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Travel guide
Louisiana
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: March to May, and October to November
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Welcome
Louisiana, in a few days
Founded by the French in 1718, New Orleans keeps its iron balconies, its street brass bands and a gumbo that draws on Africa, the Caribbean and Europe. Beyond it, the River Road lines up sugar plantations and memorials to slavery, and the Cajun country around Lafayette still speaks French to the sound of the accordion.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The French Quarter free · 2 to 3 hThe Vieux Carré, laid out in 1721 between the Mississippi and Rampart Street, largely rebuilt under Spanish rule after the fires of 1788 and 1794.
- Afternoon · Frenchmen Street free · an eveningThree blocks of the Faubourg Marigny, just east of the French Quarter, where a dozen clubs play jazz, brass, blues and funk every night.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Provincial€130 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The National WWII Museum · half a dayOpened in 2000 as the D-Day Museum, since Higgins landing craft were built here; its pavilions now cover Europe, the Pacific and the home front.
- Afternoon · The Garden District and the St. Charles streetcar · 2 to 3 hThe St. Charles line, running since 1835 and the oldest still in service anywhere, carries you in 1920s wooden cars through the Garden District's mansions.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Bourbon Orleans Hotel€140 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Whitney Plantation · 2 to 3 hA plantation told from the side of the enslaved, with walls bearing 107,000 names from Louisiana archives and a memorial to 2,200 children.
- Afternoon · Oak Alley Plantation · about 1 hThe most photographed plantation on the River Road, with 28 live oaks from the early 1700s forming a 240-metre avenue up to an 1839 house.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Dauphine Orleans Hotel€140 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The Atchafalaya Basin · 2 to 3 hThe largest swamp in the United States, crossed by 29 km of I-10 bridge; boat trips from Henderson or Breaux Bridge find alligators and herons.
- Afternoon · Lafayette and Cajun Country · a full dayThe capital of Acadiana, settled by Acadians expelled from Canada; the Vermilionville living museum recreates a Cajun and Creole village with French-speaking craftspeople.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Richelieu€140 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Burgers and barbecue: brisket and ribs cooked low and slow, done differently in every state.
- Clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl: the classic lunch on the San Francisco waterfront.
- Mexican food: tacos from a truck in Los Angeles, a Mission burrito in San Francisco.
- Pancakes and weekend brunch: a national habit, generous to the point of excess.
- Craft beer, and California wine from Napa and Sonoma.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Tipping is not optional: add 15 to 20% in restaurants and bars.
- Prices on menus and in shops exclude sales tax, which is added at the till.
- Do not plan more than four or five hours of driving a day: the distances are larger than they look on the map.
- Never travel without health insurance. A night in hospital can cost thousands of dollars.
- In summer, do not hike down into the Grand Canyon in the heat of the day: the climb back out is where people get into trouble.
Getting by
Words that help
🗣️ English is the main language here, so there is nothing to learn by heart.
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyUS dollar (USD, $)
BudgetAbout €145 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMarch to May, and October to November
PlugA/B · 120V
Tap waterSafe to drink
Tipping15 to 20%, expected
Emergency911
EntryUK, Australian and most EU passports need an ESTA, applied for online before departure, for stays of up to 90 days; a few EU countries sit outside the Visa Waiver Program and need a full visa. Canadians need neither, only a passport. Anyone who has been to Cuba since January 2021 cannot use an ESTA and must apply for a visa.
HealthNo vaccination required. Keep tetanus, diphtheria and polio up to date; hepatitis A is worth considering if you eat well off the tourist trail. In the desert parks, the heat is the real risk.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/louisiana
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.