Planning a vacation in Louisiana? Good choice! This state offers some unique opportunities for entertainment and exploring. Are you into museums and historical sites? Prefer a more modern science experience? Want to wander the wild waters? This guidehas you covered!
The National World War II Museum
This museum can be found in New Orleans, over on Magazine St. It boasts a very comprehensive, in-depth display of all three major aspects of the war: the ground conflicts that raged all around Europe, the marine battles and the air conflicts. If you want to read about them for yourself, you can find them collected in one place here.
The Museum’s most famous exhibit is The Road to Berlin. It features faithfully recreated zones of battle, with sights and sounds included thanks to interactive media technology. You can also see the invasion of Normandy on the infamous D-Day, and details about the struggles of the Merchant and Seabees Marines. Collections include personal items from soldiers and many other wartime artifacts.
The Old State Capitol
This amazing attraction is a must-see for anyone who finds themselves in Baton Rouge. It sits on a hill over Mississippi, and is currently used as a museum of political history. The exhibitions include collections of documents and artifacts, as well as interactive exhibits. Possibly the most famous piece of the Capitol’s content is a 4-D presentation of the building’s history, called “Ghost of the Castle”, with a ghostly Sarah Morgan as its host.
Even if you skip the showings, stop by to admire the dramatic architecture. The building boasts a Gothic Revival style, with two massive towers and a crenellated roof. Thanks to the cleverly placed lighting, dusk or early evening is when this castle-like structure pops the most, so time your visit well!
The Bayou Boat Tours
Of course, any talk about Louisiana tourism would not be complete without a mention of the bayous. For those of you who are not familiar with the word, a bayou can be a wetland, marshy lake, slow-moving river or creek with a poorly defined coastline, or a very still area of a lake or river that looks “swampy”. You can find them all over the southeast of the US, and depending on where you go, “bayou” might refer to a slightly different environment.
For the best experience, consider a swamp tour in New Orleans. There are typically a bunch of boat options to choose from, and you get to see alligators, boars, racoons and other wildlife from very up close and personal. Not to worry, though – you will be with an experienced guide all throughout. Just pick a time and head out onto the water.
The Sci-Port Discovery Center
This time, we have something different than your usual formal museum. This institution is a mix of scientific exhibitions and entertainment. It features various content from the areas of mathematics, core natural sciences, and space sciences, and can be found in Shreveport. There is a laser planetarium and an IMAX theater.
This attraction is mainly aimed at the younger visitors and has a strong educational value to it, so it is often the destination of choice for many family vacations. Interactive equipment on nearly every exhibit helps avoid the dull and dreary classroom vibe. There is even a children-specific museum area, called Power of Play, which lets children learn about the science world in a hands-on way.
The Rosedown Plantation and its Gardens
The Rosedown Plantation is one of the most successfully preserved domestic plantations in the South, and holds the status of a State Historic Site. It is located in Francisville. The plantation itself now serves as a display of the lifestyles of slaves and plantation owners in the South in the 19th century time period. You can read more about that here: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/civil-war-era/sectional-tension-1850s/a/life-for-enslaved-men-and-women
The accompanying gardens were conceived and realized in 1835 by the owners at the time, Martha and Daniel Turnbull. The mansion on the grounds is renowned for having been the home of the Turnbull family for over 120 years. The gardens feature several rare trees and shrubs, as well as luxurious flowers such as azaleas and camellias.
About Peter C.
Peter is a digital nomad who largely writes from Asia, Europe, and South America. Always following the "vibe," he sets up shop in hostels and AirBNB's and continues to entertain us with wild stories from life abroad.
