8 Friendliest Towns To Visit In Louisiana In 2024
Many great places are named after great rulers at the time. In the case of Louisiana, it was named after King Louis XIV of France when the French Empire established a foothold in North America. Although the Louisiana Purchase liberated Louisiana from French rule, the state continued to adhere to a legal system that Napolean Bonaparte created, unlike the other 49 states that followed English common law. Louisiana is a perfect destination for your vacation due to the extremely warm and welcoming towns of the state. In the murky bayous and beyond the triumvirate of big cities, you will find novel charms and memorable experiences in the many beautiful towns of the Pelican State. So immerse yourself in the Cajun and Acadian cultures of Louisiana and explore these seven friendliest towns in 2024.
Breaux Bridge
As the Crawfish Capital of the World, the breathtaking town of Breaux Bridge entreats newcomers to one of the most exotic Cajun foods in Louisiana. In 1771, an Acadian pioneer named Firmin Breaux established the town as a footbridge across the Bayou Teche to connect the 11-mile-away city of Lafayette to other communities. Delve into the Atchafalaya Swamp, one of North America’s largest river basins, where the biodiversity of Louisiana’s bayou wildlife can be admired.
Go birdwatching at Lake Martin while also taking care to watch out for alligators in the area. Consider touring the estates of the Fourgeaud House, the former dwelling of a prestigious doctor from France. Or the Silvestre Broussard House, the oldest Creole/Acadian structure in Breaux Bridge since 1811. One can also spend their money or lose and win big time at the Silver's Travel Plaza & Casino, or you can spend your time making merry memories during the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival in May when the town serves a cuisine of crustaceans while funky Zydeco music enlivens the atmosphere.
Natchitoches
Travel an hour away from Shreveport and into the historic town of Natchitoches along Sibley Lake. Natchitoches, formerly a village of the Natchitoches Native Americans who lived along the Red River of the South, is the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase and the first French colony in the state since 1714. The Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site once stood to defend this strategic location during the French and Indian War until France’s defeat to England forced the township to be ceded to Spain. In 1864, during the American Civil War, Union troops crossed Natchitoches after failing the Red River Campaign.
Much of Natchitoches’ French architecture has endured through these turbulent periods, such as the Prudhomme-Rouquier House, the Kaffie-Frederick General Mercantile, and the Minor Basilica. The El Camino Real, “The King’s Highway,” which has existed for 300 years, begins at Natchitoches and meanders through several towns within the Natchitoches Parish until terminating at Mexico (this trail, however, differs from the more popular Camino Real De Tierra Adentro). For those of you who wish to roam about in Louisiana’s wilderness, let your feet take you to the Kisatchie National Forest and the Cane River National Heritage Area, the latter containing historic plantations connected to Creole culture. You might want to attend Natchitoches’ Mardi Gras every January to February. Never forget to book a room at the Sweet Cane Inn or Chateau Saint Denis Hotel.
Farmerville
Beside the fish-filled waters of Lake D’Arbonne lies the prosperous town of Farmerville. Less than two hours away from Natchitoches, Farmerville entertains visitors with fishing tournaments or just casual fishing on Lake D’Arbonne. A handful of national forests surround the town—sportsmen’s paradises teeming with nature’s wildest and most beautiful creatures. At the D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge, you can find all manner of fish and fowl in the forested wetlands. The Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge similarly is a home to Louisiana’s lush and vibrant wildlife.
As for the Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, there are a number of alligators and other ferocious organisms that will captivate you. If you are the competitive type, then you ought to grow the largest, juiciest, and most beautiful watermelon in the world for the annual Louisiana Watermelon Festival on the last weekend of July. But if you are the type who likes to rest a bit, then you should book a room at the D'Arbonne Lake Motel or Edgewood Plantation B&B.
Minden
The best way to enjoy a vacation is if you are minding your own business, especially in the town of Minden. Approximately midway between Shreveport and Farmerville, Minden was originally shaped as a parallelogram in its founding in the 1830s. With its location near the Dorchet Bayou and Lake Bistineau, Minden has since thrived into a humble community with Victorian-era architecture and the Webster Parish Fair every year in October. The Germantown Colony Museum, part of the Louisiana Secretary of State’s museum system, elaborates on a band of German Utopians who had followed a mystic leader named “Count Leon” and built a colony near Minden until it was disbanded in 1871.
Although Minden never suffered casualties and conquest during the American Civil War, a number of Minden’s locals served as Confederate soldiers camped in Camp Magruder just east of town. The Minden Cemetery now enshrines many of the soldiers who perished in a handful of skirmishes in the surrounding area. Come see more of what the town has to offer, but take care when minding yourself in Minden, especially in respectful establishments like The Villas at Spanish Court.
