, including flight simulators and a G-Force Accelerator. Most fun (or nauseating, depending on perspective) is the multi-axis trainer, which spins you round in all directions.

Other Hunstville experiences include self-guided audio tours and scavenger hunts.

Nashville to New Orleans drive: Birmingham AL

Birmingham, Alabama, has a rich civil rights heritage. This is best explored on a civil rights tour which links the key sites and, crucially, puts them into context. Other Birmingham experiences include ghost walks and multi-brewery beer tours.

For museums, you’ve got the McWane Science Center, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark and more. 

If planning to visit several of them, a Birmingham Area Multi-Attraction Pass will save you money.

The top-rated Birmingham accommodation picks are the Drury Inn and Suites Birmingham Grandview and the TownePlace Suites by Marriott Birmingham South.

Best stops between Nashville to New Orleans: Meridian MS

The Meridian Museum of Art is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Meridian Children’s Museum keeps younger visitors entertained.

Elsewhere, the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience celebrates Mississippi’s contribution to the arts world and the Greek Revival-style Merrehope does the historic home thing.

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