ELVIS ON TOUR

MEMPHIS

Tennessee’s great city of the blues will always be the shrine at the end of the Presley pilgrimage trail.

It’s not just that Elvis is still “here” – buried in the grounds of the Graceland mansion (graceland.com) that was his home from

1957 until his death 20 years later – but the fact that Memphis was pivotal to his development as an artist. Beale Street, its main drag, is much gaudier and more tourist-centric now than it was in the 1950s, when a teenage Elvis frequented its blues venues, but you can still hear the moan of melancholy guitars at BB King’s Blues Club (bbkings. com). Then there is Sun Studio (sunstudio.com), where the then-19-year-old cut his debut single, That’s All Right, in 1954.

Do it Trafalgar (0808 301 1669; trafalgar.com) offers a Tastes and Sounds of the South escorted tour that spends two of its 10 days in Memphis en route from Nashville to New Orleans. From £2,755 per person, flights extra. Seven editions are still on offer this year

MISSISSIPPI

Presley spent his first 13 years over the state line in Mississippi – some of it in the two-room “shotgun house” in Tupelo (right) where he was born on January 8 1935. The property is now preserved as a museum (elvispresley birthplace.com) with extra elements from his childhood, including the church where he was exposed to gospel music. A bronze statue shows him as a 13-year-old in overalls, heading off to Memphis.

Do it The nine-day Greatest Hits of the South road trip offered by Bon Voyage (0800 316 3012; bon-voyage.co.uk) stops in Tupelo. From £1,995 per person, including flights

LAS VEGAS

The final decade of Presley’s career had Nevada’s glitziest city as its backdrop. It was a time of white jumpsuits and terminal decline, yet it also witnessed a vastly popular return to the stage after a seven-year hiatus. Between 1969 and 1976, Presley performed 636 shows at the International Hotel near the north end of the Strip: a colossal property that was once the world’s largest hotel. It has been through various re-brands in the decades since – it currently operates as the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino (westgateresorts.com) – but it maintains its close connection to its most famous alumnus. The

“King of Las Vegas” festival scheduled for July 8-10 is just its latest celebration of Presley’s music.

Do it A seven-night (roomonly) escape to the resort, flying from Heathrow on

July 5, costs from £1,156 per person, through On The Beach (0161 509 3700; onthebeach.co.uk)

GERMANY

Presley’s spell in the army was a period of relative comfort and light duties. He was dispatched to Friedberg, a town in the Hesse region, but largely lived in the nearby spa towns of Bad Homburg and Bad Nauheim. The Hilberts Parkhotel in the former, where he spent five nights in 1958, was knocked down in 1989. The Hotel Villa Grunewald in the latter – where he enjoyed a lengthy stay before moving to a private house at 14 Goethestrasse – still exists (hotel-villa-grunewald.de), and has preserved the room where he once slept.

Do it A three-night stay in the hotel’s Elvis Room, flying from Heathrow to Frankfurt on August 18, costs from £500 per person, with Expedia (020 3024 8211; expedia.co.uk)