Cité des Arts

Cajun Country


This nonprofit arts 'incubator' has become a reliable spot for live music performances, theater shows and local visual art exhibitions. Check online for a full schedule of events.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Cajun Country attractions

1. Children's Museum of Acadiana

0.18 MILES

Lafayette's children's museum is a pretty good spot to kill half a day with younger kids. There's a TV studio, fake dentist office (yay?), bubble 'factory…

2. Vermilionville

1.55 MILES

This tranquil, recreated 19th-century Cajun village wends along the bayou near the airport. Friendly, enthusiastic costumed docents explain Cajun, Creole…

3. Acadian Cultural Center

1.65 MILES

This National Parks Service museum has extensive exhibits on Cajun culture and is a good entry point for those looking to peer deeper into Acadian…

4. Acadian Village

5.7 MILES

At the understated, educational Acadian Village, you follow a brick path around a rippling bayou to restored houses, craftsman barns and a church. Old…

5. Lake Martin

6.91 MILES

This lake – a mossy green dollop surrounded by thin trees and cypress trunks – serves as a wonderful, easily accessible introduction to bayou landscapes…

6. Shadows on the Teche

19.54 MILES

This grand, Gothic Greek Revival plantation house sits on the banks of – you guessed it – Bayou Teche, a geographic location that adds to its eerie,…

7. Opelousas Museum & Interpretive Center

21.62 MILES

Squatting sleepily alongside Hwy 49, Opelousas' historic downtown is home to this grandma's attic of exhibits, artifacts and esoterica related to the town…

8. Jungle Gardens

22.78 MILES

In 1890 Tabasco founder EA McIlhenny started this bird sanctuary on Avery Island. At Jungle Gardens you can drive or walk through 250 acres of moss…