When Visiting This Great Bayou State, Please Take the Time to Check out the Large Cities and Small Towns That Make Louisiana the Incredible Place It Is

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When visiting this great Bayou State, please take the time to check out the large cities and small towns that make Louisiana the incredible place it is. Whether it’s enjoying the incredible Creole cuisine and party spirit of the New Orleans area, the equally good but distinctively different Cajun cuisine and Zydeco music of the “Acadian Triangle” region, or the laid- back country vibe of north Louisiana, we have something for everyone.

So grab your map and go!

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ARNAUDVILLE – If a great local brew is your directive, Check out Bayou Teche Brewing… but please also stop by NuNu’s Acadian Arts Collective!

BATON ROUGE – Old “Red Stick” is the home of Mike the Tiger and LSU. You can visit even visit Mike’s three million dollar habitat. (Three million? Yes it’s true).

CROWLEY – This is the town to learn about all things rice. There is even a museum dedicated to the grain there… and yes, it’s very nice!

DRY PRONG – This town built its first mill wheel but in a way that was all wrong. They placed it on a creek that didn’t run, giving the town the permanent name of Dry Prong.

EUNICE – Every year for Mardi Gras, Eunice residents party without care. The residents ride horseback and chase chickens in a traditional Cajun courir (cree-AIR).

FERRIDAY – Piano players are usually a dime a dozen, but this town only has three – Ferriday’s most notorious cousins, Mickey Gilley, Jimmy Swaggart, and the killer himself, Jerry Lee.

GRAMERCY – Gramercy was the birthplace of Zapp’s potato chips and the amazing Crawtaters, so pick up a bag or 20 before you yell, “See ya later!”

HOUMA – If you absolutely love to fish, schedule a charter boat in this little town to fulfill your longing wish.

IDA – If you’re travelling past Ida, just don’t drive through… There’s a museum dedicated to the Air Force 357th Fighter Group waiting there for you.

JONESBORO – Former governor Jimmy Davis wrote and sang “You Are My Sunshine”. In Jonesboro, the state park named after him you will find.

KENTWOOD – Small towns sometimes launch big careers, and this small town is the home of none other than Ms. Britney Spears.

LAKE CHARLES – Lake Charles has casinos to visit and waterways to set sail… or you could just enjoy the scenery of its 180-mile long backwoods drive known as the Creole Nature Trail.

LAFAYETTE – Of all cities, this is the absolute number one place for all things authentically Cajun. It’s the epicenter of the whole Acadian nation.

LECOMPTE – Lecompte has Lea’s, a famous diner known for pies to eat in and pies to go. The pies are so famous, the original Mr. Lea got to talk about them a long time ago on the Johnny Carson Show.

MAMOU – If you like unique culture and fun things to do, go find yourself a small Cajun dance hall in big Mamou.

MONROE – The Biedenharn has rare artifacts of both the Bible and Coca-Cola in its museum, so when passing through Monroe, be sure to go see them.

NATCHITOCHES – Natchitoches has some of the most beautiful art, architecture, and waterways you’ve ever seen; It’s an incredible historic town they’ve kept up since 1714!

NEW IBERIA – Near the city is the wonderful Avery Island, home of an ancient Buddah statue, a bird sanctuary, and all the Tabasco peppers you can stand.

NEW ORLEANS – So much to do, so much to see. It’s impossible to take two steps and not be able to touch a piece of history. (Oh yeah, there is Bourbon Street, too… I told you there was so much to do.)

OPELOUSAS – Opelousas is the place for yams by the bushel and boudin links by the dozen… It’s also the home for Zydeco, Cajun music’s more soulful cousin.

PINEVILLE – In the center of Louisiana, we remember that sometimes a sacrifice is necessary. For that reason, Pineville hosts a VA national cemetery.

QUITMAN – This is the place of Jimmy Davis’ boyhood home, and if you don’t mind, this is also the second time we mention the governor who wrote “You Are My Sunshine”.

RAYNE – In this little southwest Louisiana town, down every street or road there is a sign or statue to honor the frog, or it’s cousin, the toad.

SHREVEPORT—Nestled between this city and Bossier is the Barksdale Air Base. Also nestled between these cities is some pretty nice casino action, just in case.

TALLULAH – With only 7000 residents, this town is small… but don’t dismiss it! Tallulah was the first American town with an indoor shopping mall.

URANIA – When the townsfolk got together to build a bowling alley for its kids, you knew there would be mania for the children of the tiny speck on the map known as Urania.

VILLE PLATTE – The biggest small high school football game on the planet takes place here! The Tee Cotton Bowl is the event to do… it’s been praised by everyone from ESPN to Tony Dungy to Pope John Paul II.

WINNSBORO – Louisiana’s “Stars and Stripes Capital” comes to life on each military holiday. The town collects and flies flags that once draped over our heroes who gave their all, bringing those heroes back to life in a very unique way.

XUADOBIHT – Actually, there is no city named this, you should know. It’s just the backward way to spell the name of a Cajun sugar cane capital, Thibodaux.

YOUNGSVILLE – Thibodaux isn’t the only city in Louisiana growing sugar cane with great success. Youngsville grows it too, with trucks filling the road with every harvest.

ZWOLLE – A lumber town founded by a Dutchman, the town of Zwolle is currently best known for honoring its Hispanic residents with an annual celebration of… what else?... the Zwolle tamale.

The Department of Louisiana Veterans of Foreign Wars would like to give a huge thanks and shout out to Mel LeCompte Jr., (his father is a Vietnam veteran, 4th Infantry, 1966), for assisting with this list, which is inspired by his Louisiana culture book for families, T-Boy and the Terrible Turtle. You can find more information about Mel’s books at moodoggies.com and facebook.com/moodoggies. His books for both big people and little ones are available on Amazon.