Natchez

An old Southern town on the bluffs of the Mississippi, with the largest collection of antebellum mansions and the southern terminus of the 444-mile Natchez Trace.

Natchez lies in southwestern Mississippi, on loess bluffs about 60 m high on the east bank of the Mississippi River, facing Vidalia, Louisiana, across the water. It grew from the French Fort Rosalie, built in 1716 — two years before New Orleans — and is one of the oldest towns on the lower Mississippi. In the first half of the 19th century the cotton trade brought it more millionaires than anywhere else in the US, and grand mansions sprang up; during the Civil War Natchez surrendered early and escaped destruction, so it preserves the highest concentration of antebellum architecture in the country (more than 600 historic buildings), with Longwood, Stanton Hall, Melrose, Rosalie and Dunleith among the best known. At the same time, Natchez was home to the second-largest slave market in the South, and Melrose, the William Johnson House, the Forks of the Road site and the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture tell the other side of the plantation-era wealth. Outside town are Native American sites such as the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians and Emerald Mound, and Natchez is also the southern terminus of the 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway, a National Scenic Byway.

The best times to visit are the Spring Pilgrimage in March–April and the Fall Pilgrimage in October, when many private homes normally closed to the public open for tours, and azaleas and camellias are in bloom; summer is hot and humid, while winter is mild but some houses have shorter opening hours. Getting there: Natchez has no major airport; drive from New Orleans (about 3 hours), Baton Rouge (about 1.5 hours) or Jackson (about 2 hours). The town is small and downtown is walkable, but the mansions are spread out and you will need a car. Allow 2 days: one for downtown and 2–3 mansions, finishing with sunset at Bluff Park and Natchez Under-the-Hill; and one heading north along the Natchez Trace to see the mounds and historic stands. For a taste of Southern charm, stay at a B&B in a converted historic home.

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