Louisiana (LA)

Louisiana State Flag

 "Pelican State" 

"Bayou State", "Child of Mississippi", "Creole State", "Sugar State" and Sportsman's Paradise"

Why visit Louisiana?

Hopeless romantics along with outdoorsy wishing to enjoy antebellum homes, biking, boating, culture, fishing, foodies, history, hunting, music, paranormal, plantations, riverboats and street parties.

A popular destination for:

• Conventions, Meetings & Reunions
• Destination Wedding
• Ocean Cruises Embarkation/Disembarkation
• Groups: Family, Friends and Multigenerational 
• Milestones: Anniversary, Bachelor Party, Bachelorette Party, Birthday, Honeymoon, Retirement and Vow Renewal
• Music Fans: Cajun, Jazz, Swamp Pop and Zydeco

French Quarters, New Orleans, LA. Photo Credit: Joao Francisco/Unsplash

At a Glance

• Capital: Baton Rouge
• State Bird: Eastern Brown Pelican
• State Dessert: None
• State Flower: Magnolia
• State Gemstone: Lapearlite
• State Mammal: Louisiana Black Bear
• State Rock: None

Fun Facts

• Since 1700's, Louisiana Voodoo (New Orleans Voodoo or Mississippi Valley Voodoo) roots arrived from West Africa. A religious belief combined ancestry practices of herbs, poisons, ritual creation of charms and amulets that is intended to protect oneself or harm others.
• August 2005, Hurricane Katrina brought 20 ft storm surges which devastated the city of New Orleans.
• September 2005, Hurricane Rita hit the southwestern area. Needless, to mention, taking years to rebuild.
• In 2006, Congress passed legislation to fund coastal protection and land-building initiatives as the coastline erodes at a rate of about 30 miles per year.
• State named after Louis XIV, King of France.
  
• Our nation's largest freshwater swamp is Atchafalaya Basin.
• A source of Salt Domes used in underground traps for gas and oil. Of course, salt too. 
  
• Port of South Louisiana (54 miles), is the largest shipping port in the Western Hemisphere and fourth largest in the world.
  
• Rich in petroleum and natural gas was the first site of petroleum drilling over water in the world.
• The two week carnival celebration of "Mardi Gardi" ("Fat Tuesday", "Pancake Tuesday" and "Shrove Tuesday") attracts 1.4 million attendees annually.
  
• Outlaws "Bonnie" Parker & "Clyde" Barrow were killed near Gibsland after years of robbery and murder throughout several states.
• The spicy pepper sauce Tabasco brand produced on Avery Island has remained family and privately owned for over 150 years. Around 700,000 bottles packaged daily and shipped to 195 countries.
• Features 1 State Forest and 35 State Parks.

Old Louisiana State Capitol, Baton Rouge, LA. Photo Credit: Gretta Blankenship/Pixabay

Thank You!

• Spotlight Celebrities: Eli Manning (Athlete), Ellen DeGeneres (Comedian), Lil Wayne (Musician), Louis Armstrong (Musician), Odem Beckham Jr (Athlete), Peyton Manning (Athlete), Reese Whiterspoon (Actress), Tim McGraw (Musician) and Tyler Perry (Actor), just to name a few.
• Movies to Inspire You: 21 Jump Street (2012), Interview With the Vampire (1994), Steel Magnolias (1989), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), just to name a few.
• Reads Set in Louisiana: An American Marriage (written by Tayari Jones), and Queen Sugar (written by Natalie Baszile), just to name a few.

Cypress Lake, Lafayette, LA. Photo Credit: skeeze/Pixabay

Good to Know

• Cajun French (Creole, or Cajun too), Spanish and Vietnamese are often heard and spoken. 
  
• The only state with tax-free shopping for international visitors.
  
• "Flashing" is known to occur on Bourbon Street and during festivities.
• There's a .03% Louisiana Tourism Promotion District Sales Tax + Louisiana Sales Tax (4%).
• New Orleans is referred to as "Big Easy" or "NOLA".
  

Subject to humidity, frequent rain showers, hurricanes (June - November) and  tropical cyclones (January-March).

