Natchez 2026 update

Well, we did come back to Natchez! It was mostly good, but the town was quieter than I expected, especially since this the "Spring Pilgrimage". We did two days of home visits, followed by a trip to Frogmore Farms in Ferriday, LA, and then the Friday night "Live at Five" concert on the River Bluff.

We got 2 daily tour packages from an online service, but didn't notice that they duplicated one home, so it was on  both day's tour. If you use a tour service, look at it closely. I noticed that several homes were "not listed" by the online service, so I'm going to give you a more complete list below. BUT, we saw a great new (to us) home, "The Towers" This one should go on your must list. More info below.

We drove about 20 minutes into Louisiana to see Frogmore Farms, which is a large working cotton farm. The owners have created an "Outdoor museum" (my description). They have guided tours in which the docent describes the 6 or 8 original buildings. These buildings were NOT located here, but have been purchased or donated from various parts of Louisiana and are 150 or more years old. Of course the history of slavery is very sad and compelling, and museums like this serve an important purpose. Our tour took a couple of hours; we were very glad we stopped by. https://www.frogmoreplantation.com/

We were lucky to schedule our trip on a weekend that had a free outdoor concert called "Live at Five" Here's some info. I hope you can experience one of their shows! https://www.facebook.com/liveatfivenatchez/  Also: https://visitnatchez.org/event/live-music/

We noticed during the 2026 Spring Pilgrimage that a LOT homes were not listed in the brochure or tour websites. We can wonder, "Why?", but here's a list of homes that ARE open year round.

Why is this important? ALL the homes have a different history and story to tell. You will always learn something new!

What's the catch? Well, you'll have  to look around in the website below to get  date and times. But at least you'll get a more complete picture of what's available instead on only seeing properties that may have paid to get a listing. 

Here's a list of properties that are open for tours all year. We are NOT including properties that only have a BnB format, but if you're looking for accommodations the website below includes both tour homes and accommodations. 

Choctaw Hall (We will this house EVERY time we visit)

The Towers (We will this house EVERY time we visit)

Dunleith (Also site of the Castle Restaurant)

Glenfield

Linden

Longwood

Magnolia Hall

Melrose

Monmouth

Rosalie

Stanton Hall

Sunnyside (Free tour of the ten acre garden)

The House on Ellicott's Hill (Only for groups, by appointment only)

William Johnson House (A "free man of color")

                                      Other attractions

Forks of the Road Slave Market (You can drive there, and also a stop on the Natchez Bus tour. Shows original chains and shackles)

St. Mary Basilica (The Catholic Church)

Grand Village of the Natchez Indians (Not far from town; has small museum and outdoor vistas.)

Here's the website with a more complete list of homes and outdoor attractions. You can find days and times the tours/attractions are open,  https://visitnatchez.org/experience-natchez/historic-homes/  

Our experience: While all the homes/attractions are fascinating, we reached burn out after 3 tours in the same day. Solution? Spread out the events, AND just plan a follow up visit to Natchez every year or two.

Remember to search for the weeks that include a "Live at Five" Friday night concert!

Live at Five concert from the Bluff  https://youtube.com/shorts/k-C7JoI1Jm0?si=U-IKhDdKLXsEweqn 

Live at Five concert at sunset  https://youtube.com/shorts/yOvtNNMnp5M?si=L1f2yH-Xu41LBirz 

Photo: On the Natchez river walk. 

This vacation started because of memories of the Natchez Trace Parkway during a college education trip (many years ago). We decided to fly into Jackson Miss, and spend 3 days in Vicksburg, followed by 3 days in Natchez... of course with some driving on the Natchez Trace.

I would definitely tell everyone to visit Vicksburg for the history, and the lessons, but not in the summer. It's HOT, plus the Vicksburg history is mostly out doors. But, you MUST visit Vicksburg to learn. However,  Natchez is a city we would visit again. Why? 

a) The northern general who oversaw the occupation of Natchez told his troops: "No looting, no burning, no pillaging." So the city was not destroyed, like Vicksburg was in their siege. 

b) In the early 1800s, Natchez had the highest per capita percentage of millionaires of any city in the USA. HALF of all the millionaires in the U.S.A. lived in Natchez. That equates to a current net worth of over 100 million. 

So, many of those fabulous mansions are still standing, most are like museums. AND, every story is different. You'll learn something new no matter how many historic homes you visit.

c) There are several golf courses in Natchez, which means: 1) better tourists, 2) nicer accommodations, 3) better restaurants, 4) more music, and well, just a nice small tourist town.

If you live in the south, driving is a good option. It's about 5 hours from Houston; you can check the distance from your city. However, in 2022 we flew into Jackson Mississippi, which let us drive directly to Vicksburg for a few nights, then drive on the Natchez Trace (which was scenic and peaceful), then onto Natchez.

In 2022 we picked an AirBnB just north of downtown (PS "downtown" is an easily walk-able area, about 3/4 mile by a few blocks), so walking to town was easy. 

2026 update: There are a lot of AirBnB options now, but, we opted for the only hotel in the area with an indoor pool. While I did enjoy swimming every day, our hotel was across the Mississippi in Vadalia. The drive to Natchez was easy (10 min door to door), but the Clarion Hotel was very poorly maintained. We won't return to the Clarion. There seems to be a couple of much better hotels in Natchez, but all of the other hotel pools are outdoors. 

However, Natchez is small enough so that you should be able a quiet AirBnB neighborhood close to the town center.

Better tourists means better restaurants. We enjoyed several restaurants in the city. There are several "nice" restaurants in the area. I don't think you'll be disappointed.  

2026 update: We had a couple of nice casual meals: "Fat Mama's Tamales" and The Natchez Brewing Co. (for Pizza). Had two upscale dinners at The Castle Restaurant, which is part of the Dunleith property. Food at the Castle was very good, service was spotty (Remember, you're not in the big city).

If you drink alcohol, the laws in Mississippi are "different". While you can get most types of drinks in the restaurants, the wine options in local stores are VERY limited. However, Louisiana is an easy drive right across the river, and those liqueur stores will be glad to see you!

There are a dozen or more mansions to tour. They all have different backgrounds and different levels of quality. Some properties were "let go" about 1900, however several of these unlucky ones have seen a resurgence as people have actually returned furniture and artwork from the glory days. 

NOTE: The visitor center on the bluff next to the Grand Hotel was not very helpful this trip. I guess it depends on who is volunteering on any given day. 

However, you MUST visit Choctaw Hall, which still has the same family living there from the 1800s. Another "must visit" is The Towers. More tour info in the 2026 update above.

There's at least one good golf course, and several restaurants offer live music, mostly on the weekends.

Oh, there is a "non-smoking" Casino down by the river. We passed by the Casino on our walks, but since there was not much traffic, I thought: "Well, that means nobody's winning", so we didn't even go in to the Casino.  Ditto for our 2026 trip. Didn't try the casino

We definitely want to vacation in Natchez again. And it appears to be about a 5 hour drive from Houston, which makes a return more appealing. We will pick cooler weather (Our 2022 trip was in May, and it was already getting warm). We think you can feel comfortable and safe picking an AirBnB within a few blocks of downtown.

Our "next trip" plan is

 a) drive in an have a nice dinner. 

b) take two days to tour homes or other attractions. 

c) Finish on a Friday that has a "Live at Five" concert on the Bluff 

d) Come home a DAY EARLY so we can relax before getting back into our routine.

Oh, Choctaw Hall and The Towers are at the top of the list. For updated tour advice, see the top of this page.