Mississippi USA
5
Day Itinerary •
USA
Five days in Mississippi lets you explore the full extraordinary breadth of the Magnolia State, from the legendary Blues Highway of the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace of American music, to the antebellum grandeur of Natchez, the Civil War battlefield at Vicksburg, the birthplace of Elvis Presley at Tupelo and the remarkable Gulf Coast of Biloxi. This route covers the complete Mississippi experience. The extraordinary Delta Blues country of Clarksdale and Dockery Farms, the remarkable Civil War heritage of Vicksburg National Military Park, the magnificent antebellum mansions of Natchez, the birthplace of Elvis in Tupelo and the extraordinary Biloxi seafood and beach culture of the Gulf Coast.
Best Time To Visit
March to May or October to November
Getting There
Fly into Memphis (MEM) or Jackson (JAN)
Getting Around
Rental car essential throughout Mississippi
Budget Per Day
Approx $90 to $160 per person per day
Difficulity
Easy, mostly driving and walking
DAY 1
CLARKSDALE AND THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA
MORNING
DELTA BLUES MUSEUM AND THE CROSSROADS OF AMERICAN MUSIC
The Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale is the most extraordinary music heritage museum in America, its remarkable collection documenting the birthplace of the blues, the music that created rock and roll, jazz and soul. Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Robert Johnson all came from the Mississippi Delta. The museum preserves Muddy Waters' original cabin from Stovall Plantation. The extraordinary Clarksdale crossroads of US-61 and US-49 is where Robert Johnson reputedly sold his soul to the devil. Entry approx $10. Drive: 20 min drive to Dockery Farms
MIDDAY
DOCKERY FARMS AND THE HEART OF THE DELTA
Dockery Farms near Cleveland is the most extraordinary site in American music history, the plantation where Charley Patton, the father of the Delta Blues, worked and performed in the early 20th century. Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf and Roebuck Staples all passed through Dockery. The remarkable preservation of the original farm buildings gives the finest insight into Delta plantation life in Mississippi. Free entry. Drive: 45 min drive back to Clarksdale
AFTERNOON
CLARKSDALE JUKE JOINTS AND THE DELTA NIGHT
Clarksdale's juke joints are the most extraordinary surviving live music venues in America. Red's Lounge on Sunflower Avenue is the finest surviving Delta juke joint, its remarkable corrugated tin walls and bare lightbulbs unchanged for decades. Ground Zero Blues Club, co-owned by Morgan Freeman, is the finest blues venue for visitors. Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art is the finest blues record shop in Mississippi. Most venues free before 10pm.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Peavine Road between Clarksdale and the surrounding Delta passes through the most extraordinary surviving cotton plantation landscape in America, its remarkable gin houses, sharecropper shacks and flat Delta fields giving the finest surviving view of the landscape that created the blues. Free to drive. The most extraordinary hidden gem in the Delta.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Yazoo Pass, Clarksdale The finest breakfast in Clarksdale. Local Mississippi eggs and strong coffee before the Delta Blues Museum opens. | Lunch: Doe's Eat Place, Greenville The most legendary tamale and steak restaurant in the Delta since 1941. Extraordinary hot tamales. | Dinner: Ground Zero Blues Club, Clarksdale The finest blues club dinner in Mississippi. Extraordinary Delta food and live blues from 9pm.
DAY 2
VICKSBURG AND NATCHEZ
MORNING
VICKSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK
Vicksburg National Military Park is the most extraordinary Civil War battlefield park in America, its remarkable 1,800-acre site preserving the earthworks, trenches and monuments from the 47-day siege of 1863. The extraordinary USS Cairo gunboat museum, the only surviving ironclad from the Civil War, is the finest single artifact of the war. The 16-mile driving tour gives the finest battlefield experience in the South. Entry approx $20. Drive: 10 min drive to downtown Vicksburg
MIDDAY
VICKSBURG'S OLD COURT HOUSE MUSEUM AND RIVER BLUFFS
The Old Court House Museum is the most extraordinary county museum in Mississippi, its remarkable 1858 Greek Revival building giving the finest views over the Mississippi River bend. The museum's extraordinary Civil War artifacts and Delta heritage collection gives the finest local history experience in the state. The remarkable river overlooks along Vicksburg's bluff give extraordinary Mississippi River views. Entry approx $5. Drive: 1.5 hr drive to Natchez
AFTERNOON
NATCHEZ AND THE NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY
Arrive in Natchez via the extraordinary Natchez Trace Parkway, the most remarkable scenic drive in Mississippi. The Port Gibson section of the Trace passes through extraordinary forest and Civil War earthworks. Natchez, the oldest city on the Mississippi River, rewards an evening walk through its extraordinary downtown historic district. The bluff overlook gives the finest Mississippi River sunset view in the state. Free.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Windsor Ruins near Port Gibson are the most extraordinary ruins in Mississippi, the remarkable 23 standing Corinthian columns of the grandest antebellum plantation house in the state, destroyed by fire in 1890. The columns stand alone in the forest in extraordinary silence, completely unknown to most visitors. Free entry.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Rusty's Riverfront Grill, Vicksburg Outstanding breakfast overlooking the Mississippi River. The finest morning view in Vicksburg. | Lunch: Walnut Hills, Vicksburg The most extraordinary round-table Southern lunch in Mississippi. Extraordinary fried chicken and field peas since 1938. | Dinner: Castle Restaurant, Natchez Outstanding dinner in a historic Natchez setting. Extraordinary local Mississippi cuisine and wine list.
