Growing up in Mississippi, I have always heard, “What even is there to do in Mississippi, and who would ever want to go there?”
Hearing these questions made me wonder if people truly believe Mississippi has absolutely nothing to offer for travelers. However, after living here for 20 years, I can tell you that Mississippi has more to offer than meets the eye.
Mississippi is best known for being the birthplace of America’s music for influencing genres like rock and roll, gospel, country and the blues. 
One museum located in Tupelo celebrates the most famous Mississippi musician, allowing tourists to see the childhood home of Elvis Presley.  According to the Elvis Presley Birthplace website, the home Presley was born and lived in for 13 years in Tupelo, Mississippi, was turned into a museum to show where it all started for him.  
If travelers want to learn more about other Mississippi famous musicians, they can visit the Grammy Museum in Cleveland. According to its website, the Grammy Museum shows the impacts American music has made on culture and history by sharing famous artists and their impacts. 
It does not stop with music, though. Ask Mississippians their favorite thing about home, and many will bring up the cuisine.
According to Visit Mississippi, the foods people should try in Mississippi are soul food, barbecue and seafood. Any place can have its own local menus, but nothing compares to the comfort foods here.
Fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, fried okra, collard greens, cornbread, sweet potatoes, fried catfish and sweet tea come to mind when describing the Magnolia State’s comfort foods.  Restaurants scattered across the state serve these dishes to much acclaim from residents and visitors. Families pass on recipes for generations. My great-grandmother’s cornbread recipe has been shared in my family since the 1930s or earlier, and it is superior cornbread. (No Jiffy Quick Mix in this house.)
When it comes to food, barbecue is a Mississippi staple, if not the state favorite. Some of the best barbecue in the world comes from the Magnolia State.
While it may not be Mississippi’s most iconic specialty, locals know Mississippi’s seafood is nothing to be ignored. According to Visit Mississippi, an advantage Mississippi has being located on the Gulf of Mexico is the availability to catch plenty of fresh seafood such as shrimp, crab and oysters.  Restaurants on the Mississippi Gulf Coast serve the freshly caught seafood. In the spring, crawfish season takes over the state.
Despite the variety of popular foods in Mississippi, sometimes even the best restaurants are overlooked because of their run-down or plain appearances. However, these restaurants, if still in business, are typically known for having some of the best foods around and a cult of loyal customers that know they offer more than meets the eye. 
Along with the nationally famous food and music, Mississippi has some hidden sightseeing and hiking places for travelers. The Mississippi gulf offers a costal escape. While it may not be the Bahamas, the beach stretching from Biloxi to Henderson Point is 26 miles long, making it the longest man-made beach on Earth, according to an article by Zach Eady of Our Mississippi Home, which is a weird record to hold, but a record we hold nonetheless. 
Other sleeper-hits include Red Bluff in Foxwell (Mississippi’s Grand Canyon) and Ships Island located 11 miles south of Gulfport and Biloxi. 
Through my research of the state, I have only scratched the surface of all the tourism opportunities Mississippi has to offer. Too often, Mississippi is ignored or written off for its public reputation. But — much like the beloved run-down barbecue shacks our state is so fond of — if you can get past preconceived notions about appearances, if you are willing to poke around a bit, there is gold here to be found. So goes my point, why not visit Mississippi?