Natchez

The Grand Village was the main ceremonial centre of the Natchez Indians, who inhabited southwest Mississippi between 700 and 1730. Their culture reached a peak in the mid-1500s, when French explorers found the Grand Village and began to settle in the area. Eventually the Natchez were forced to abandon their land.The 128-acre site of the Grand Village is today managed by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, who have excavated and rebuilt two of the ceremonial mounds at the site. Entry to the village is gained through Jefferson Davis Boulevard within the Natchez city limits. The site features a museum, a reconstructed Natchez Indian house, three ceremonial mounds (Great Sun's Mound, Temple Mound and the Abandoned Mound), a nature trail and a visitor's centre. Tours are available, however advance booking is required.

Address : 400 Jefferson Davis Boulevard

Website : mdah.state.ms.us/hprop/gvni.html

Telephone : (601) 446-6502

Opening times : Monday to Saturday 9am-5pm; Sunday 1:30pm-5pm.

Admission : Free

Natchez features a collection of architecturally valuable historic churches of various denominations, all located in the central city area. Among them is St Mary's in South Union Street, the oldest Catholic building in Mississippi, built in Gothic Revival style back in 1840.The Trinity Episcopal Church in South Commerce Street is the oldest church in Natchez, having been built in 1822 but remodelled in 1838. The interior of this church features two rare stained-glass windows designed and installed by the renowned Louis Comfort Tiffany.Also notable is the First Presbyterian church in South Pearl Street, built in the Federal Style in 1828. A Romanesque chapel was added to the rear in 1901. The chapel now houses an unusual collection of historic photographs telling the story of Natchez.

The most intact antebellum estate in the United States is the magnificent Melrose, owned and operated by the National Park Service in its grounds in the Natchez National Historical Park.Melrose was built in 1849 and still features its original hand-painted canvas flooring. The house is open daily with tours on the hour.The gracious Monmouth, built in 1818 at 36 Melrose Avenue, was the home of John Quitman, twice governor of Mississippi as well as US senator and congressman. The house and its striking formal garden is open daily. Longwood in Lower Woodville Road was built around 1860 and is the largest and most elaborate octagonal house in the United States.Dunleith, dating from 1856, is the only house in Mississippi completely encircled by a colossal colonnade. It is sited at 84 Homochitto Street, on top of a rise on the edge of a 40-acre park.Numerous other houses are open to the public, and make popular venues for weddings.

Address : Visitors Centre: 640 South Canal Street, Natchez

Website : www.natchezpilgrimage.com

Telephone : Natchez Pilgrimage Tours: (800) 647-6742

Admission : Tour prices vary $15-60 according to package.

The Natchez Trace Parkway starts out in Natchez, southern Mississippi, and runs for 444 miles (715km) to Nashville, Tennessee, cutting across a corner of Alabama.The parkway follows ancient Native American paths that connected the Mississippi River to salt licks in central Tennessee, originally worn by the Choctaw, Chickasaw and other tribes. Later white settlers used the ancient trails to extend their commerce and trade.The route is now served by a scenic road, built and maintained by the National Park Service, which has equipped the popular tourist drive with marked interpretive locations, historic sites, camping and picnicking facilities. Travellers can take time to enjoy nature trails, see portions of the original trace, relax on scenic overlooks, explore historic monuments and bridges, and find out about it all at visitor centres. The parkway is particularly popular with touring cyclists.

Website : www.nps.gov/natr

Telephone : Visitor Centre: (800) 3057417

Opening times : Visitor Center: daily 8am-5pm; closed 25 December. The parkway is open year-round, subject to bad weather conditions.

Admission : Free

The city's original waterfront area, Natchez-Under-the-Hill, reached by descending the bluff via Silver Street, was once the notorious haunt of pirates, riverboat gamblers and outlaws, known as the 'Barbary Coast of the Mississippi'.As the use of riverboats dwindled, so did its bad reputation and today the quaint river dockside attracts tourists with restaurants, bars, gift stores and the floating Isle of Capri riverboat casino. Three passenger paddle-wheel steamers dock at the waterfront: the Mississippi Queen, the Delta Queen and the American Queen.