DAY 3
NATCHEZ AND THE NATCHEZ TRACE
MORNING
NATCHEZ ANTEBELLUM MANSIONS
Natchez contains the most extraordinary concentration of antebellum architecture in America, its remarkable collection of over 30 surviving pre-Civil War mansions giving the finest surviving record of plantation-era wealth in the South. Longwood, the largest octagonal house in North America, was never completed when the Civil War began and remains unfinished to this day, its extraordinary interior frozen in time. Stanton Hall gives the finest completed mansion tour in Natchez. Entry approx $12 per mansion. Drive: 10 min drive to the bluffs
MIDDAY
NATCHEZ UNDER-THE-HILL AND THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Natchez Under-the-Hill is the most extraordinary riverfront neighbourhood in Mississippi, its remarkable survival as the oldest commercial district in the state giving the finest historic waterfront experience on the Mississippi River. The extraordinary view from the Natchez bluff over the river bend is the finest Mississippi River panorama in the state. The remarkable Silver Street saloon district preserves the most extraordinary 19th-century riverfront atmosphere in the South. Free. Drive: 3 hr drive to Tupelo
AFTERNOON
DRIVE THE NATCHEZ TRACE TO TUPELO
The Natchez Trace Parkway is the most extraordinary scenic drive in Mississippi, its remarkable 444-mile corridor following the ancient trail used by Native Americans and settlers for centuries. No commercial vehicles, no billboards, extraordinary forest scenery. The remarkable Emerald Mound, the second largest pre-Columbian ceremonial mound in America, sits directly on the Trace near Natchez. The extraordinary Tupelo National Battlefield is passed near the end of the day's drive. Free.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Emerald Mound on the Natchez Trace, just north of Natchez, is the second largest pre-Columbian ceremonial mound in America, its remarkable flat-topped earthwork covering eight acres built between 1250 and 1600 AD by the ancestors of the Natchez people. Almost entirely unknown to visitors. Free.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Biscuits and Blues, Natchez The finest Southern breakfast in Natchez. Extraordinary buttermilk biscuits and local Mississippi grits. | Lunch: Magnolia Grill, Natchez Outstanding local Mississippi cuisine in a historic downtown Natchez setting. | Dinner: Finishes Restaurant, Tupelo Outstanding local Mississippi cuisine in Tupelo. Extraordinary local ingredients and Southern cooking.
DAY 4
TUPELO AND THE GULF COAST
MORNING
ELVIS PRESLEY BIRTHPLACE AND MUSEUM, TUPELO
The Elvis Presley Birthplace in Tupelo is the most extraordinary rock and roll heritage site in America, the remarkable two-room shotgun house where Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935. The extraordinary Elvis Presley Museum adjacent to the birthplace documents his Tupelo childhood and early life. The remarkable hardware store where Elvis bought his first guitar for $7.75 at the age of 11 is nearby. Entry approx $12. Drive: 20 min drive to battlefield
MIDDAY
TUPELO NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD AND NATCHEZ TRACE
The Tupelo National Battlefield preserves the site of the extraordinary July 1864 Battle of Tupelo, the last major Confederate attempt to cut Sherman's supply lines during the Atlanta Campaign. The extraordinary Natchez Trace Parkway passes directly through Tupelo, giving the finest access to the remarkable ancient Chickasaw homeland. The Trace Visitor Center in Tupelo gives the finest introduction to the 444-mile parkway. Free. Drive: 3.5 hr drive to Biloxi
AFTERNOON
DRIVE TO BILOXI AND THE GULF COAST
The drive from Tupelo to Biloxi crosses the full breadth of Mississippi, arriving on the extraordinary Gulf Coast with its remarkable 26 miles of white sand beach. Biloxi has been a resort destination since the 1840s, its extraordinary live oak-shaded boulevards and antebellum beachfront mansions giving the finest historic Gulf Coast atmosphere in Mississippi. The remarkable Biloxi Lighthouse, built in 1848, is the finest lighthouse on the Gulf. Free.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola is the finest blues heritage museum in Mississippi after the Delta Blues Museum, its remarkable celebration of Riley B. King, who grew up picking cotton in the Delta fields around Indianola, giving the most extraordinary insight into a Delta blues legend's origins. Entry approx $15.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Johnnie's Drive-In, Tupelo The most legendary drive-in in Tupelo since 1949. Extraordinary burgers and the finest local institution in the city. | Lunch: Jefferson Place, Tupelo Outstanding Southern lunch in Tupelo. Extraordinary local Mississippi cuisine near the battlefield. | Dinner: Mary Mahoney's Old French House, Biloxi The most extraordinary restaurant in Biloxi since 1964. Outstanding Gulf seafood in a remarkable 1737 French Colonial building.
