Louisiana

✨ Things to Do

There’s nowhere else in the country you can find such a sublime mix of live music, rich food, and eerie Spanish moss over a bayou. Here are some of the best things to do in Louisiana:

• Sample the Cuisine – Louisiana is famous for its Cajun and Creole cuisine. Make sure you try all the local dishes: jambalaya, red beans and rice, crawfish etouffee, and gumbo.
• Two-step to Live Cajun Music – In the southwestern part of the state in Cajun Country, you’ll find endless opportunities to two-step to some Zydeco.
• Check out Live Jazz in New Orleans – Whether you’re listening to dueling pianos at Pat O’Brien’s in the Quarter or bar-hopping on Frenchmen Street, you’ll never be far from live jazz in New Orleans.
• Go to Mardi Gras or the Courir de Mardi Gras – Southeastern and southwestern Louisiana both have their own Mardi Gras traditions. Enjoy extravagant parades in New Orleans or mask-making and costumed horseback riders in Eunice or Lafayette in the West.
• Visit World-Class Museums – From the National World War II Museum in New Orleans to the living history museum Vermillionville in Lafayette, Louisiana’s museums will blow your mind.
• Visit the Swamp – Whether you go on a swamp tour or hike at Jean Lafitte National Park, don’t miss a chance to commune with Louisiana’s unique and eerie swamps and bayous.

🗺️ Where to Stay

While most people have heard of the New Orleans French Quarter, fewer people know about all the other hidden gems the state has to offer.

• New Orleans French Quarter – The heart and soul of Louisiana, the French Quarter is what most people picture when they hear “New Orleans.”
• Other New Orleans Neighborhoods – If you have the chance, venture out and explore the Warehouse District, Uptown, and wonderful City Park. See my guide to where to stay in New Orleans.
• Baton Rouge – The state capital has numerous museums, some great eateries and parks, and fantastic views of the Mississippi River. See my guide to where to stay in Baton Rouge.
• Lafayette – As the most bustling town in southwestern Louisiana (Cajun Country), you’ll find some of the best food and music in Lafayette.
• Houma – Houma is a small city south of New Orleans where the land starts getting patchy and people live in houses on stilts.

🛎️ Best Hotels

Louisiana has numerous historic and beautiful hotels that can elevate your visit into an unforgettable experience.

• Hotel Monteleone – A gorgeous beaux-arts high-rise in the French Quarter of New Orleans, the Hotel Monteleone is famous for its slowly-rotating Carousel Bar.
• The Roosevelt – An elegant New Orleans property adjacent to the French Quarter and managed by Waldorf Astoria.
• The Watermark Hotel – An iconic century-old skyscraper in downtown Baton Rouge that boasts painted ceiling murals, chiseled marble, and old bank vaults.
• St. Francisville Inn – One of the most celebrated inns in the south, this St. Francisville hotel embraces the vibe of a relaxed, breezy southern evening.
• Southern Hotel – Charmingly dubbed “Covington’s Living Room,” this historic hotel on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain provides a physical and spiritual retreat for its guests.

🚗 Best Road Trips

Louisiana is famous for its winding roads along levees and past live oaks strewn with Spanish moss.

• River Road – The Great River Road follows the Mississippi River from Minnesota to Louisiana. Following the River Road in Louisiana will bring you great bridge crossings and views of mansions and historic properties.
• New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Acadiana/Cajun Country – Driving west from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and then further west to the area around Lafayette will hit many of the state’s attractions.
• Down to Grand Isle – Driving south of New Orleans is an awe-inspiring experience because it feels like driving on patchy, transient land to the end of the world. 
• Bayou Teche Byway – A 125-mile scenic route that begins in Morgan City and winds through historic settlements with both Cajun and Anglo-Saxon origins.
• Carville – Carville was a home for patients with leprosy. You can drive a self-guided tour through Carville using a free audio guide on your phone.

🖼️ Best Museums

• National World War II Museum – A museum in New Orleans about the World War II experience.
• The Cabildo – A collection of exhibits in the New Orleans French Quarter about Hurricane Katrina and Mardi Gras, among other things.
• The Whitney Plantation – A plantation museum entirely devoted to the experience of enslaved people, with a modern commitment to anti-racism.
• Vermilionville – A living history museum in Lafayette with many historic homes from different periods and ample information about Cajun culture and history in Acadiana.
• Louisiana’s Old State Capitol – A free museum in Baton Rouge with stunning architecture.

