Natchitoches Has Bounty of Bed and Breakfasts
Published Mar 10, 2008
The Queen Anne bed and breakfast in Natchitoches.
Fans of Steel Magnolias might not be able to find Truvy’s beauty shop when they visit Natchitoches, but they’ll have plenty of places to lay their heads after a long day of trying.
The city is home to around 30 bed and breakfasts, capitalizing on Natchitoches’ well-earned reputation as a garden spot chock full of historical landmarks and beautiful scenery. With dozens of restaurants, historic sites and attractions, the city is a magnet for travelers who want to pack a lot of activity into a small area, and the charm of a bed and breakfast fits in nicely with that kind of traveler’s plans, says Iris Harper, executive director of the Natchitoches Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“Most of our B&Bs are restored historic properties, but several are located in newer homes, camp houses or old storefronts,” Harper says. “We have had folks buying and restoring historical homes in the historic district for the sole purpose of having a B&B, and people who have visited and stayed at a B&B have returned and bought property.”
The area has felt the aftereffects from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but with no property damage it has been more focused on making sure potential visitors know that B&Bs, as well as everything else, are up and running, Harper says.
“We became the central location to host events that would have been canceled … several college football games, several fishing tournaments and two film production companies moved to Natchitoches during this time,” she says. “We thought things might slow down in January, but tax reports just received show that January 2006 was 14 percent above the same period in 2005. Visitors from the northern states continued to visit for the warmer climate, and visitors from south Louisiana and Mississippi came just to get away from the devastation.”
Story by Joe Morris
Photo by Wes Aldridge
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