TAP Louisiana Destination Guide
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Lake Charles

Lake Charles
In Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana, our world-famous Cajun food and music are cultural magnets at over 75 fairs and festivals, pulling in thousands of visitors each year. You will be hypnotized by the glitz and glitter prominent at Mardi Gras parades and royal court presentations. In the great outdoors, seek out birds, alligators, hunting and fishing along the celebrated Creole Nature Trail All-American Road. Or, if casino gaming is more your style, experience three expansive properties including horseracing, slots, golf, dining, table games and top name entertainment. With such a wide array of attractions, no wonder the area was named as one of five “fantastic family destinations” by Scholastic Parent & Child magazine in 2008. So, go ahead…pack your bags! More about Lake Charles

Contact us:
Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors’ Bureau
1205 N. Lakeshore Dr., Lake Charles, Louisiana
(800)456-SWLA
Web: www.casinoslakecharles.com


Insider Tip
 
Days Inn Louisiana

Days Inn Louisiana
Spice up your vacation plans this year with a trip to Louisiana, a place buzzing with fun and excitement year-round. Party at Mardi Gras or anytime in New Orleans, hit the casinos, or jazz it up in the streets where the music was born.

Visit www.traveldaysinn.com for more information.

for a select property listing to make your reservation and save even more


Featured Partner
 
Travel Alliance Partners

Travel Alliance Partners, LLC is a partner-owned organization of the 34 premiere tour operators in the United States and Canada. Each is a regional expert with new and unique itineraries. Each Partner operates under the highest standards for business ethics and product quality. More...

Mississippi River Cruise
The resilient "let the good times roll" atmosphere of the Big Easy is back - stronger than ever. And the rich cultural gumbo of Louisiana folk art, Acadian Architecture and magnificent moss-draped southern plantations is fully realized on this incomparable American journey. Join us for the 7 night roundtrip cruise aboard the "American Queen", a floating Victorian palace of fretwork and fluted stacks. More...


Reviews
 
Travel Media

If you mention Louisiana to many people, they immediately think of New Orleans. Steeped in history and southern charm, New Orleans typifies much of what the South is all about, yet in many ways stands apart as one of America's unique cities. Beguiling as New Orleans is, there are many other worthwhile places to go in Louisiana. In Natchitoches, for example, you can wander through several fine antebellum and Colonial plantation structures. Saint Francisville is another living museum of antebellum days with a dozen fine old plantations. In Shreveport, you can explore the American Rose Center or take a river or bayou cruise. The Cajun culture grew and flourished in the Lafayette area, and much of it still remains there. At Acadian Village and Gardens and at Vermilionville, you can see what 19th-century Cajun bayou villages looked like. In Baton Rouge, see two Indian mounds and the old and new state capitols.
RandMcNally.com

Online Traveler

A leisurely week is enough for a loop from New Orleans southwest to Terrebonne Parrish, northwest to Opelousas, east to Baton Rouge, and down the Mississippi back to New Orleans. The best Cajun performers are at the Liberty Theater in Eunice on Saturday evenings. The atmosphere is always festive at Randol's, in Lafayette, where locals dance and consume baskets of spicy crawfish.
Conde Nast Traveler,
Concierge.com

Online Traveler

The D-Day museum was one of the main reasons we came to New Orleans. We were not at all disappointed: on a three-day vacation, we visited twice (one afternoon for the Pacific theater, one for the European theater). My husband and I visit a lot of historical sites and museums, and this museum was by far the best we've ever experienced. The stories, the artifacts, the photos and oral histories and short films, were well-written, well-chosen, and well-organized into a cohesive whole. Every detail seemed important, but you never lost sight of the big picture. I learned a lot: it turns out I knew basically nothing about the Pacific campaigns.
TripAdvisor.com User

