Memphis residents proudly call their city the pork BBQ capital of the world

Memphis residents proudly call their city the “pork BBQ capital of the world”. A good time for BBQ fans to visit is during the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, which will be held 18-20 May 2006. Other good locations include Leonard’s Pit Barbecue, 5465 Fox Plaza (001 901 360 1963; www.leonardsbarbecue ), Payne’s Bar-B-Q, 1762 Lamar Avenue (001 901 272 1523), or the central located Charles Vergo’s Rendezvous, 52 South Second * * Street (001 901 523 2746; www.hogsfly ). For something more sophisticated, Cielo, 679 Adams Street (001 901 524 1886), Lulu Grille (001 901 763 3677; www.lulugrille ) in the Erinway Center, 565 Erin Drive, or the chic, new downtown bistro Stella (001 901 526 4950; www.stellamemphis ), 39 South Main Street, should do the trick.AND DRINK?Tennessee’s top tipple, Jack Daniel’s (001 877 774 7487; www.jackdaniels ), is distilled in Lynchburg, an hour’s drive from Nashville. The whiskey is mentioned in numerous songs, including Fats Domino’s “Whiskey Heaven”. Free distillery tours lasting 75 minutes are offered 9am-4.30pm daily.CAN I HITCH A RIDE ON A RIVERBOAT QUEEN?Decorative paddle wheelers still go rolling, rolling, rolling their way up the Mississippi.

Memphis Riverboats (001 901 527 2628; www.memphisqueen ) offers 90-minute sightseeing trips from February; you can’t hitch but you can board for $15 (£10) The company also runs various other themed trips. To learn more about the mighty Mississippi, visit Mud Island River Park from April to October (001 901 576 7241; www.mudisland ) at 125 North Front Street, dedicated to life on the river; $8 (£4.40) will get you into the museum, a guided river walk and a return monorail ride. On the island, you can rent a canoe, kayak or pedalo.I WANT TO SEE THE NASHVILLE SKYLINEBy far the most spectacular edifice on the skyline, the BellSouth (affectionately known as Batman) Building, was actually finished in 1994, 25 years after Bob Dylan brought out his classic album Nashville Skyline, recorded with musicians from the city.Nashville is built on a bend in the Cumberland River It took over from Knoxville as the state capital in 1843. The city boasts a full-sized replica of the Parthenon (001 615 862 8431; www.nashville.gov/parthenon) in Centennial Park. Inside is “Athena”, at 42ft one of the tallest indoor statues in the world; admission $4 (£2.20), Tuesday-Saturday 9am-4.30pm.The Cheekwood-Tennessee Botanical Gardens and Museum of Art (001 615 356 8000; www.cheekwood ), 1200 Forrest Park Drive, are also worth a visit: $10 (£5.60), Tuesday-Saturday 9.30am-4.30pm, closed until 12 January 2006.The place to stay in the city is The Hermitage (001 615 244 3121; www.thehermitagehotel ), 231 Sixth Avenue North, built in 1910 in the classic beaux arts style, with a magnificent marble-columned lobby with gilded plasterwork and stained-glass ceiling. All rooms are spacious suites, and cost from $347 (£204) per night.Nashville is “Music City USA”: spanning an entire city block downtown at 222 Fifth Avenue South is the Country Music Hall of Fame (001 615 416 2001; www.countrymusichalloffame ); daily 9am-5pm but closed Tuesdays in January and February, $16.95 (£9.40).The Grand Ole Opry at 2802 Opryland Drive (001 615 871 6779; www.opry ), is the setting for the US’s longest-running live radio show (broadcast since 1925), which moved here in 1976 from the Ryman Auditorium (001 615 889 3060; www.ryman ), 116 Fifth Avenue North. Tours are offered between 9am and 4pm for $8.50 (£4.70) – add $3.25 (£1.80) to include a backstage visit – or see an evening performance.My favourite, more modest, music venues include The Basement (001 615 254 8006; www.thebasementnashville ), 1604 Eighth Avenue South; the Exit/In (001 615 321 3340; www.exitin ), 2208 Elliston Place; The Bluebird Caf?001 615 383 1461; www.bluebirdcafe ), 4104 Hillsboro Road; and The Belcourt Theatre (001 615 383 9140; www.belcourt ), 2102 Belcourt Avenue.Finally, you should try to see the city on the outrageous NashTrash (001 615 226 7300; www.nashtrash ) musical tours “guided” by the over-made-up Jugg Sisters.

Times vary, $29.50 (£16), advance reservations are required.WHERE NEXT?Head east and visit Knoxville, which is flanked by huge lakes The biggest attractions, though, are outside the city. In nearby Norris, the Museum of Appalachia (001 865 494 7680; www.museumofappalachia ) is a huge village replete with authentic houses and barns; $12.95 (£7.20), daily, hours vary. Not far away, Oak Ridge was a “secret city” created in the 1940s and instrumental in the development of the atomic bomb: it was one of the sites chosen for the Manhattan Project. Learn about it at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge (001 865 576 3200; www.amse ), 300 South Tulane Avenue, open 9am-5pm daily (Sundays from 1pm), admission $5 (£2.80).Heading for the mountains on the other side of Knoxville, Pigeon Forge is home to Dollywood (001 865 428 9488; www.dollywood ), created by Tennessee’s country music legend Dolly Parton. The price is now around $530, the highest since 1983, with further gains early in the new year.Gold investors have gained through an increasing imbalance between demand and supply. During the Nineties, as the price fell, few mining companies explored new reserves, so there is little chance of any significant increase in supply.Demand has been outstripping supply for at least 10 years and is steadily increasing. Gold’s reputation as a safe haven was hit hard during the Nineties – after a long bear market, the price had fallen as low as $252 by 1999 (then around £150).
Since then, and particularly from early 2001, gold has staged a remarkable recovery.