NATCHEZ — Local residents got a taste of what it is like to be a tourist for a day Monday morning.

As part of National Tourism Week, people from all corners of the city boarded one of the city’s bright double-decker sightseeing buses to see all the local sights tourists see every day.

Two 45-minute tours were offered free of charge in celebration of the week.

The bus tours were just two of the many opportunities that will be available this week. At noon today, the Natchez Heritage School of Cooking will host an open house at 408 Martin Luther King Jr. St. Also at 7:30 tonight at Bowie’s Tavern will be a special tourism edition of Trivia Night.

A scavenger hunt with prizes will be offered on Friday. Those interested in the hunt should contact Stratton Hall at 601-446-6345 or shall@visitnatchez.org for more information and to sign up.

“What we wanted to focus on was being a tourist in your own hometown,” Visit Natchez Executive Director Jennifer Ogden Combs said. “We wanted residents to find out what is going on in their hometown.”

Local shop owner John Grady Burns said he had never taken the time to take one of the bus rides until Monday. The owner of The Nest on Franklin Street said he was glad he took the opportunity.

“I really enjoyed it,” he said. “(Tour guide) Debbie Cosey made it feel like you were in a conversation.”

Ogden said knowing what is happening and what is offered to tourists is especially important because everyone is important to tourism.

“It is really crucial that when a visitor stops at a gas station to get gas and the first thing they don’t hear when asked what Natchez has to offer is ‘Well not very much, just a bunch of old homes,’” Combs said. “When tourists get here they have to have a good experience.”

That is why experiencing all that is offered to tourists is important, Combs.

For some local residents Monday, getting a view of the town from the top level of a double decker bus was the first step.