Houma: True Cajun Hospitality

Speaking of plantations, my first excursion in Houma was to the Southdown Plantation, which was owned by a well-to-do sugar planter back in the day. Built in 1859, the plantation house how holds a museum with everything from Cajun cultural artifacts to art galleries and Mardi Gras exhibits, all surrounded by lovely grounds. It was a very enjoyable tour.

In contrast, we visited the Ardoyne Plantation, also a former sugar plantation but built in a different architectural style. Ardoyne is one of the biggest and most elaborate examples of rural Victorian Gothic architecture in Louisiana. I really enjoyed this tour as well, and both plantation tours offered plenty of interesting facts about the area.

You could spend an entire day touring all of the plantations in and around Houma. The history is fascinating.

Food is always on my mind, so for lunch I checked out a restaurant suggested by several other tourists called Milano, where I had the most delicious crab and avocado salad. The ambience was really nice and, of course, the service was excellent, as I would expect in Houma.

Full and happy, I spent the better part of the afternoon wandering the streets of downtown Houma. The homes and architecture are lovely. If you walk by the bayou boardwalk, you’ll find yourself in a scenic and peaceful paradise.

After a short rest, I headed out into the warm night air and again wandered around, taking in the sights and the people. For dinner, everyone in Houma told me I must go to Cajun Critters Seafood. The recommendations were the royal red shrimp and the crawfish. The shrimp were sweet and succulent, and the crawfish were honestly the best I’d had since arriving in Louisiana. Not to say any had been bad, but something about the seasonings they used at Cajun Critters was unbelievable.

Houma turned out to be so much more than just incredible hospitality. Houma is fun, cultural, beautiful and a terrific place to spend some time.