DAY 5
BILOXI AND THE GULF ISLANDS
MORNING
BEAUVOIR, JEFFERSON DAVIS HOME AND PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
Beauvoir is the most extraordinary presidential heritage site on the Gulf Coast, the remarkable 1853 beachfront cottage that served as the last home of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America, from 1877 until his death in 1889. The extraordinary presidential library and Confederate soldier museum give the finest insight into the post-Civil War South. The remarkable beachfront setting with live oak trees draped in Spanish moss is the most beautiful in Biloxi. Entry approx $10. Drive: 10 min drive to the beach
MIDDAY
BILOXI BEACH AND THE GULF ISLANDS NATIONAL SEASHORE
The Gulf Islands National Seashore offshore from Biloxi contains the most extraordinary undeveloped barrier islands on the Gulf Coast, their remarkable white sand beaches and emerald waters giving the finest natural beach experience in Mississippi. The extraordinary Ship Island ferry gives access to the finest beach on the Gulf Coast and the remarkable Fort Massachusetts, a Civil War-era masonry fort on the island. Ferry approx $25. Drive: 20 min drive to Old Biloxi
AFTERNOON
OLD BILOXI AND THE VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN COMMUNITY
Old Biloxi contains the most extraordinary Vietnamese-American community on the Gulf Coast, its remarkable fishing community, Buddhist temples and extraordinary Vietnamese seafood restaurants giving the finest cultural surprise in Mississippi. The remarkable Biloxi Seafood Industry Museum documents the extraordinary oyster and shrimp canning history of the coast. The extraordinary Vietnamese fishing boats in Biloxi Back Bay give the finest harbour scene on the Gulf. Museum entry approx $5.
💎 HIDDEN GEM
The extraordinary Ocean Springs across the bay from Biloxi is the most extraordinary arts town on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, its remarkable community of galleries, studios and the extraordinary Walter Anderson Museum of Art, dedicated to the visionary Gulf Coast artist who painted in secret on the walls of a hurricane shelter, giving the finest artistic experience in Mississippi. Museum entry approx $10.
🍽 WHERE TO EAT
Breakfast: Sunflower Bakery, Biloxi The finest breakfast bakery on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Extraordinary pastries and local coffee. | Lunch: Half Shell Oyster House, Biloxi The finest oyster bar on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Extraordinary fresh Gulf oysters and shrimp. | Dinner: Vrazel's Fine Food, Biloxi The most celebrated restaurant in Biloxi. Outstanding Gulf seafood and the finest wine list on the coast.
Where To Stay
Clarksdale, Night 1 Shack Up Inn at Hopson Plantation, most extraordinary hotel in the Delta. Approx $75 to $125. Vicksburg or Natchez, Nights 2 to 3 Corners Mansion Inn, Vicksburg, or Dunleith Historic Inn, Natchez. Approx $120 to $250. Tupelo and Biloxi, Nights 4 to 5 Hampton Inn Tupelo or Beau Rivage Resort, Biloxi. Approx $100 to $200.
Top Tips
1. Shack Up Inn at Hopson Plantation is the most extraordinary hotel in the Delta. Book the sharecropper shacks well ahead.
2. Vicksburg Military Park 16-mile driving tour: hire the audio guide for the finest Civil War battlefield experience in America.
3. Natchez Pilgrimage (March and October): antebellum mansions open for tours. Book the Stanton Hall and Longwood tours ahead.
4. Elvis Presley Birthplace in Tupelo: arrive at opening to explore the tiny two-room house before tour groups arrive.
5. Windsor Ruins near Port Gibson: the most extraordinary ruins in the South. Free, open all hours, completely unknown.
6. Biloxi Lighthouse is free to climb and gives the finest Gulf Coast panorama in Mississippi. Arrive early morning.
Total Budget
$90 to $160/day