Americans, both northern and southern, went on a form of the Grand Tour in the 18th C, though in Being American in Europe, 1750-1860, Daniel Kilbride points out that Americans valued its opportunity for practical education as much, if not more, than sentimental education.

Moving into the Gilded Age, the more traditional Grand Tour figured largely in the lives of the new American super wealthy. I can't think of a good secondary source offhand, but the rich American in Europe is, eg, a very common theme in the novels of Henry James.