Many southern states of the Lower 48 can boast of numerous attractions and worthwhile destinations. But Louisiana stands above them for offering the most varied reasons for visitors and tourists in search of adventure, entertainment and sports. Included in these offerings are the Mardi Gras Festival, the Superbowl football games series, and the sport fishing opportunities in the state.
Louisiana, also called as the Pelican State, was originally a French territory that extended from west of the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains, and between the borders of Canada and Mexico, but has shrunk in size by the time it was admitted to the Union in 1812. It was bought from France —known as the Louisiana Purchase— for $15M in 1803 when Napoleon Bonaparte needed funds to finance his European military campaigns. Louisiana lies above the Gulf of Mexico and east of Texas.
What to do in Louisiana
Whether you are an outdoors enthusiast or an indoor games lover you can find a lot to do in Louisiana. The many cities and towns of the state either hold festivals and or exhibit the creative results of local talent as well as cultural relics of history. Nature likewise has its place in Louisiana’s attractions of the passive and active kinds.
Watching animals
Folsom, Louisiana offers its unique Global Wildlife Center, while Monroe has its Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo, to show tourists and visitors the preserved, endangered and exotic species of the state and out of it. There are also concomitant programs to educate audiences of the importance and need to conserve the remaining species and save them from extinction. The programs are open to all comers.
Tours of interest and scapes
Spectacular views of Louisiana’s landscape may be experienced via the Longleaf Trail Scenic Byway or the Bayou Teche Scenic Byway. The first is a 17-mile drive of viewing pine trees climbing up the Kisatchie Hills, while the latter takes you through the plantation mansions sheltered in centuries-old oaks draped with moss. Other tour ways include the Bienville Trace
Scenic Byways 1 and 3, the Creole Nature Trail and the Jean Lafitte Scenic Byway.
Alternative tour ways that are beyond the usual and only for the intrepid characters are the Alligator Bayou Tour, which takes you to see the giant alligators of the Louisiana bayous, and the Famous Swamp Tour which will let you experience the thrills of exploring one of nature’s dangerous creations: the swamps.
Historical tours like the Franklinton Tour and Ferriday Tour visit the Louisiana Castle as well as the Frogmore Cotton Plantation and Gins, one of the oldest plantations of southern US of A; while the New Orleans Spirit Tour of the French Quarter will take you to historical places, cemeteries, haunted houses and other eerie or spooky places.
Water sports
When you want to get active, Louisiana has superb boating and fishing places in its lakes. Boat launch ramps are numerous to enable you to reach the likely places where sporting fun can be had, whether simply joyriding or the more complex piscatorial pursuit.
Indeed, Louisiana can be many things to different people of various interests.
