Stop in at Tupelo

Elvis fans will know Tupelo, Mississippi as the King’s birthplace, but there is much, much more to the city, which is located just off the Natchez Trace Parkway, a 715km recreational scenic drive through three states. With plenty of hiking trails and a lake that is large enough to ski and fish, the town also has a reputation as a bit of a “foodie” scene with more than 150 restaurants to choose from. There are several murals worth visiting in Tupelo, each one telling a story about the people and moments that make the town what it is today.

Elvis’ birthplace, museum and chapel

Take a visit to the humble two-room house on the grounds of this Mississippi Historic Site – where Elvis was born on January 8, 1935 – which also hosts a small museum, an events centre and the

Assembly of God Pentecostal Church where the Presley family worshipped. The church was moved here from its original site, but this is the building where a young Elvis first encountered the gospel music that would have an overriding influence on his entire career.

Tupelo Hardware

“I took the guitar, and I watched people, and I learned to play a little bit. But I would never sing in public. I was very shy about it,” Elvis once said of the $7.75 guitar his mother Gladys bought from the Tupelo Hardware Store on January 8, 1946 when he was just 11 years old.

The humble home was built by Elvis’ father.

A bronze statue of Elvis stands in his home town.