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Louisiana

L ouisiana's various nicknames in America—The Pelican State, The Bayou State, Sportsman's Paradise—refer back to its unique geography and the human connection. With an abundance of natural resources, many still untouched, Louisiana is a place you can visit all year long and find plenty of fun outdoors. From checking out the migratory birds that stop here for warmth to getting close to alligators in the bayou, Louisiana lets you see animals you might not normally see in Europe in their natural habitat. Hiking trails are plentiful around the state as are water activities like kayaking and swamp tours. With mild temperatures throughout the year, outdoor dining is always an option for refueling during the day or winding down later at night. British Airways, American Airlines and other airlines fly direct to from London to Louisiana. The average flight time is approximately 10 hours. No matter when you might go in 2026, here's what to expect in a visit to Louisiana.

A year's worth of adventures await

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Mardi Gras parade

January–April

May–August

September–December

Plan your trip

Airboat swamp tour

Jungle Gardens

Lake D'Arbonne State Park

Poverty Point Reservoir State Park

Birding

Boating on Louisiana's scenic waterways

Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden

Tailgaters playing cornhole

Poverty Point World Heritage Site

Celebration in the Oaks

As the year starts with a party in Louisiana, of course the year ends with one as well. Since the 1980s, “Celebration in the Oaks” has been a favorite with locals and visitors. Stretching from Thanksgiving through the new year, this family-friendly light festival transforms New Orleans City Park into a dazzling display. More than one million lights are used to illuminate oak trees along the 2.25-mile driving tour. Walking tours are also available and include access to the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park and the Botanical Garden. Since this is New Orleans, expect to hear the traditional carols and holiday tunes with a toe-tapping jazzier sound.

Temperature-wise, it often feels like summer in Louisiana until late October, then it transitions into comfortable autumn weather. Pack a jacket for the evenings if you go later in the year. If you like camping out under the stars—and want the Insta clout that you’re doing so near a swamp—then head to Chicot State Park in Ville Plate. The park encompasses 10 miles of rolling hills, a lake, extensive hiking trails, an arboretum as well as cabins and campsites. (Head to the park’s eastern coves and lakeside trails for the swampy scenery of cypress trees and wetlands.) For a uniquely American tradition, consider tailgating. (And no, we don't mean the reckless driving kind.) Tailgating at an American football game is an all-day affair that begins well before gametime. One of the country's best tailgating scenes can be found outside Tiger Stadium at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge. Make sure you’ve got a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and plenty of liquids (your choice if they’re alcoholic) as you’ll be in the parking lot for hours, making new friends while grilling hot dogs and hamburgers. Pro tip: If you tailgate at LSU, wear team colors (purple and gold) and memorize the greeting "Geaux Tigers."

Back on land, the 11-acre Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden in New Orleans is free to the public and open daily. Adjacent to the New Orleans Museum of Art, more than 90 sculptures are spread out in an area full of pine trees, magnolia trees and live oaks surrounding two lagoons. Over in Baton Rouge, the Burden Museum & Gardens is a 440-acre site that encompasses botanic gardens (free admission) with five miles of walking paths through the woods. Its open-air Rural Life Museum transports visitors to 19th century Louisiana with artifacts from farms and households in its 30 unique buildings. Join in the festivities on 2 May at the 24th annual Scottish Tartan Festival in Minden to celebrate Celtic ancestry in northeast and central Louisiana. Along with Scottish food and bagpipes, expect Highland dancing and Highland games like caber toss. In June and July, the annual Sunflower Trail and Festival in Gilliam features a 20-mile trail on Highway 3049 full of sunflower fields; visitors are encouraged to cut their own sunflowers. The trail is part of the 136-mile Boom of Bust Byway, which showcases the natural beauty of northwest Louisiana and offers scenic small towns to visit.

It’s no secret that Louisiana can be a hot and humid place as spring turns to summer, but the air conditioning is always cranking inside. Outside, you can still enjoy plenty of activities if you go in the early morning or late afternoon. An airboat tour is a good way to get the air moving, even on a hot day. If you’ve come to see alligators, take an airboat swamp tour in the bayous found south of New Orleans. Even if you avoid the midday sun, you’ll still catch these cold-blooded animals basking to absorb heat. (If they look menacing with their mouths open, fear not as that’s how they cool off.) Consider a night tour as well for a different experience as nocturnal wildlife (think frogs, snakes, owls and raccoons) becomes active. Just don’t forget your bug spray, no matter what time of day you go.

