8 Must Visit Attractions In Mississippi

Mississippi is a diverse state filled with a wide variety of tourist attractions and destinations. Jackson is its best-known city, home of the state capital and the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science. Tupelo is a smaller city but draws tourists who want to visit the two-room house where Elvis Presley was born. Vicksburg is one of the state's most historic locations, home to the Vicksburg National Military Park at the site of one of the Civil War's most important battles.

Tourists can also enjoy sightseeing as they pass through the state via the Natchez Trace Parkway, a scenic route that has many historic spots and picture-perfect outlooks. Often overlooked, Mississippi's seashore is also a lovely place to visit, rich with marine life and home to the region's only dolphin rescue center.

# Gulf Islands National Seashore

The Gulf Islands National Seashore extends from Cat Island in Mississippi to the eastern tip of Santa Rosa Island in Florida. Most of the seashore is actually submerged, but the barrier islands offer white-sand beaches, coastal marshes, and dense maritime forests.

Davis Bayou is located on the mainland at Ocean Springs and can be easily accessed. There are hiking trails, camping and picnicking areas, old forts, as well as other recreational opportunities, including kayaking and snorkeling.

# Tupelo Automobile Museum

The Tupelo Automobile Museum was declared the official auto museum of the state of Mississippi in 2003, the culmination of 28 years of collecting by founders Frank Spain and Max Berryhill. The entire collection includes 150 vehicles, some of which are presently being restored in open bays while museum visitors watch.

The vehicles on display represent the evolution of the automobile with chronologically organized exhibit halls. Visitors are greeted by its oldest piece, an 1886 Benz, and can admire several examples of early cars including an 1889 Knox Porcupine, 1903 Cadillac, and a 1907 Ford Model R.

# USS Cairo Museum at Vicksburg National Military Park

The USS Cairo, which is on display at Vicksburg National Military Park, was sunk the same year it was commissioned. It sat under the mud for nearly 100 years until a cannon and the pilothouse were recovered, and soon a full salvage effort was underway. The restored ship is now on display, as well as thousands of recovered artifacts.

The Vicksburg National Military Park commemorates the battle that took place in this strategically critical town during one of the most decisive periods of the Civil War. It was here that General Grant was captured, giving Union forces control of the waterway. The park is also home to Vicksburg National Cemetery, which is home to 17,000 fallen Union Soldiers, as well as another 1,300 US military veterans who have lost their lives in conflicts since then.

# B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center

This museum focuses on the life and work of one of the most influential blues artists of all time and on the birth of blues itself in the Mississippi Delta. Visitors can get an overview of the history of blues and B.B. King's significance in the museum's theater.

Exhibits are themed by era, first introducing visitors to the 1930s Delta and King's adulthood when he was a farmer. Subsequent exhibits follow B..B King to Memphis, where he became the "Beale Street Boy" and was first put on the radio, and then look at his rise in the 1960s when he became an icon. The museum also has a gift shop that sells blues and King-related souvenirs.

# The Institute for Marine Mammal Studies

The Institute of Marine Mammal Studies is a large research and rehabilitation center with an interactive museum that teaches visitors about ocean life. It is one of the only dolphin rescue facilities on the gulf coast, and the staff here cares for a wide variety of marine mammals.

The museum has dolphin presentations that give visitors the chance to learn about these intelligent creatures while watching them play with their trainers, and guests who want to get up-close can register for a dolphin encounter. The Discovery Room has touch pools that allow visitors to interact with creatures, including sea stars, stingrays, sharks, and other marine life.

# Beauvoir

This large estate overlooks the Mississippi Sound and was given the French name of Beauvoir in honor of the beautiful view. The home was built in 1852 and became the home of the Confederate States of America's only president, Jefferson Davis, in 1877. It remained in the family until 1903, when Davis' widow sold the property to the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

As part of the sale, the organization agreed to use the property as a free veterans home for confederate veterans, a facility that was open from 1903 until 1957. The other requirement of the sale was that the property remain a memorial to confederate soldiers and Jefferson Davis. Since 1903, Beauvoir has housed the Confederate Presidential Library and Museum.

# Mississippi Museum of Natural Science

The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science offers visitors the unique opportunity to learn about the natural world through detailed exhibits and experience it firsthand by exploring the museum grounds, which are located in LeFleur's Bluff State Park. Within the museum, visitors will find information about Mississippi's wildlife and its many habitats.

One of the most impressive is the 100,000-gallon aquarium, which houses more than 200 native species, as well as a swamp habitat that sits inside a huge greenhouse. Other exhibits include a large fossil collection and an extensive look at native white-tailed deer.

# Elvis Presley Birthplace & Museum

On January 8, 1935, Elvis Presley was born in a two-room house that was built by his father in Tupelo, Mississippi. The home has been preserved and is open for fans to see it as it was during his childhood, complete with period furnishings.

Elvis's interest in music was sparked as a young boy, listening to gospel music in church, and the chapel that his family attended has been relocated to the same property for fans to appreciate. Visitors will also find a museum that chronicles the King's early life, as well as a gift shop full of Elvis-themed souvenirs.