Louisiana

Exploring the swamplands by canoe

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Making music at the Blue Moon Saloon

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Travel in style by horse drawn carriage

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Quintessential New Orleans architecture on Royal Street in the French Quarter

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Golf outing at serene Cypress Bend

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A gator smiles for the camera

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American Creole Zydeco musician Rosie Ledet

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Dancing at Mimi’s in the Marigny

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Sunset in the swamp

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The trumpet, an essential sound in the Birthplace of Jazz

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Major Airports:

Louis Armstrong/New Orleans (MSY)

Baton Rouge (BTR)

Shreveport (SHV)
Nicknames:

The Pelican State, The Bayou State, Sportsman's Paradise

Great music, food and nature, with a dash of eccentricity

The mist-shrouded swamps, the prairies of Acadiana and the gray Spanish moss cascading from the old trees all add up to the special feeling that is Louisiana. The streets here are filled with an eclectic mix of people whose ideas, tastes and roots translate into the cuisines, music and art that characterize the Pelican State. Louisiana features a multicultural, multilingual history, influenced by the people who make up the state. The people of Louisiana came from France, Spain, Haiti, French Canada, the Caribbean, Africa and Vietnam. While there is no official state language, the state constitution acknowledges “the right of the people to preserve, foster, and promote their respective historic, linguistic, and cultural origins.”

Louisiana - Birthplace of Jazz

Well-known Icons and Pleasant Surprises

To many, Louisiana is known as the birthplace of jazz, where over-stuffed po’ boys are bountiful, and where the greatest Mardi Gras celebrations take place. The list of lesser-knowns from this swampy Southern state is deliciously new to the outsider: a steaming hot bowl of seafood gumbo, freshly-made beignets and drive-through daiquiri shops. Thankfully, the uninitiated can head down one of Louisiana’s Culinary Trails to acquaint themselves with the distinctive Creole/Cajun flavors, and the history behind them.

Then there’s the unmistakable beat of zydeco music, eerily-beautiful bayous and the sacred temples of Voodoo priestesses (where you go to get your juju on track). Here, the Cajun and Creole musicians (who created the tunes of swamp pop in a hybrid of rock, R&B and blues sounds) live on in a new generation of talent that moves the crowds at the intimate local music haunts. Another cure for the unaccustomed: one evening at the Blue Moon Saloon and Guesthouse, a historic honky tonk that hosts roots music every night. Louisiana is a place where artistic expression flourishes and where artists have an outlet for their creativity that remains unhampered by convention, which is reflected in the many galleries showing outsider art as a mainstay.

Nowhere Else Like It

Only in Louisiana has Spain’s running of the bulls been transformed into folks strapping on rollerblades and helmets – with horns – to roll around chasing each other as “rollerbulls.” And only in Louisiana are there frog shows in place of dog shows and inmates performing as cowboys in prison rodeos. This is a state that knows how to throw a good party – and to tease its arrival all year long: The 365-day countdown to Mardi Gras, which commemorates Fat Tuesday, is the most-anticipated event of the year across the state. This Pre-Lenten/Easter festival about parties, parades, beads, costumes and eating traditional king cakes is one of the most popular events to attend in all of the U.S.

Louisiana - Birthplace of Jazz

Fun Fact

The colorful and Spanish-influenced architecture of New Orleans' Royal Street

The majority of the New Orleans’ French Quarter is actually Spanish in architecture.

Nottoway’s White Castle Plantation, just one of many magnificent Louisiana mansions

Nottoway Plantation in White Castle is the largest antebellum mansion in the south and was the inspiration for the mansion in the Disney film, “The Princess and the Frog.”

An Elvis statue commemorates The King’s days on a radio show broadcasted from Shreveport Municipal Auditorium

The ascension of Elvis Presley’s musical career began at the Louisiana Hayride, a recurring radio-broadcast concert series at Shreveport, Louisiana’s downtown municipal auditorium in 1954.

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Ask a Local: Louisiana Transcript

Shreveport Speaker:
What makes us so unique is that we have a wonderful blend of the culture, of our cuisine and our outstanding community festivities. I’m from the Shreveport-Bossier area.
There’s always something to do. Sometimes, it’s a big giant festival or a parade, or you’re taking these intimate moments to go to one of my favorite places to eat downtown, which is Abby Singer’s Bistro. And you get a slice of the delicious taste and sights and sounds all in one place.
There’s some things that you can do at the boardwalk and enjoy all of the different shops and stores and restaurants.
You know one of the craziest experiences that we can have: zip lining, right there at Gators and Friends. That’s one of the craziest and the coolest things to do.
What makes us so very special is our culture, our diversity, the people and the various ethnicities that we celebrate often here in our area. And one of the places I enjoy going is right here at the Southern University Museum of Art here in Shreveport, where we celebrate the African and African American experiences through art and artifacts.
One last thing I want you to remember: No matter who you are, no matter where you’re from, no matter what you look like, no matter what you sound like, we here in Shreveport-Bossier, we want to give you one big welcome.