Online Traveler

Laura Plantation
We were there Oct 2007 and was given the tour by Norman, the owner of the plantation. His tour was one of the most enjoyable plantation tours that we went on. There is a lot to see and there is a story and tale behind everything. If there is one plantation that you have to visit, be sure to visit the Laura Plantation, especially since it's only 2 minutes away from the Oak Alley Plantation were you can enjoy a nice comparison between the two plantation homes.
TripAdvisor.com User



Overview
 

Welcome to Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana has the most colorful history of any state and of many countries. Beginning long before the Louisiana Purchase, our state took shape in prehistoric times. We have had a past of many battles, on the battlefield and in the political arena. Our architecture is a lasting impression of French and Spanish rule. Today, there are many reminders of the past in our museums, plantations, historic sites and attractions. Louisiana culture has a rhythm all it’s own—a suite of jazz riffs, zydeco swing, cajun and gospel harmonies. Between the gumbo and the magnolias, you’ll feel our bass line beating from the banks of the Red River to the crescent of the Mississippi, pulsing with the cadence of the streets and the wall of the blues.

www.louisianatravel.com


Must See
 

Le Festival de Mardi Gras a Lafayette

February 20th - 24th, 2009

Le Festival de Mardi Gras a LafayetteLive music grandstand featuring the best in local, regional and national talent, gigantic midway and food. Mardi Gras parades roll through the fairgrounds. Just as the Cajuns and Creoles are known for their fabulous, spicy food, Cajun Country is known for the fabulous spice it adds to the Mardi Gras celebration. In Lafayette, you can celebrate Mardi Gras with parades and special events. Le Festival de Mardi Gras à Lafayette, held Mardi Gras weekend, features rides and games on the carnival midway, live bands on the sound stage, and a prime spot for parade viewing. More about Le Festival de Mardi Gras a Lafayette

The Cypress Bayou Casino

The Cypress Bayou CasinoCypress Bayou Casino/Shorty's offers gaming for every taste, from Live action Poker to High Stakes Indian Bingo to Off Track Betting. There are over 1350 Slots with denominations ranging from penny to twenty five dollars and Table Games feature everything from Double Deck Blackjack to 4 card Poker. Celebrating your winning with live performances by Chicago, Rob Thomas, Gladys Knight, Dolly Parton, Chris Isaac, or Lionel Richie, the list goes on. You don't want to miss out on this great experience! More about The Cypress Bayou Casino

High Delta Safari Park

High Delta Safari ParkExperience Northern Louisiana's most picturesque landscape as hundreds of exotic and endangered animal species roam freely as they would in their natural habitats. The safari park provides a sanctuary for animals from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and South America. Due to our highly successful breeding programs of some of the rarest animals in the world, we have been able to increase our herd numbers of each species and provide other sanctuaries throughout the Country with offspring from the animals at High Delta. More about the High Delta Safari Park


Must Do
 

Louisiana Birding Trails

Louisiana Birding TrailsWelcome to the America's Wetland Birding Trail along the Louisiana Great Gulf Coast. With landscapes ranging from coastal wetlands to rolling hills and prairies, Louisiana is a natural paradise. The trail's 115 sites will introduce you to a variety of Louisiana's coastal habitats including fresh and saltwater marshes, cheniers, upland pines, cypress-tupelo swamps, bottomland hardwood forests and open meadows, among many others. The trail will guide you to some of the state's most productive natural places along the Great Gulf Coast and will offer ready access to some of the best birding in the country. So, get out your walking shoes and your binoculars, and let the bird count begin. More about the Louisiana Birding Trails

Rip Van Winkle Gardens

Rip Van Winkle GardensNear the southernmost part of Louisiana's delta country lie a series of five wooded "islands" which rise up above the grassy marshlands and prairies that surround them. Jefferson Island is one of the five islands. Lose yourself in a wonderland of flora and fauna, a twenty five-acre semi tropical paradise that captures the senses and cleanses the soul. Discover a year-round explosion of color where irises, magnolias, hibiscus, camellias, azaleas, thousands of springtime bulbs and a breathtaking array of annuals paint a landscape across the Southern sky. More about the Rip Van Winkle Gardens