Abita Springs
Abita Springs is an hour-away getaway from the big city hassles of New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The town is renowned for the Abita Brewing Company which has produced many memorable craft beers such as the TurboDog and Andygator. Trailblazers can burn brightly along the Tammany Trace bike trail, and because Abita Springs campaigns healthy exercises, you might want to attend the annual Louisiana Bicycle Festival every April which traverses many towns like Abita Springs.
Those with calmer dispositions can lounge at the Fontainebleau State Park, which offers serene views of Lake Pontchartrain, where the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the longest US bridge over water, is found. One might also be interested in exploring Lake Maurepas and braving the marshy, swampy wetlands with its bogs and bugs. Consider touring the Abita Mystery House, home to many unusual attractions and memorabilia, or listen to a number of Cajun, Zydeco, Bluegrass, and other genres of music at the Abita Springs Opry. Most importantly, give yourself a break in peaceful lodgings like the Abita Springs Hotel.
Leesville
Give yourself some leeway when you are exploring the lovely town of Leesville, so named after Civil War General Robert E. Lee. Only an hour south of Natchitoches, you can enjoy the Wild West atmosphere of Vernon Parish in a region that was once a No-Man’s Land where Coushatta and Atakapa Native Americans and famous gunslinging outlaws like Leather Britches Smith once made their marks. Gallivant through the tranquil South Toledo Bend State Park, a peaceful destination for those wanting relaxation while camping and fishing, or trek through the dense thickets of the Sabine National Forest.
Get permission to tour Camp/Fort Polk, the biggest military base in Louisiana, constructed in 1941 in preparation for the US involvement in World War II. Most of all, do not miss out on the West Louisiana Forestry Festival in October or the annual Mayfest in May.
Saint Francisville
Situated on the Mississippi River and approximately 35 minutes from Baton Rouge, the resplendent town of Saint Francisville is home to a cornucopia of attractions and activities for you to cherish. Every July 6, the townsfolk reenact a cannon demonstration of the War of 1812 at the Audubon State Historic Site, which was also the abode of famous naturalist John James Audubon. One can commune with the Lord at the Grace Episcopal Church, whose stunning architectural design harkens to the Church of England. At the Angola Museum, you can read the ambiguous stories of crime, punishments, justice, reformation, and redemption from the country’s largest maximum-security prison, the Louisiana State Penitentiary.
For history buffs who seek to know more about the early and infamous plantation lifestyle in America, you may tour the estates of the Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site or the Greenwood Plantation. The latter, specifically, was the site of several Hollywood movies such as “Louisiana,” “North & South,” “GI Joe II,” and “Jeepers Creepers III.” If you prefer the outdoors, the Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge contains many trails and paths for leisurely strolls, especially towards the imposing Cat Island Cypress. More can be admired in Saint Francisville, so seek your comforts at the Hotel Francis, St. Francisville Inn, or Hemingbough Guest House.
Morgan City
On the banks of the Atchafalaya River (from the Attakapas word for “long river”) lies the magnificent community of Morgan City. Located “right in the middle of everywhere”—or, more accurately, about 60 miles from the three major cities of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette—Morgan City is a convenient getaway and a luxuriating gateway to the Gulf of Mexico. On Labor Day on September 2, Morgan City celebrates not only the American labor movement but also the much-beloved Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival, where delicious seafood and desirable black gold are in high demand. Get to know more about the petroleum business at the International Petroleum Museum or stand atop a popular flood barrier known locally as the Great Wall, which gives people a great view of the many shrimp boats on the river.
Not interested in seafood or oil? Then go boating on Flat Lake or Lake Palourde. Better yet, you can journey down the scenic Atchafalaya River and out into the tree-shaped Atchafalaya Delta Wildlife Management Area and Game Preserve or beyond to Atchafalaya Bay and the basin of the Gulf of Mexico. At the remains of the Union fortress of Fort Starr, you can learn all about Morgan City’s pivotal value and geography in the American Civil War. Discover more from a town where the first Tarzan movie was filmed in 1917—the same year that World War I concluded—and let the Acadian and Cajun atmosphere of Morgan City give you a grand appreciation of Louisiana as a whole.
Outside the trinity of cultural hotbeds such as New Orleans, Lafayette, and Baton Rouge, you will be captivated by the Cajun attitudes and Acadian charms of the friendliest towns to visit in Louisiana this 2024. Amidst the life-teeming marshes of Morgan City, Abita Springs, Minden, and more, there will not be any upset ogre telling you to get out of their swamps. Instead, there will be numerous historic and modern attractions that will have you eating crawfish in Breaux Bridge and walking the El Camino Real in Natchitoches. Excitement and surprises never end in the boggy wetlands of Louisiana, where Zydeco music enlivens the atmosphere. Let the hospitality from these friendly towns treat you to many excellent experiences in the pelican-filled state of Louisiana.
