Day Trip & Destinations

It’s a crisp, chilly night, and the sounds of carols and sleigh bells are in the air. You hear the “clop-clop” of horse-drawn carriages passing by as you amble down a crowded main street festooned with twinkling lights, garlands, and ornaments that sway in the breeze over the bustling revelers below. On one end of the street, people line up to stargaze through a large telescope, peering into the clear winter sky; on the other end, elves usher throngs of eager children onto Santa’s lap. Read more »

One of America’s oldest community-based holiday celebrations, the Christmas Festival in picturesque Natchitoches has been held the first weekend in December for the past 84 years.

More than 500,000 people gather to celebrate the joy of the Christmas season with a visit to Louisiana’s oldest town, founded in 1714. Natchitoches is a partner with the Holiday Trail of Lights that includes six cities in Louisiana and Texas. Shreveport and Bossier City are among the participants in the December festivities. Read more »

Home to the finest hunting and fishing in the United States and the second largest Mardi Gras in Louisiana, southwest Louisiana has more than 75 annual festivals, numerous casinos and top golf courses, wildlife refuges, and nature trails with more than 400 different species of birds. You can glide through the marshes on an airboat and take guided hunting trips, cast off from many of the marinas, soar the skies, or drive through the parish and take in the nightlife, casinos, and great restaurants. No matter how you get there, the good times will roll. Read more »

New Orleans always makes the travel headlines for its bacchanalian Mardi Gras celebration, when nearly one million revelers soak up the riotous charms of the city. But there is one community in the heart of Terrebonne Parish that takes the partying to high levels, yet maintains a family-friendly atmosphere. Not everyone knows that the town of Houma, located about 45 minutes southwest of the Big Easy, has the second largest Mardi Gras in the state. Read more »

With all of the amazing March events that are occurring in New Orleans, people are descending from all over the world to kick off the month with Mardi Gras celebrations around town. The parades go on day and night until Fat Tuesday. The huge Super Krewe parades during the four-day Carnival weekend, such as Endymion, Bacchus, and Orpheus, and the festivities surrounding them become increasingly elaborate, until at last, Mardi Gras arrives on March 8. Read more »

From Cajun waltzes to reggae, Haitian rara, calypso, and African drumming, music feeds the soul at the 25th annual Festival International de Louisiane, held April 27-May 1 in downtown Lafayette. The lively cultural celebration draws more than 300,000 people each year to Lafayette in the heart of Acadiana. This year’s line-up includes the Remesha Master Drummers of Burundi, Keb’ Mo,’ and such headliners as BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, Locos Por Juana, and the Balkan Beat Box. Visitors from around the world will be kicking up their heels to music by Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, the Soul Rebels Brass Band, Sonny Landreth, Vagabond Swing, and the Honey Island Swamp Band. The Acadiana Symphony Orchestra also performs this year. Read more »