Noel Acadien au Village

Annual - December 5th - 23rd, 2008

Noel Acadien au VillageThe Acadian Village comes alive the first three weeks of December for Noel Acadien au Village. With over half a million lights and animated displays, Noel Acadien is one of the largest lighting displays in the South. Entertainment includes area musicians, choirs, choruses, bands and much more. Every night kids of all ages can have their photo taken with Santa! Enjoy hot chocolate doing some last minute shopping at our General Store, Art Gallery, Le Magasin au Noel (Christmas store in the Pavilion) or visit the arts and crafts booths set up inside and outside The Pavilion. More about the Noel Acadien au Village


Must Experience
 

Bayou Lafourche Mardi Gras

A Southeast Tourism Society "Top 20 Event"

Bayou Lafourche Mardi GrasA Mardi Gras celebration like no other! Over 15 parades, carnival balls, parties and tableaus take place throughout the three-week event, which brings thousands to Lafourche Parish's Bayou Country each year. For two weeks prior to Mardi Gras Day, the Cajuns celebrate a wholesome, madcap experience enjoyed by all ages. Parades are held in several communities where groups of families and friends get together to eat, drink and enjoy the parades. Family oriented parades have spectators lining the parade routes with picnics, bar-be-ques and seafood boils hours before the first float hits the street. Millions of carnival throws are handed out to all in attendance. Beautiful, colorful costumes and elaborately decorated floats amaze the audiences. Visitors are always welcome to join in the fun! More about the Bayou Lafourche Mardi Gras

Great River Road Plantations

Mississippi River PlantationsPlantation homes are to Louisiana what the crown jewels are to England-each is a sparkling gem, in an equally spellbinding setting, with a unique story attached. Marked by palatial antebellum estates that define this charming section of the state, Plantation Country is the perfect destination for anyone interested in seeing what life was like back when cotton was king. The history of Louisiana truly comes to life in Plantation Country, located in the Southeastern region of the state. Come wind your way across the Atchafalaya Basin, through the rolling hills of St. Francisville and along the Great River Road that begins just west of New Orleans as you travel back to the 1800's. Each home gives you an intimate glimpse into the daily lives of this fascinating period in history. More about the Great River Road Plantations

Café Du Monde

Café Du MondeHere in New Orleans nothing goes better with café au lait than beignets. The Original Cafe Du Monde Coffee Stand was established in 1862 in the New Orleans French Market. Whether in the morning or after a late night on the town, no stop to the French Quarter is complete without having a cup of cafe au lait and beignets. Cafe au lait is chicory coffee mixed half-and-half with hot milk. Beignets are those delightful, square, French-style doughnuts, lavishly covered with fine, powdered sugar. No one visits New Orleans and doesn't sip coffee at Cafe du Monde. Now you don't have to make the trip to enjoy the experience. More about the Café Du Monde


Contact Info
 
Travel Alliance Partners

6186 Front Street
Martins Creek, Pennsylvania 18063

Telephone: (610) 923 7747
Fax: (610) 258 1903

jpalmeri@travelalliancepartners.com
www.travelalliancepartners.com

Attractions & Activities

Activities
 

Lady Luck and Caesars Indiana

 Lady Luck and Caesars Indiana
Caesars Indiana, just a short drive from Louisville, offers world-class gaming action for every level of player, with over 130 gaming tables and 2000 slot machines. Caesars guests enjoy the largest variety of customary casino games in Indiana - 24 hours a day. With four floors of gaming, guests can take their pick of luxuriously decorated casinos. More about Lady Luck and Caesars Indiana


Resources
 


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Directions

www.Mapquest.com

Maps

Louisiana Interactive Map
Louisiana State Map
Plantation Country Map

 
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