Louisiana

Louisiana is the birthplace of jazz and zydeco music, and the home of authentic Cajun and Creole cuisine. It offers mysterious, beautiful landscapes (some of America’s last wildernesses), accented by a history and culture that formed from all corners of the earth: Native American, European, African, Caribbean and French Canadian.

New Orleans is Louisiana’s most popular tourist attraction. Compared to other American cities, it is surprisingly laid back and distinctly European. History and culture mix with hip shopping, great restaurants and lively nightlife venues both in and beyond the heralded French Quarter.

For the tastes, sights and sounds of Cajun Country, venture into the cities of Houma, Morgan City and Lafayette, or into little towns like New Iberia, Breaux Bridge and Eunice. Prepare to eat crawfish and see live alligators and be sure to pack dancing shoes.

The lower Mississippi River boasted America’s highest concentration of millionaires at the turn of the 19th Century. Testaments to that wealth still exist on the Great River Road where antebellum plantation mansions boast unusual architecture, period furnishings and antiques, and entertaining stories about life in that era of Louisiana history.

For family fun, spend time in Kisatchie National Forest and nearby Natchitoches, the oldest town in the original Louisiana Purchase. For riverboat gaming, check out offerings in the cities of Shreveport and Lake Charles.

History buffs will enjoy Capitol Park, a collection of notable sites in downtown Baton Rouge; and the Ancient Mounds Trail, a network of prehistoric Native American earthworks in northeast and central Louisiana. Nature lovers and adventure seekers will want to experience the America’s Wetlands Birding Trail, a coastal network of bird and wildlife watching paths, and the Creole Nature Trail, one of the first National Scenic Byways in the U.S.