Guided and Self-Guided Tours in Lafayette

There’s so much to love about Lafayette's indigenous cuisine and so much to learn! Is it Cajun or Creole? Does it have to scold your mouth, or do we simply add flavor to our meals? What is the Holy Trinity when it comes to cooking, and how do you make a roux?

Visitors will have these and other questions answered on Cajun Food Tours hosted by Lafayette native and former history teacher Marie Ducote-Comeaux. Just hop on her colorful bus, and she’ll introduce you to some of our favorite restaurants, traditional dishes, and culinary preparations. She even provides dance lessons!

Click here to learn more about South Louisiana’s culinary trails, which include our iconic plate lunches and trademark boudin.

TABASCO is one of the most recognized food products in the world. The factory lies on Avery Island, which is actually a salt dome rising 163 feet above sea level, hence appearing as an island. It’s a gorgeous destination and includes Jungle Gardens with live oak trees, alligators, bird rookeries, and lots and lots of history of the McIlhenny family, who started and continue to own and operate the business.

TABASCO offers a self-guided tour through the factory to view how the hot sauce is made. Visitors may also visit the pepper greenhouse and barrel warehouse, but don’t miss the Country Store where you can sample TABASCO ice cream (among so many other fun products) or enjoy Restaurant 1868 for lunch.

A varied landscape surrounds Lafayette: prairies to the west, sugar cane fields to wetlands and Gulf waters to the south, and the Atchafalaya Basin, the nation’s largest river swamp, to the east. At the Basin and nearby Lake Martin, swamp tours offer ways to get visitors on the water and spy on resident wildlife. You’ll see alligators, nutria, turtles, and a large variety of waterfowl and bird species, among many others.

In the fall, when allegedly the veil between the living and the dead grows thin around All Hallows Eve, thoughts turn to our unique cemeteries, where many of Acadiana’s residents are buried in elaborate tombs above ground.

St. Landry Catholic Church in Opelousas, the second oldest parish church in the Lafayette Catholic Diocese, offers tours of its cemetery every October. Costumed guides tell the stories of those buried in the cemetery, which dates back to the mid-1700s.

In November, tours of the Old St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Cemetery are offered in Abbeville, south of Lafayette.

Want to tour the area yourself? In early spring, Lafayette turns shades of magenta, fuchsia, and white as the azaleas bloom. Visitors may view approximately 20 miles of color along the Azalea Trail that starts at the Visitor’s Center and curves throughout town. Some azalea bushes are over 50 years old and will wow you with their brilliant color! Click here to check for bloom times.
         
Lafayette is home to a host of public art. Outstanding murals line downtown buildings and memorials to fallen heroes, including the 9/11 Memorial and Veterans Park on Feu Follet Road. Visitors may also be part of the art, standing as the Y in the Lafayette Sign in Parc San Souci. There’s even art gracing storm drains and utility boxes!