Explore the Coast · Harrison County
Biloxi, the visitor’s guide.
Biloxi is the Coast’s biggest draw, and it wears a few hats at once. It’s a casino town — the strip of resorts along Highway 90 pulls most of the crowds. But it’s also one of the oldest settlements on the Gulf, with a cast-iron lighthouse from 1848, a seafood heritage that built the place, and a Frank Gehry–designed art museum tucked under live oaks. I live fifteen minutes east in Ocean Springs, and I send people here all the time — for the museums, the historic restaurants, and the long man-made beach. Here’s how I’d steer you past the buffet and into the parts of Biloxi worth remembering.
Four guides to Biloxi
Food & Dining →
Where to eat past the buffets — Mary Mahoney’s historic dining rooms, White Pillars, the Small Craft Harbor seafood, and the casino-resort kitchens worth the trip.
Things to doActivities →
The lighthouse, the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum and its schooners, the Frank Gehry–designed Ohr-O’Keefe, the Town Green, and the casino floors.
Get orientedTown Guide →
How Biloxi is laid out along Highway 90, the casino-and-history split, getting around, and what to expect from a Coast casino town.
Outdoors & day tripsExploration →
The 26-mile man-made beach, Deer Island by kayak, Point Cadet harbor, and easy day trips up and down the Coast.
The 30-second version
Most people come to Biloxi for the casinos, and that’s fine — the resort kitchens are genuinely good and the beach is right across Highway 90. But the city rewards anyone willing to look past the gaming floor. Climb the Biloxi Lighthouse, spend an hour at the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum (and book a sail on one of its schooners if the season’s right), and walk the Frank Gehry buildings at the Ohr-O’Keefe. Eat at a historic spot like Mary Mahoney’s. If you’ve got a half day and decent weather, paddle out to Deer Island — it’s barely offshore and almost nobody’s on it.
House rule: everything below is a place I’d actually send a friend. Hours, menus, and casino-resort offerings change constantly — call ahead or check the venue before you go, especially for lighthouse climbs and schooner sails, which depend on weather.
Want the rest of the Coast?
I cover all three counties — Jackson, Harrison, Hancock — in The Seawall, my twice-weekly newsletter on Coast events, music, food, and openings. More town guides going up here as I write them.
Rob Recio lives in Ocean Springs and is in real-estate-licensure training in Mississippi. This is informational visitor content — not real-estate advice or a solicitation.