First of all, let me say that Natchez is the perfect quaint small town with beautiful views of the Mississippi. I went in June and even though it was hot, the breeze from the River made it bearable, I walked up and down every street in downtown! Not only is this town picturesque, with its rich history and antebellum homes, but everyone I encountered nice and helpful. I went to the Visitors Center and spent hours talking to the staff, getting recommendations on places to tour, and getting a map of where to go. The Center also has a gift shop with a variety of books on Natchez History, Slavery and Plantations, if you are a history buff, you should stop here and look. You can also catch the Trolley there or you can go on a tour of the City in a bus. I didnt get a chance to do that but on the next visit, I will definitely take the tour. Bottom line: if you are looking for a quiet town to relax, take a tour of old plantation homes, antique, and just plain relax, Natchez is the place for you!

I toured several antebellum homes. The homes are beautiful!! After a few homes though, the tours started sounding the same. The most informative and different tour to me was the tour given by the Federal Government. If you go, stay in one of the bed and breakfast homes. Monmouth was my favorite. Nice big white fluffy robes, a romantic garden, and great dinner. Don't expect a quiet romantic dinner though, you eat at the dining room table with all the other guests. If you like to get to know other people from all walks of life, then their dinner option is for you. The food was quite tasty. For a light-hearted fun meal, go to Fat-Momma's and eat tamale's and drink their "knock you naked" magarita's out in the back. When you are not touring homes, take a stroll through the anique shops on main street.

I have recently found myself living and working in Natchez. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day because I am a morning person and a morning improperly executed spoils the remainder of the day. Ergo, in the absence of an inventive personal chef, whose training has taken them far from this humble riverside berg, the liklihood you will enjoy breakfast while overlooking the broad Mississippi, is fleeting.


Eating breakfast in Natchez is like playing Russian Roulette. There are no good choices. The measure of the quality of breakfast food in a locale should be its pancakes. Even if you don't like pancakes, they should be available, and they should be damn good, regardless, because their manufacture does not require a congressional committee, an advanced degree or inclusion in Mensa. Sadly, Natchez fails pitifully in this respect. It has been my experience that pancakes in Natchez are undersized discs, saturated with grease, having hard edges , weighty centers, and flavored with hints of rancid bacon. The worst I have experienced are to be found at the Radisson Eola, where the service is equally lackluster. The "best", if one should be disposed to hyperbole, are to be had —I kid you not—at the Dairy Queen on John R. Junkin Drive, a mere rifle shot from the twin bridges.


In fairness, I have not dined in every breakfast establishment in Natchez. If one considers the several B&Bs scattered throughout Adams County, it is possible the menu of one, or several, provide stellar examples of this most humble, though vital, daylight repast. I have little hope, however, as, the kitchen staff of such establishments is drawn from the same general labor pool as one finds at "Shoney's", "The Ramada Hilltop", and "The Fare Café", whose own advertising singles it out as being a place where "good breakfast food" is available, in spite of the fact I have not once found them to be open during what one might normally consider the appropriate breakfast hour (6 A.M.—Hello?) To this, my girlfriend and personal chef, who has made staying here far more tolerable, suggests, "No one in Natchez gets up early enough to eat breakfast—they're all out partying the night before. . ." Perhaps.