New OrleansNew Orleans was founded in 1718 and named after Philippe Duc D’Orléans. Today, this little outpost is called ‘The Big Easy’, and is a city known worldwide for jazz, Creole cuisine, riverboats and carnivals.
Music plays an integral part in the unique atmosphere of New Orleans. Old-line musicians play classic tunes during brunch and dinner, street musicians huddle in doorways at dusk to perform, and free concerts are offered weekly in the French Quarter. Louis Armstrong, Harry Connick Jr, Fats Domino, Pete Fountain, the Neville Brothers and Jelly
Roll Morton are all part of the city’s rich musical heritage. There is more music in New Orleans than ever before, with Zydeco, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, Dixieland, gospel, Cajun music and country joining the jazz tradition. To hear traditional jazz at its best, one should visit Bourbon Street or Preservation Hall, where musicians play every evening. Music festivals include the
New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which takes place in April and May each year. Stars that have performed at the event include Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan and Patti LaBelle.
New Orleans’
Mardi Gras is the biggest party of the year and rocks the whole city during the three weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday. Colorful parades, masquerade balls and street parties make the festival one of the loudest and liveliest celebrations in the world.
There is also a rich cultural side to New Orleans. It was here that the country’s first opera house was built. The city boasts an excellent Museum of Art and a Contemporary Arts Center, while the Warehouse District has been revitalized by galleries, restaurants and shops that display the crafts of local artists. The Louisiana State Museum on Jackson Square includes exhibitions on Mardi Gras and jazz. The collection of French works at the New Orleans Museum of Art is renowned throughout the world. At the Louisiana Children’s Museum, kids of all ages can pretend to star in their own TV show or shop in a recreated mini-mart. In addition to the opera, ballet and symphony seasons, there are regular Broadway shows and live theater in almost a dozen locations.
ExcursionsThere are tours of every description in New Orleans that take in everything from haunted houses to alligator-filled swamps. Also popular are the literary tours of the homes and haunts of famous writers – William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Lillian Hellman and Sherwood Anderson all lived and worked here. Bayou/swamp tours offer Cajun storytellers, food, music and an opportunity to go crawfish harvesting with the locals. Another special tour is one that explores the city’s Black Heritage and highlights the contributions of African-Americans to New Orleans.
Ponchatoula (and its antiques), Mandeville (on Lake Pontchartrain), Covington (with its artists colony) and Hammond are just a few of the towns within easy reach of New Orleans. At the Global Wildlife Center, visitors can enjoy horseback riding among the exotic animals that roam the 364 hectare (900 acre) park. Nearby, the lush swampland bordering the Pearl River is popular with birdwatchers. At Honey Island Swamp, boat tours are available. Kenner features Rivertown USA, which is a combination of historical sites and family attractions in a Victorian setting.
Ferries provide transport across the Mississippi River, including one departing from the levée at the foot of Canal Street. One-day cruises are available:
Steamboat Natchez has harbor, dinner and jazz cruises;
John James Audubon has a zoo cruise between the Aquarium and Riverfront Park to the Audubon Zoo; and
Louisiana Swamp Tours offers a selection of special cruises through the Louisiana swamps, including buffet and dinner cruises.
The Rest of the StateBaton RougeThe capital of Louisiana is also the heart of the Southern ‘Plantation Country’ region. The ‘Blues’ are a large part of the Baton Rouge heritage, sung by slaves as they picked plantation cotton, and the city was the original home of many of the USA’s most well-known blues musicians.
The Capitol Building is a 34-story building with a viewing platform overlooking 11 hectares (27 acres) of formal gardens in the Capitol grounds. Other attractions include the Old Capitol, with its Center for Political and Governmental History; the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion, with exhibits of art, natural history and anthropology; Baton Rouge Zoo, with its 57 hectares (140 acres) of walk-through areas and forest settings for over 400 animals; the Louisiana Arts and Science Center Riverside, located in a remodeled railroad station; and the LSU Rural Life Museum, an outdoor museum located in the grounds of a former plantation, showing the type of work done in a 19th-century plantation community. Many magnificent old plantation mansions are available for viewing in this area, some offering bed & breakfast facilities as well as tours.
LafayetteThe industrial and cultural hub of ‘Cajun’ country is home to 100,000 people, many of whom are descended from French-speaking Canadians from Nova Scotia. They settled in the region after 1764, having been deported by the British for refusing to give up the Catholic faith or pledge allegiance to the British crown. These people were originally known as ‘Acadians’, but the name was eventually shortened to ‘Cajuns’. The land is full of swamps and bayous. Acadian Village and Vermilionville are faithful replicas of early Cajun communities.
ExcursionsHouma, a bayou town, is known for its many swamp tours, where alligators, wading birds and myriad other forms of swamplife thrive. New Iberia, home of world-famous
Tabasco sauce, offers tours of subtropical gardens, stately antebellum homes, rice mills and the hot sauce and pepper plant farms. St Martinville is a quiet and elegant town once known as ‘Le Petit Paris’ for its luxurious balls, operas and highlife. Its Cajun museum and church are well worth visiting. On the
Creole Nature Trail, near Lake Charles, ducks, geese, alligators, nutria and muskrats run rampant.
NatchitochesThe oldest town in Louisiana, perched on Cane River Lake, was first established as a fort and trading post in 1714 to prevent the Spanish from encroaching on French territory. It is now a charming lake town and farm center. It has numerous historic houses, many offering bed & breakfast, and is surrounded by pecan orchards, cotton farms and 18th-century plantation homes. The region around Natchitoches is known as ‘The Crossroads’ because it is where the French and Spanish heritage of the south meets the pioneer spirit of the north. It is also a haven for country music, having spawned such luminaries as Jerry Lee Lewis and Mickey Gilley.
ExcursionsTo the northeast, Monroe, another river town, also has many historic houses and a museum; the Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo in Monroe is a 40 hectare (100 acre) park with moss-laden oaks, formal gardens and winding waterways.
Dogwood Trail Drive is a 29km (18 mile) journey over the State’s highest hills; it passes among blossoming dogwood trees, revealing the region’s particular beauty.
ShreveportA leading oil and gas center located close to the Texan border, with a distinctly American West flavor, Shreveport is also renowned as a trade, gaming and entertainment area; the town hosts several major annual events, attracting visitors from far and wide (see
Special Events section). Shreve Square has an attractive cluster of nightclubs, restaurants and shops.
Attractions include the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, featuring dioramas, an art gallery, historical murals and archaeological relics; RW Norton Museum, featuring Old West artists Frederic Remington and Charles M Russell; Pioneer Heritage Center; and the American Rose Center, a famous garden showplace.
ExcursionsThis region is known as ‘Sportman’s Paradise’ for its many forests and lakes offering opportunities for fishing, hunting, canoeing and hiking. An annual
Fishing Tournament takes place at
Toledo Bend. Louisiana Downs Thoroughbred Racetrack, across the Red River in Bossier City, is open for racing from late spring until the autumn. Poverty Point State Historic Site is an ancient Native American religious area dating from 1700 BC and one of the most important archaeological finds in the USA.
EuniceOne of the most charming towns in Louisiana, Eunice has a strong musical tradition, with excellent Cajun music played every weekend at the Prairie Acadia Cultural Center in the Jean Lafitte National Park. The center also has some exhibits on local life. Another attraction is the Eunice Museum. The town celebrates
Mardi Gras in style, with an annual spectacular that involves horses parading though the downtown and, of course, lots of Cajun music.
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