The Atchafalaya Basin, or Atchafalaya Swamp, is in south central Louisiana, where the Atchafalaya River and the Gulf of Mexico converge. This combination of wetlands and river delta area stretches 15 miles wide and encompasses over 1300 miles of swamps, lakes and water prairies. Here you can find the 9 mile Lake Fausse State Park, where you can hike, jog or canoe in the same area that was at one time home to Native Americans and later French and Spanish settlers. At least 300 bird species, including the migratory wintering ducks and American woodcock can be found in the Basin, along with the largest nesting concentration of bald eagles in this part of the country. April is a peak time for viewing the birds that come to Louisiana for warmth; Grand Isle, a barrier island, holds its annual two-day Migratory Bird Festival during this time to catch species that are flying north and south. For more birding (and overall wildlife viewing), head to the Creole Nature Trail about 90-minutes’ drive west, close to the Texas border. This 180-mile scenic drive takes you through wetlands, prairies and coastal marshes, with notable inhabitants including alligators and roseate spoonbills.

You’d be forgiven if the only thing you know about Louisiana is its annual Mardi Gras festivities. After all, this multi-week celebration draws over a million visitors each year, making it the biggest outdoor event in the state. And while New Orleans has the most famous Mardi Gras bash, you'll find a party raging in Lafayette, Baton Rouge and the area of southern Louisiana known as Cajun Country. From 6 January to Fat Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday), Louisiana is alive with elaborate parades—the kind where they throw things, so be ready to catch some beads—as well as live jazz music. No matter what time of year you go, however, you’ll always be able to catch some sort of festivity. Try a jazz cruise on the Mississippi. You’ll know you’re near the Steamboat Natchez when you hear the steam calliope, a 32-note steam pipe organ, calling people to the river. (Bonus is that the Natchez calliope has synchronized colored lights for its notes.) Whether your sightseeing cruise is daytime or dinnertime, you’ll hear traditional live jazz and enjoy craft cocktails while as you sail past New Orleans sites.

Go camping in Chicot State Park in Ville Platte, which has rolling hills, cypress swamps and an arboretum See the Poverty Point Native American mounds in Pioneer – UNESCO heritage Celebration in the Oaks – New Orleans light festival since the late 1980s Avery Islands Jungle Garden (those interested in learning more about the history of tabasco can also go inside the factory located on the island) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat.

For an eco-friendly way to see more than you would on a typical boat tour, consider kayaking on Lake Martin, about 25 miles east of Lafayette. This 800-acre cypress swamp covers, and you can have a peaceful experience winding your way through the relatively shallow water. Look for blue herons, snowy egrets and white ibis here. Guided tours are recommended for beginners or those wanting information about the swamp ecosystem. One of Louisiana's most scenic waterways, Whiskey Chitto Creek, also known as Ouiska Chitto Creek, in the western part of the state, is an 86.4-mile spring-fed creek that's great for canoeing and tubing in spring or summer. Native American archaeological sites dating back 1500 years are located along its cane-reeded banks; “Ouiska Chitto” comes from the Choctaw language and means “Big Cane Creek.”

One thing Louisiana is renowned for is its food, and with warmer temperatures than England this time of year, you can plan on eating outside as well. There’s plenty of outdoor space, however, to help you combat the caloric intake that comes with any American vacation. Kisatchie National Forest, the only national forest in Louisiana, has more than 900 miles of rolling hills covered in longleaf pine trees as well as hardwoods like sweetgum and maple. Sprawling over seven parishes (what is known as counties in other American states) in central and northern Louisiana, the land offers a vast array of outdoor activities such as camping, fishing, birding, swimming and boating. There are more than 99 miles of trails for hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding. The 23.8 mile Wild Azalea Trail is popular in March and early April when the flowers are in bloom. Keep your eyes peeled for the wild horses that still roam around the Fort Johnson and the Pointe Aux Chenes area of the forest. Other wildlife you may see include deer, armadillo, wild turkeys, raccoons and black bears.

Poverty Point World Heritage Site

Kisatchie National Forest

Airboat swamp tour

History isn’t confined to museums in Louisiana. Poverty Point World Heritage Site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back 3400 years. Built by native Americans in northeast Louisiana, this ancient city was the most elaborate mound complex of its age in North America and built by people who were hunters, fishers and gatherers, normally thought of as nomads. The site encompasses five original earthen mounds (a sixth one came later), six semi-elliptical ridges and a 43-acre central plaza. As stone was not readily available in the area, the people established a trading network on the river that allowed them to import 80 tons of stone from as far north as Iowa, hundreds of miles away. At Jungle Gardens, you can tour the 170-acre semitropical botanical garden that stretches along Bayou Petite Anse on Avery Island, a natural salt dome rising from Louisiana’s marshes. Spice aficionados, take note that Avery Island is the historic home and birthplace of TABASCO brand pepper sauce. (A factory tour is available.)

Jazz cruise

January-April | May-August | September-December