The Delta, the Blues and Southern Storytelling
Mississippi is a Deep South state running from the Mississippi River in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the south, known for the Delta blues, for Elvis Presley's birthplace and for a literary tradition that includes William Faulkner, Eudora Welty and Tennessee Williams. The flat, fertile Delta, where the blues took shape in the early twentieth century, is the heart of that story. Clarksdale, with its juke joints and the famous crossroads, is the natural base, and the Mississippi Blues Trail marks more than a hundred sites across the state with markers and murals.
In Tupelo, the small house where Elvis was born in 1935 is preserved as a museum, and in Oxford, Faulkner's home, Rowan Oak, sits among cedar trees a short walk from the town square and its celebrated bookshop. Jackson, the capital, adds the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History. A tourist board has rich material to work with: music, literature and living history, all within a single road trip.
Natchez, the Trace and Gulf Coast Light
Natchez, perched on bluffs above the river, is one of the oldest settlements on the Mississippi and keeps dozens of antebellum houses, bed and breakfasts and a lively riverside. From here the Natchez Trace Parkway, about 444 miles of scenic road to Nashville, runs through forest, farmland and ancient Native American mounds, with no commercial signage and plenty of places to stop. It is one of America's most restful drives, and links naturally with Tennessee at its northern end.
On the Gulf Coast, Biloxi, Gulfport and Ocean Springs offer white-sand beaches, shrimp boats and an artistic streak: Ocean Springs is home to the Walter Anderson Museum of Art. Seafood, catfish, fried green tomatoes and Delta tamales fill menus, and cooking here is generous and rooted in place. Neighbouring Louisiana lies to the south-west, making a combined itinerary through the Gulf South a natural step, and a hotel group can anchor it with historic inns.
Read the full Mississippi guide on Visit Travel Group, or see VisitMississippi.co.uk on Visit Travel Group.