Natchez, MS

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 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. 

So, many of those fabulous mansions are still standing, most are like museums. 

c) There are several golf courses in Natchez, which means: better tourists, nicer accommodations, better restaurants, 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, we still 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 into Natchez.

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. 

However, Natchez is small enough so that we could have found a quiet AirBnB neighborhood closer to the town center. There are lots of choices, and a nice hotel in the center of the city.

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. 

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 (by the bridge going to Louisiana) has a friendly staff that can guide you. 

However, you MUST visit Choctaw House, which still has the same family living there from the 1800s.

Oh, there is a "non-smoking" Casino down by the river. We walked 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. 

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 (this trip was in May, and it was already getting warm), and feel comfortable picking an AirBnB within a few blocks of downtown.

"A good day" would be: sleep in - have a nice breakfast - workout- visit one of the museums - have lunch, maybe a nap - visit another museum - have dinner - get up the next day & repeat.

Oh, Choctaw House is at the top of the list.