Lafayette, Louisiana

Lafayette, Louisiana

North America

Guide to Lafayette: how to get there and where to stay, what to see and where to go in the evening. The highlights of Lafayette: fresh reviews and photos, places to see, branded entertainment and shopping.

The University of Louisiana is located in Lafayette, and music and dancing are an integral part of life here. The city hosts a variety of music festivals throughout the year, and many restaurants have dance halls. Lafayette happily escaped the most brutal impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which hit the rest of South Louisiana so hard in 2005. Thanks to this, travelers today can get acquainted with the unique culture of the Acadians – the original population of these places, close in blood to the Creoles.

According to toppharmacyschools, Lafayette is a very food oriented city. The townspeople themselves joke that at the end of breakfast they discuss what to eat for lunch, and at the end of lunch – where to go for dinner. And indeed: there are much more restaurants in Lafayette than in many more densely populated cities.

How to get to Lafayette

Lafayette International Airport receives American, Delta and United Airlines flights from Dallas, Houston and Atlanta. In addition, the city can be reached by the Amtrak Sunset Limited train, which runs between Los Angeles and New Orleans. Greyhound buses arrive in Lafayette from Houston, Baton Rouge and New Orleans, as well as from the north – from Alexandria and Shreveport.

A bit of history

In honor of Gilbert de La Fayette, the French marquis and hero of the American Revolutionary War, cities in the United States are named in as many as 15 states (and in some, more than one). Lafayette in Louisiana was founded as a European city in 1821 by Jean Mouton and was originally named Vermillionville. Up until the 1940s. the city’s economy was based on agriculture, but then everything changed thanks to the development of the oil and gas industry.

Attractions and attractions Lafayette

The cultural center of the Acadian Creoles (Kagens) is small, but very interesting. It will take tourists about an hour to view the entire exhibition, and during this time they will have time to get at least a basic idea of ​​​​this unique people who once lived in French Louisiana, with their original culture, special dialect and cuisine. The visit to the museum is free.

The Vermillionville Historical and Cultural Park is also located on Fisher Road, literally a stone’s throw from the cultural center, and everything here is dedicated to the life of Creoles and Cagens. This is a kind of Acadian village with a chapel, a smithy, a school, etc., which covers an area of ​​​​130,000 square meters. m. Typical village houses of the 1800s, which can be seen today in the village, were mostly abandoned and were used at best for storing hay. In the 1970s 11 such houses with clay walls, wooden beams and ridges on the roofs were brought together in the park.

For example, an art gallery of traditional art occupies the Private House of Dr. Salles, the first Lafayette dentist, which also houses a doctoral museum. Today, a great variety of traditional events and festivals take place here, including a wonderful Christmas market, when the houses are beautifully illuminated. Park employees are dressed in appropriate costumes and demonstrate the production of traditional utensils and other handicrafts.

The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Baptist became the city’s first church. Its construction began in 1821, and the construction was completed only in 1916. This is a beautiful and bright building in the Romanesque Revival style, memorable thanks to the colorful contrasting white and red decoration and the high central tower of the facade. At the cathedral there is a museum dedicated to the history of construction and the Catholic community of the city.

An oak tree grows on the territory of the cathedral, which seems to be about 500 years old. It is considered one of the largest in the US. A sign is installed next to the oak, the inscription on which says that the height of the tree reaches 38 m with a width of 41 m and a weight of about 72 tons.

The Lafayette Science Museum is located on Jefferson Street. The museum collection contains about 1000 paintings, prints and sculptures. The Science Museum itself is small, and the most interesting parts of its collection are the exhibition of dinosaur skeletons and a small selection of moon rocks. In addition, the museum has a planetarium with interesting programs.

The campus of the University of Louisiana has a vast and beautiful tranquil area, which even has an alligator swamp. However, the swamp is not as interesting as the art museum of the university. The Hilliard University Art Museum on East Ment Mary Boulevard is a relatively recent city landmark. Moreover, this is the largest museum on the entire coast between Houston and New Orleans. The museum has temporary exhibitions… Plus, it’s only a few blocks from the Oil Center and downtown.

4 things to do in Lafayette:

  1. Stop by the legendary Borden ice cream parlor, opened in 1940 and the last remaining in the country.
  2. Drive to Avery Island, about 45 km from Lafayette, to see the factory that produces the legendary TabascoThe island also has very beautiful nature.
  3. Check out the downtown Jefferson Street Market for art, antiques and healthy foods.
  4. Go on a boat tour of the marsh lake Martin, take pictures of crocodiles, bizarre trees and many wild birds.

Lafayette’s kitchen

Lafayette is a very food oriented city. The townspeople themselves joke that at the end of breakfast they discuss what to eat for lunch, and at the end of lunch – where to go for dinner. And indeed: there are much more restaurants in Lafayette than in many more densely populated cities. The main culinary attraction here is, of course, Cajun cuisine, which differs from, for example, New Orleans Creole cuisine in the direction of being less glamorous and more rustic.

It is worth trying budan – spicy sausages, similar to the French “boudin blanc”, stuffed with rice, pork, offal, green onions and other ingredients. When trying this for the first time, let the chef know the level of spiciness you want. Budan is often “staffed” with crackle – crispy pieces of fried pork skin.

Another local delicacy is lobsters. Lafayette’s neighboring city of Broxbridge has even declared itself the “lobster capital of the world”: they make everything from etuffe – shellfish dishes in butter with onions, peppers and spices with rice as a side dish – and ending with simple boiled lobsters in huge quantities. Acadians make the famous gumbo their own way, with fewer tomatoes, seafood, chicken, and sausage. And jambalaya is something in the spirit of the local paella, with rice, vegetables, spices and various meats.

Events Lafayette

The Louisiana International Festival is a major downtown event that lasts 4 days and includes musical productions and other performances by bands from all over the world with a special focus on French-speaking countries. The festival usually takes place on the last weekend of April, and is a worthy alternative to the famous New Orleans Jazz Fest around the same time of year: the Lafayette festival is less expensive and less crowded. A huge selection of delicious food at reasonable prices, food bazaars and art shops, six venues for live performances and a large part of the downtown, turned into a pedestrian zone from mid-Friday to Saturday evening, this is what Lafayette fest is all about. And on top of that, it’s all completely free. And in September or October, the city hosts the Acadian-Creole Festival.

Lafayette, Louisiana