Vicksburg Mississippi is a port of call on year-round Mississippi River itineraries, with Viking River Cruises calling there as part of its American heartland sailings.
Vicksburg sits on high bluffs above the Mississippi River, a position so strategic that it was once called "The Gibraltar of the West" for its command of river and rail traffic. The 1863 siege that gave the Union control of the river marked a major turning point in the Civil War, and the surrounding countryside still bears the marks of that campaign in earthworks, monuments, and cannon-lined ridges.
Vicksburg National Military Park preserves much of the battlefield, with markers tracing the siege lines and the restored U.S.S. Cairo gunboat on display near the visitor center. The park lies a short drive from the riverfront, where murals and a historic downtown reflect the city's long relationship with the river. History enthusiasts find few American sites as evocative of the war's turning tide.
Pavlus Recommendations
How our planners would spend a day in Vicksburg Mississippi.
Tour Vicksburg National Military Park
Drive or join a narrated tour along the 16-mile battlefield road tracing siege lines, monuments, and cannon-lined ridges; allow at least two hours to appreciate its scale.
See the Restored U.S.S. Cairo
View the raised Union ironclad gunboat near the visitor center, complete with recovered artifacts and exhibits explaining its sinking and salvage.
Wander the Historic Riverfront
Stroll downtown streets lined with murals depicting the city's river history, just a short drive from the battlefield park.