New Orleans Speaker:
What makes New Orleans so special to me is the fact that we have the greatest people here. You will meet people on the street that will change your life. We’re friendly, we’re fun and we have great food, we have great music.
There’s a few places you can go to hear local music, and one the places is Royal Street. During the daytime, there’s a lot of street musicians that play, little 3-, 4-piece bands and it’s just really beautiful. Royal Street has antique shops and little restaurants and it’s adorable.
And then another place that I love is Frenchmen Street, and that’s more of a nighttime scene. You’ve got the Spotted Cat, you’ve got d.b.a., you’ve got Snug Harbor. There’s no shortage of hearing great music in New Orleans. Just pick your night, pick your location and you will find it.
One of the best things you can eat in New Orleans is a po-boy, and the best place to get one, in my opinion, is Parkway Tavern, which is located right here on Bayou St. John. Parkway has been around since 1911, so they know what they’re doing when it comes to po-boys.
You should definitely ride the streetcar. One of the best places you can stop along the route is at Washington Avenue, and that’s where Commander’s Palace is, which is a 100-year-old restaurant in the middle of the Garden District. It’s beautiful and it’s actually where Emeril Lagasse started his whole culinary career under the matron Ella Brennan. And if you continue to ride the streetcar toward the downtown area and you get off at Girod Street, you can visit Meril, which is actually named after his daughter, and it’s his first restaurant that he’s opened in 20 years.
Another great way to meet people and make friends in New Orleans is to sit at the oyster bar. There’s tons of great oyster bars with awesome shuckers that have been doing it for decades.
Another thing that’s really fun about New Orleans is crawfish boils. It’s just a great way to make friends and experience a true New Orleans piece of tradition and culture.
It’s just such a fun city with such an amazing group of people. It will inspire you and change your life forever.

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0:00 Shreveport
1:40 New Orleans

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Must see places

Flags hanging from the balconies in the French Quarter

New Orleans French Quarter

You came, you saw, you mardi gras’d: There’s no visiting Louisiana without a trip to the iconic community that acts as the crossroads for so many cultures and traditions. Explore this National Historic District’s unbeatable food scene, museums, music and notorious thoroughfare, Bourbon Street.

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New Orleans Neighborhoods

Creole Nature Trail All-American Road

Consider this 290-kilometer path through the marshlands and coastline of Louisiana a drive right into the heart of Cajun culture. You’ll encounter gators, beaches, crabbing, fishermen, wildflowers and plenty of chances to sample the seafood along this scenic path.

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Louisiana’s Culinary Trails

Avery Island

This small, salt dome island in Iberia Parish is home to TABASCO, where you can take a tour and sample the products and then explore the lovely environment. Visit Jungle Gardens to take in the serenity of the island as well as its wildlife.

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Jungle Gardens

Atchafalaya National Heritage Area

The basin here is the USA’s largest river swamp, home to hardwoods, bayous, backwater lakes and teeming with swamp wildlife (including crawfish). Don’t miss a tour of the water heritage trail in this spectacular environment; it tells the richly complex story of the water, land and people of the area.

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Plan Your Visit

The Historic Broussard House at Vermilionville in Lafayette, Louisiana

Denny Culbert

Vermilionville Living History & Folk Life Park

In Lafayette, this folk life park illustrates Acadian, American Indian and Creole culture of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Highlights include 19 attractions, seven restored homes, costumed guides and local artisans.

Oak Alley Plantation

The very picture of a historic antebellum home, a tour of Oak Alley takes you through the Big House, a Civil War Encampment Exhibit and Slave Quarter Exhibit. A Cajun/Creole lunch buffet is also available, as well as the “Spirits” Bar and a shop.

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New Orleans Plantation Country

St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square

The USA’s oldest Catholic cathedral in continual use presides over Jackson Square. Tours of the historic landmark are self-guided, and you’ll want to follow up with a stop at the Catholic Cultural Heritage Center and at the Old Ursuline Convent Museum. Afterwards, explore Jackson Square, the iconic French Quarter park bursting with character.

Preservation Hall

There’s no better place to catch classic New Orleans live jazz than here, where they’ve been keeping the tradition alive since 1961. Get tickets for a show any night; past performances have even included rock, country and hip-hop styles.

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New Orleans Live Music

Poverty Point

See the 22-meter tall mound, concentric half-circles and other earth works, built by hand 3,400 years ago by American Indians. The UNESCO World Heritage Site is in Pioneer.

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Day Trips from Poverty Point

Louisiana State Museum

Five of the nine museums in the statewide system are in the French Quarter: Cabildo, Presbytere, 1850 House, Madame John’s Legacy and New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old U.S. Mint. Visit one or all.