Places Welcoming You
| Cajun Coast Visitors & Convention Bureau Morgan City, Louisiana |
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A+ Motel & RV Park Sulphur, Louisiana |
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Coushatta Luxury RV Resort at Red Shoes Park Kinder, Louisiana |
Water defines the small community of Houma in southern Louisiana. Located deep in the swampy marshes and wetlands of balmy bayou country—just an hour’s drive southwest of New Orleans—this charming postcard town is a popular jumping-off point for backcountry fishing trips, hunting charters, swamp tours and wildlife watching expeditions. Even in the very center of town, navigation by boat is absurdly commonplace, as a network of crisscrossing canals and shipping channels make the suburbs as accessible by shrimp boat as they are by car.
Make no mistake, this is bayou country, where the Mississippi River delta stands between the Gulf of Mexico and inland Louisiana. More than 65 percent of Terrebone Parish is classified as either wetland or open water, and if that wasn’t enough to produce a distinct enough culture over the course of nearly 300 years of history, there’s the colorful Cajun for good measure.
Houma Area Convention and Visitors Bureau/Mathew Noel
As such, you might want to brush up on your Cajun phraseology before landing in town. A mix of French, Acadian French (descendants of French settlers exiled from Nova Scotia in 1755) and English, Cajun words are as spicy and fun-loving as the foods for which the culture is so renowned. Craving some couche-couche, boudin or pain perdu? Get your tongue ready to order and your taste buds ready to savor some culinary delights.
Cajun cuisine itself is easy to make. It’s a blend of classic French and Southern cooking with a pinch or two of secret influence from Germany, Spain, the Canary Islands, the Philippines and various Native American cultures. Toss the lot in a bowl, mix for 300 years and voilà! There may be no more richly nuanced culinary tradition in the world than real, authentic Cajun cuisine. And out-of-the-way small towns like Houma are the places to find it.
Start in Houma’s historic downtown core to go for a stroll. A self-guided walking tour that offers insight into the history of the town is available for history buffs. Among the sights are Terrebonne Parish Courthouse and a shrimp-packing plant that was founded in 1893. As you wander, the culinary tour will likely take care of itself, as Historic Downtown Houma is packed with mouthwatering restaurants and cafes.
Hikers, bird-watchers, anglers, hunters and boaters will want to spend some time exploring Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge, which covers 4,416 acres full of ponds, levees and man-made canals. If you’re visiting between October and May you’ll want to keep your eyes trained on the cypress-tree canopy for wintering bald eagles.
Infrogmation of New Orleans
For a quick-and-easy day trip, nearby Gibson is home to a pair of family-friendly attractions that offer fun for all ages. The Wildlife Gardens provides visitors with the opportunity to walk through a live cypress swamp, tour a small alligator farm and see a 110-pound loggerhead turtle.
Also in Gibson is Greenwood Gator Farm, which annually houses and hatches between 5,000 and 10,000 baby alligators. Visitors enjoy a range of informative live shows, enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour and learn how to safely catch and hold baby alligators.