• Best Time to Visit: February-May and December-January
• Coldest Month: January
• Hottest Month: July
• Peak Season: February - May

Creole Queen Riverboat. Photo Credit: skeeze/Pixabay

Your Must-See & Do

• Historical Sites: Audubon State Historic Site, Buckner Mansion, Caddo Lake Historic Drawbridge, Centenary State Historic Site, Charpentier Historic District, Colonel Short's Villa, Congo Square, Donaldsonville Historic District, Doullut Steamboat House #2, Edmond Ellison Smart House, E.D. White Historic Site, Fort Butler Historic Site, Fort Jesup State Historic Site, Fort Macomb, Forts Randolph & Buhlow State Historic Site, Fort St Jean Baptiste State Historic Site, Grant's Canal, Historic Harrison Building, Indian Mounds, Jackson Square, Joan of Arc, Kent Plantation House, Laura Plantation: Louisiana's Creole Heritage Site, Layton Castle, Lincoln Beach, Lincoln Theater, Locust Grove State Historic Site, Los Adaes State Historic Site, Lutcher United Methodist Church, Magnolia Mound Plantation, Malus-Beauregard House, Mansfield State Historic Site, Marksville State Historic Site, Melady House Marker, Melrose Plantation, Miltenberger Houses, Ouachita National Bank, Pitot House, Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site, Plaquemine Lock State Historic Site, Port Hudson State Historic Site, Poverty Point World Heritage Site, Rebel State Historic Site, Republic of Texas Historical Marker, Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site, Solomon Northrup "12 Years A Slave" Historical Site Marker, Sterling Grove National Historic District, St Joseph Plantation Felicity Plantation, Tchefuncte River Lighthouse, US Custom House and Winter Quarters State Historic Site.
• Museums: Abita Mystery House/UCM Museum, Alexandria Museum of Art, Arna Bontemps African-American, Auburn Antebellum Home, Autrey House Museum Beauregard-Keyes House, Backstreet Cultural Museum, Bayou Country Children's Museum, Biedenharn Museum & Garden, Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Museum, Burden Museum & Gardens, Cajun Music Hall of Fame, Camp Claiborne Museum, Capitol Park Museum, Chennault Aviation & Military Museum, Children's Museum of Acadiana, Confederate Memorial Hall Museum, Destrehan Plantation, Dorcheat Historical Museum, Eddie G Robinson Museum, Fort Jackson, Frog Level, Gallier House, Hermann-Grima House, Hilliard Art Museum, Imperial Calcasieu Museum, International Petroleum Museum & Exposition, Lafayette Museum, Lafayette Science Museum, La Military Hall Fame & Museum, Louisiana Art & Science Museum, Louisiana Children's Discovery Center, Louisiana History Museum, Louisiana Maneuvers & Military Museum, Louisiana Military Museum, Louisiana's Old State Capitol, Louisiana Orphan Train Museum, Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, Louisiana State Cotton Museum, Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, Louisiana State Museum, Louisiana State Museum's 1850 House, Louisiana Treasures Museum, Los Isleños Museum Complex, LSU Museum of Art, Louisiana State University Rural Life Museum, Madame John’s Legacy, Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu, Masur Museum of Art, Merryville Historical Museum, Museum of West Louisiana, Musical Legends Park, New Orleans African American Museum, New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum, New Orleans Jazz Museum, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, Old Ursuline Convent Museum, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Opelousas Museum & Interpretive Center, Otis House, Pentagon Barracks Museum, Pointe Coupee Museum, Regional Military Museum, River Road African American Museum, San Francisco Plantation, Shadows-on-the-Teche, Southdown Plantation,  Southern Food & Beverage Museum & Museum of the American Cocktail, Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum, Spring Street Historical Museum, Stage-Stars Museum, Swamp Pop Museum, Sydney & Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, Talbert-Pierson Cemetery Grave Houses, Tangipahoa African American Heritage Museum & Veterans Archives, The Arsenal, The Authentic Bonnie & Clyde Museum, The Cabildo, The Children's Museum of Southwest Louisiana, The Historic New Orleans Collection, The National WWII Museum, The Presbytère, The Terrebonne Museum, Tunica Biloxi Regional Indian Center & Museum Complex, USS KIDD Veterans Museum, USS ORLECK Naval Museum, Walter Grinnan Robinson House, Wedell-Williams Aviation & Cypress Sawmill Museum, West Baton Rouge Museum, West Feliciana Historical Museum,  Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center, Whitney Plantation, W.H. Tupper General MerMerchandise Museum and Zigler Art Museum. 
