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| Free Baton Rouge Holiday Guide |
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| BATON ROUGE LOCAL HISTORY |
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Baton Rouge was founded by the French in 1718 on the first dry land as one travels up the Mississippi. The town used to be the site of a tall cypress tree that marked the boundary between two rival Native American tribes.
Baton Rouge was not part of the original Louisiana Purchase but was part of Spanish ruled Florida at the time. The city joined the United States in 1810, seven years after the rest of the state.
Besides being the capital, Baton rouge is the second fastest growing city in the state, home to Louisiana’s two major Universities and the nations seventh largest deep-water port. |
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Louisiana State Capitol - The state capitol building of Louisiana was built in 1932 and is in fact a magnificent modern skyscraper. The observation deck on the 27th floor provides panoramic views of the city and surrounds. It is open daily 8am to 4pm, entry is free. The old capitol building is equally grand with domed stained glass and many historical exhibits. Open Tuesday to Sundays.
Magnolia Mound Plantation - Take a tour of this palatial French-Creole mansion. It was built in 1791 and is open Tuesday to Sundays.
LSU Rural Life Museum - This museum goes a far way in depicting the life of the Creoles with authentically reproduced shops, cabins and storage houses. Open daily from 8.30am to 5pm. |
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| Louisiana has a somewhat unique cuisine, which has evolved from the mixing of Spanish, Acadian, Italian, African, French and Native American flavours. A popular dish is jambalaya, which is a Cajun mixture of rice, seafood, sausage and ham or chicken mixed with spices. |
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Boutin’s Cajun – 8322 Bluebonnet Road. This restaurant has live Cajun bands every night and there is a small dance floor as well. The food and the atmosphere is great.
Tony’s Seafood – Located in Plank Road in the northern part of town, this place is a well-kept secret. There is no seating in this place, you can only get take aways here, but it is worth a trip. It has all the local specialities – jambalaya and gumbo as well as Cajun style seafood cooked to perfection.
Louie’s Cafe – 209 W.State Street. This is the place to go for great omelettes, it is open 24 hours a day. |
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The Chimes – 3357 Highland Road. This large establishment serves over one hundred and twenty types of beer. They also serve food; try the marinated fried alligator, served with Dijon mustard sauce.
Avoyelles on the River – 333 Third Street.The lounge is open from 4pm to 10pm with a happy hour (lasting three hours) from 4pm to 7pm. The nightclub is upstairs. |
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| Windrush Gardens - These gardens are filled with the natural beauty of lakes, roses and azaleas all connected by winding pathways. Open daily. |
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| Blue Bayou Waterpark - The perfect place on those hot and sticky summer days. The park has 24 rides and 10 games plus much more in the form of shops and restaurants. |
| Blue Bayou Waterpark - by Heather from United States - 2007-06-15 | | I loved the park but believe that they are unsafe and overly priced on water and other necessities that kids need to be safe during the day. I witnessed 2 seperate accidents where two small kids were badly hurt and the life guard just told them to get up and get out of the way. On several water rides, the boys running the slides were much more interested in flirting with teenage girls in tiny bikinis than they were the safety of their position. Also, one girl that was obviously in training running the largest roller coaster was left alone and was scared to death...not knowing what to do she called for help. it took almost 27 minutes for the "help" to arrive only to curse at her in front of customers. Last year at a concert the park's owner was so incredibly drunk that he cursed at 3 elderly ladies and made very inappropriate remarks to the 17 yr old girl sitting beside us. I will never return and hope that parents will be more cautious of sending their children there without constant supervision. |
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