🌳 Best Outdoor Activities

• Honey Island Swamp – One of the most popular destinations for swamp tours, located just across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans.
• Barataria Preserve – Encompasses Jean Lafitte National Park, which offers swampy trails, nature exhibits, and ranger-led tours.
• The Jungle Gardens – Large, sprawling gardens in Avery Island, associated with the Tabasco Factory.
• New Orleans City Park – City Park offers kayak and swan boat rentals, ample walking trails, fishing spots, and all-around beautiful landscaping.
• Grand Isle State Park – A famous Gulf of Mexico beach in the extreme southern end of Louisiana.

✒️ Best Literary Sites

• Hotel Monteleone – The Hotel Monteleone and its Carousel Bar were the stomping grounds of brilliant artists.
• Evangeline Oak – A large oak tree and park in St. Martinville honoring Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem Evangeline, an Acadian love story.
• Tennessee Williams’ Homes/ Festival – Tennessee Williams lived in multiple places in New Orleans. Additionally, an annual literary festival in his honor occurs in the French Quarter.
• Grand Isle State Park – Grand Isle is the setting for Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, a critique of the oppressive culture of the American South.
• Beauregard-Keyes House – A historic house in New Orleans, one of the famous residents of the mansion was renowned author Frances Parkinson Keyes.

💃 Best Dancing Spots

• Mulates – A Cajun restaurant in New Orleans with live music and dancing most nights of the week.
• Rock n’ Bowl – A family-friendly bowling alley with live bands and a dance floor.
• Buck and Johnny’s – An Acadiana establishment famous for its Zydeco brunch and dancing on Sundays.
• Vermilionville – A living history museum in Lafayette with a performance space that hosts Cajun music and dancing on Sundays.
• Blue Moon Saloon – A venue offering both local and touring band performances, they host frequent zydeco concerts packed with dancing locals.

👉 Tips & Things to Know

• 💃 – Learn to Two-Step – The Cajun Two-Step is the most traditional dance step in Cajun Country.
• 🥐 – French is Spoken in Some Areas – There is a strong French influence in both New Orleans and particularly Cajun Country (Acadiana).
• 🍷 – Know the Liquor Laws – In the New Orleans French Quarter, you can legally walk out of a bar with a go-cup of alcohol as long as it’s in a plastic container. Outside of New Orleans, many local ordinances ban alcohol on the streets.
• 🥵 – Respect the Heat – In the late spring through mid-fall, Louisiana temperatures soar into the 90s, which often means it feels like 100+ with the heat index.
• 🌀 – Avoid Hurricane Season – Hurricane season runs from June – November and is best avoided.

🧳 What to Pack

• 🧺 – Cotton and Linen Clothing – Natural fibers like 100% cotton and linen will keep you coolest in the spring/summer/fall heat and humidity. 
• 👒 – A Sun Hat and Sun Shirt – Less clothing isn’t always better in the direct sun. Sometimes keeping the sun off your body will keep you coolest.
• 🧊 – A Cooling Towel – In the heat, wrap a cooling towel around your neck so you can immediately bring your body temperature down.
• 🩱 – A Bathing Suit – Even if you think you won’t want to swim, you may want to swim when you realize what a summer afternoon in Louisiana feels like.
• 👟 – Shoes You Can Get Dirty – In New Orleans, there’s the radioactive ooze (okay, not literally) that accumulates on Bourbon Street every night. Everywhere else, there’s swamp mud, low-lying marsh, and lots of rain.

🤓 Facts & Info

• Population – 4,627,098
• Capital – Baton Rouge
• Largest Metro Areas – New Orleans
• Time Zone – Central Time (UTC -6 / UTC -5 during daylight savings)
• Airports – New Orleans Louis Armstrong Airport (MSY), Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (BTR), Alexandria International Airport (AEX)
• Colleges & Universities – Louisiana State University, University of Louisiana Lafayette, Tulane University, University of New Orleans
• Nickname – The Pelican State
• Demonynm – Louisianan
• USPS Abbreviation – LA
• Governor – Jeff Landry (Republican Party)
• Country – United States of America

💵 Costs & Budgeting

• MERIC Cost of Living State Rank – #18
• 3 Star Hotel Room – $150-350/night
• 1 Bedroom Apartment Rental – $150-300/night
• Rental Car – $50/day
• Public Transit Ticket – ~$3/day ($2 to airport from center)
• Take Out Meal for Two – $25 – $80
• Sit Down Dinner for Two – $30- $90
• Draft Beer – $5-$8