• Popular Attractions: 13th Gate Haunted House, Abita Brewing Company, Baton Rouge Zoo, Bernardo de Galvez Monument, Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge, Blue Bayou Water Park, Bourbon Street, BREC's Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center, Cajun Prairie Gardens, Camp Moore Museum, Cane River Creole National Historical Park, Carousel Gardens Amusement Park, Chalmette Battlefield, Chalmette Monument, City Park, Creole Nature Trail, Dark Woods Adventure Park, Destrehan Plantation, Dunn House, Fats Domino's Home, Elvis Presley Statue, Epic Family Entertainment Center, Fontainebleau State Park, Frogmore Cotton Plantation & Gins, French Market, French Quarter, Frogmore Cotton Plantation & Gins, Gators & Friends, Global Wildlife, Gone Wild Safari, Grand Opera House of the South, Gretna Historical Society, Hilltop Arboretum, Houmas House & Gardens, Hurricane Katrina Memorial, Hurricane Katrina Sculpture - House In A Tree, Ignatius J Reilly Statue, Jackson Square, Jambalaya Park, Jean Louis Alexandre De Breard Monument, John Schneider Studios, Jungle Gardens, Kent Plantation House, Lake Martin, Lake Pontchartrain, LARC's Acadian Village, Lee Circle, Laurel Valley Sugar Plantation, Liberty Lagoon, Longue Vue House & Gardens, Louis Armstrong Park, Louisiana Mississippi Border Sign, Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo, Main Street Historic District, Mardi Gras World, Marie Laveau's House Of Voodoo, Mike the Tiger's Habitat, Millennium Park, Mount Driskill, Natchitoches Parish Riverbank, New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park, Oak Alley Plantation, Oakland Plantation, Old Governor's Mansion, Prairie Acadian Cultural Center, Preservation Hall, R.W. Norton Art Gallery, Sarto Old Iron Bridge, Shadowlawn, Shreveport Municipal Auditorium, Southwest Reef Lighthouse, Spanish Town Historic District, Splash Kingdom Waterpark Shreveport, Steamboat NATCHEZ, St Louis Cathedral, St Louis Cemetery No 1, Storyland, St Tammany Trace, TABASCO, Uptown New Orleans Historic District, Vermilionville Historic Village, Voodoo Authentica, The Alamo, Tiger Stadium, Adai Caddo Tribal Living, Alexandria Zoological Park, Alexandre Mouton House, Ardoyne Plantation, Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, Audubon Butterfly Garden & Insectarium, Azalea Trail, Balfour House, Evil Visions Haunted House, The Cats Of Jackson Square, The Latt Lake Observation Pier, The Minor Basilica of Immaculate Conception Church, Veteran's Memorial Park, Voodoo Spiritual Temple, White Sands Lake and Wild Country Safari Park.
• Popular Cities/Towns to Visit: Alexandria, Avery Island, Baton Rouge, Bossier City, Grand Isle, Kenner, Houma, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, New Orleans, Shreveport, St Francisville and Vacherie.
• Special Events: (January) BCS National Championship Game, Louisiana Fur & Wildlife Festival, Sugar Bowl, (February) Mardi Gras, NBA All-Star Game, Rock 'n' Roll Mardi Gras Marathon, (April) Crescent City Classic, Festival International de Louisiane, Franklin Parish Catfish Festival, French Quarter Festival, Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, Zurich Classic of New Orleans,(May) Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, (August) PGA Tour, Satchmo SummerFest, Shrimp & Petroleum Festival, (September) Alligator Festival, Bogalusa Blues & Heritage Festival, New Orleans Burlesque Festival, (October) Andouille Festival, Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival, French Food Festival, French Quarter Festival, International Rice Festival, Krewe of Halloween Parade, Red River Revel, (November) Bayou Classic, Giant Omelette Celebration, State Fair of Louisiana, World Cultural Economic Forum, (December) Christmas Festival of Lights, Independence Bowl and New Orleans Bowl.
• UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point.

Mardi Gras, New Orleans, LA. Photo Credit: skeeze/Pixabay

Ready to embark on custom and personalized services, your journey begins with Louvet Travel? 

Your one stop source: Accommodations I Air I Car Rentals I Cruises I Disney I Excursions I Tours I Transfers I Travel Insurance I Villa Rentals

All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.