Ascension Parish, located in the heart of Plantation Country, mixes Old South traditions with exciting new offerings. Our quaint towns are surrounded by sprawling sugar cane fields and beautiful cypress swamplands. Visit Gonzales during the Jambalaya Festival and sample their famous jambalaya, a delicious mixture of rice and cooked meats. Other parish celebrations include the Galvez-Lake Firemen's Fair, Louisiana Chili Cookoff, the Boucherie, Strawberry and Sunshine Festivals. Unique restaurants, lodgings, antique shops, and Tanger Factory Outlet Center are also located here. Tour an Acadian village in Sorrento, then discover our antebellum plantations. Houmas House, Tezcuco with its African-American museum, and Ashland/Belle Helene, Bocage, and l'Hermitage each depict gracious southern living. Historic Donaldsonville served as state capital from 1830-31. This quiet town contains magnificent pre-Civil War architectural structures, including Ascension Catholic Church and St. Emma Plantation. Explore the Old South with a new twist...in Ascension Parish.

Visit St. James Historical Society Museum, a small turn-of-the-century pharmacy in Lutcher where tourist information is available, along with antiques and pictures from the past. On the grounds you will find an old Post Office, locomotive, train station, 800-year-old sinker cypress log, Blacksmith Shop, and more. Lost somewhere in the beautiful and glorious history of St. James Parish is when, where and why a bayou called Bayou des Acadiens became Blind River. Laura, a Creole plantation and American Home of Br'er Rabbit, was built in 1805 on the Great River Road. Oak Alley Plantation, the South's most beautiful setting, begins with its spectacular trees, twenty-eight sheltering oaks over 250 years old. Lighting bonfires in St. James Parish on Christmas Eve has been a tradition since the 1880s. Our annual Festival of the Bonfires is the second weekend in December.

St. John the Baptist Parish where ancient Acadian and Creole traditions still abound! Drive by or visit plantation homes, Creole cottages, centuries-old cemeteries and ferry boats located along the Great River Road on both sides of the Mississippi River throughout St. John Parish. Home of the world famous Andouille (aan-doo-wee) sausage, a spicy, smoked local specialty handed down from 18th- and 19th-century ancestors, Christmas Eve bonfires along the levee, and the oldest operating sugar cane refinery in the U.S. (circa 1802). The Garyville Timbermill Museum offers a unique look into St. John Parish's colorful history. Swamp tours, antique shops, shopping centers, a multitude of restaurants and fast food establishments, bed & breakfast and ultra-modern hotel/motel accommodations available. Annual festivals include the Andouille Festival in October and the Timbermill Museum festival on the fourth weekend in October. Only 30 miles from New Orleans. Major highways dissecting St. John Parish are I-10, I-55, and U.S. 61. We also have a regional airport.

Laced by swamps, bayous and lakes, and bisected by the Mississippi River, St. Charles Parish is a natural for water sports of any kind, from fishing to water skiing to boat riding. Seafood is a mainstay at parish fairs and festivals, including the Louisiana Catfish Festival in Des Allemands, Boutte's Alligator Festival and the Destrehan Plantation Fall Festival. Visitors get a taste of what southern Louisiana is all about. Cajun bands set feet a-dancing, and frequent demonstrations provide insight into the history of the area. Memorialized in story and song, Louisiana's way of life is legendary. It is seen at the restored Destrehan Plantation and Ormond Plantation, on serene drives through fishing villages like Bayou Gauche, and, as the sun sets, in the beautiful cypress swamps near the mouth of the Bonnet Carre Spillway.

Louisiana Tourism Information -- Louisiana Page Locale Adapted from the Louisiana Office of Tourism site.