Tag: Louisiana

Perhaps it was, as Jonathan Swift once wrote, a bold man who first ate an oyster, but it wasn’t a hard sell for me to join Four Seasons New Orleans’s new Oysters Take Flight experience. On this bright, balmy morning, I set out from the 34-story hotel overlooking the Mississippi River for Southern Seaplane airport in nearby Belle Chasse.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” could reasonably be considered Mother Nature’s approach to American alligators, prehistoric holdovers that have remained largely unchanged for at least 8 million years. With a range extending from coastal North Carolina across to East Texas, these lords of the bayou are symbols of a wild, untamed South—and its preservation.

The best form of sensory overload is found in New Orleans, where your eyes try to take in the dizzying rainbow array of shotgun homes and you can’t walk more than one block without hearing jazz playing on the street. The vibrant city may overwhelm with humidity most days of the year, but it’s hard to resist its charms—especially if you’re a food enthusiast.

The year-round preserve and botanical garden in Avery Island, Louisiana, is home to ”Bird City,” a refuge for snowy egrets and other wading birds.

From the skunk ape to the lizard man, these curious destinations offer a look at some of the region's legendary homegrown horrors.

Chief entomologist Jayme Necaise reveals his favorite bug, the most tempting bug snacks, and which high-profile guest once took home a cricket cake.

 Most people, it is safe to assume, do not go to New Orleans to relax. But when days of trolleys and po’ boys are followed by nights of jazz clubs and Sazeracs, relaxation is...

As much as we love the South's quintessential clapboard churches and stately mansions, our appreciation of Southern architecture extends beyond the classics. We‘ve combed the region for noteworthy structures, from historical masterpieces like Thomas Jefferson‘s Palladian Monticello to modern marvels like the breezy, zero-energy McDonald‘s Florida flagship (yes, McDonald’s).

Lake Charles, the largest city in Southwest Louisiana, reflects the wide variety of cultures that make up this region claimed by both Louisiana and Spanish Texas in the early 19th century.