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Visiting Louisiana's Third Congressional District |
For more information on visiting Louisiana log-on to www.louisianatravel.com
Grand Isle
Immortalized in fiction as the setting for Kate Chopin’s The Awakening, Grand Isle is Louisiana’s only inhabited barrier island. The Gulf Coast tourist destination has one of the longest stretches of beach in southern Louisiana. Grand Isle is home to only 1500 year-round residents but swells with more than 12,000 tourists each year, many of whom come to enjoy the isle’s famous fishing grounds.
Great Mississippi River Road
Louisiana’s fabled Great Mississippi River Road stretches more than 70 miles from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and adorns both banks of the Mississippi River with ornately built mansions reminiscent of a simpler, more genteel past.
The enormous mansions sitting on what were once monumental sugar plantations were built mostly in the Greek Revival style during the middle 19th century. Many have fallen into disrepair and some exist only in ruins, but those that have been restored have become a destination point for tourists to south Louisiana. Additionally, many feature films have been shot at River Road’s mansions, including 1994’s Interview with the Vampire and 1964’s Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte starring Bette Davis. On the grounds surrounding these homes grow lush gardens and trees dripping with Spanish moss. The beauty of these homes has attracted tourists for decades and many have been converted into bed and breakfasts inns offering historical tours.
River Road’s reputation for splendor goes back almost to its inception. Writings of the beauty of the River Road can be found dating to as far back as 1827 and Mark Twain, upon visiting the sprawling plantations in the 1870s, called River Road “a most home-like and happy looking region.”
Many of the houses on River Road come with a darker past, however. Some properties still contain the row houses where the plantation’s slaves would be quartered and some houses like the Myrtles Plantation claim to be haunted.
Tours of the houses are available on an individual basis but more information on visiting the River Road can be found at here.
National Parks
1) Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center
Explore the history and culture of a unique breed of Americans known world-wide as “Cajuns.” The Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux showcases the lives of those who live and travel the south Louisiana bayous and who have left an indelible mark on state and national culture.
Visitors can take guided boat tours of Bayou Lafourche or walk in the shoes of a local through interactive exhibits, artifacts, videos and films. Local musicians often gather for jam sessions and craftsmen offer demonstrations of boat-building, duck carving and net making.
2) Barataria Preserve
The preserve is more than 20,000 acres of bayous, swamps, forests and marshes and one of the largest swaths of wild wetlands preserved in south Louisiana. The Barataria Preserve in Terrebonne Parish is home to alligators, nutrias and more than 300 species of birds. Visitors can traverse the winding dirt trails through the preserve or learn about the indigenous creatures of the bayou with interactive displays at the visitor’s center.
3) Chalmette Battlefield
Take a walk through history at the site of the Battle of New Orleans, the largest battle of the War of 1812. Named after the nearby port city, the battle actually took place in Chalmette, just east of “the Big Easy” in St. Bernard Parish. It was there that the army of the fledgling United States defeated the British for a second time and General Andrew Jackson’s leadership made him a national hero.
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Louisiana's 3rd District 
