What’s Hot in Louisiana – Summer 2025

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From invigorating city breaks and road trips to scenic Amtrak rail trips and memorable Mississippi River or coastal cruises, there’s no single way to explore and experience Louisiana, and there’s no shortage of new product for Irish visitors to enjoy this summer either (www.explorelouisiana.com). Read on for some travel news and inspiration from The Pelican State.

Amtrak to launch new rail route from New Orleans

All eyes are on the summer 2025 launch of Amtrak’s new twice-daily Mardi Gras service linking New Orleans to Mobile, Alabama, via Mississippi Gulf Coast stops such as Biloxi (www.amtrak.com/Mardi-Gras-Service). The scenic route is the latest addition to Amtrak’s extensive rail network in Louisiana (see: www.amtrakstation.com/stations/louisiana-amtrak-stations).

Culinary story angles

  • March 2025 saw Time Out vote New Orleans ‘the food capital of the world’.
  • The state will feature prominently in the new Michelin Guide to the American South.
  • Louisiana Office of Tourism has declared 2025 The Year of Food, celebrating the state’s rich mix of culinary offerings, from Cajun staples such as Boudin sausage and cracklins to mouthwatering Creole cuisine, as championed by luminaries such as Leah Chase.
  • Louisiana is America’s ‘go to’ place for gastronomic road trip experiences. Popular picks include the Hot Sauce Trail; The Andouille Trail, in the River Parishes region; and Gas Station Eats, in No Man’s Land, to the southwest (visitnomansland.com).

Hot properties in New Orleans

  • The Celestine is a charming new 14-guestroom boutique hotel in the French Quarter, housed in a sumptuously reimagined historic property, dating back to 1791 (thecelestinenola.com).
  • Hotel Henrietta is a five-storey, newbuild 40-guestroom boutique hotel, located at 3500 St. Charles Avenue, in Uptown New Orleans, complete with a striking design and stunning interiors (hotelhenrietta.com).
  • Caesars New Orleans – Caesars Entertainment, Inc. has invested $435 million to rebrand, expand and renovate the former Harrah’s Hotel and Casino. Highlights of the new-look 790-guestroom, 12 restaurant resort include its Nobu Hotel, which opened last autumn (caesars.com/caesars-new-orleans/hotel).

More mouthwatering reasons to dive into Louisiana’s food scene…

  • New offerings in Ruston include Board and Bottle, a café by day and a wine bar by night, and recently expanded Heard Freighthouse Food Park, featuring an outdoor stage.
  • Covington is the place to experience Red Bird Fried Chicken, winner in the Best Fried Chicken category at the New Orleans National Fried Chicken Festival last October.
  • The new-look Avery Island visitor centre, in New Iberia, offers tastings of local staple Tabasco, and the Acadiana Region’s cuisine, plus cooking classes with chef Gigi Leboeuf.
  • New local craft beer offerings include Bayou Sara Brewery, launched in downtown St. Francisville in early 2025, and German Coast Beer Company, Charles Parish’s first craft brewery having opened last August.

Cocktail movers & shakers

  • ‘Roaring 20’s cocktails and an Absinthe fountain are features at The Tunnel, a new downtown speakeasy in Baton Rouge, inside Hilton Capitol Center Hotel.
  • Cocktail lovers should also consider The Tipsy Librarian, a Baton Rouge favourite whose offerings include two-hour mixology experiences using local ingredients.
  • Over in downtown St. Francisville, Big River Pizza is literally backed by Proud Mary’s – a speakeasy in the back of the building that serves pizzas alongside specialty cocktails.
  • And no visit to New Orleans is complete without a tasting at The Sazerac House (sazerachouse.com), a museum dedicated to the popular local cocktail Sazerac.

Visitor attractions

  • Major renovations continue apace at BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo, where new attractions include a giraffe feeding exhibit.
  • In New Orleans, the Audubon Nature Institute recently completed its renovation of the Audubon Aquarium and Insectarium.
  • Staying in New Orleans, recent developments at The National WWII Museum include the new Liberation Pavilion.
  • New options in Lake Charles include Port Wonder, a 25,000 sq ft development that will house the Children’s Museum of Southwest Louisiana.
  • Louisiana Civil Rights Museum in New Orleans, which opened in 2023, serves as a good introduction to both the African American Heritage Trail and the state’s Civil Rights Trail, including Baton Rouge – scene of the first major bus boycott, in 1953.
  • Discover the state’s pre-Civil War era history while touring the plantation properties that line the River Road from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, such as Houmas House.

Sport and recreation

  • Cypress Bend Golf Resort, in Toledo Bend Lake Country, has renovated its championship golf course, and renovations are underway updating the resort.
  • Tree Frogs Adventure Park is a new aerial course in the Covington area of Northshore.
  • Over in New Iberia, a new floating kayak dock at Duperier Avenue is one of the latest additions to the picturesque Bayou Teche National Paddle Trail.
  • Visitors to the Lake Charles area are invited to explore the natural beauty of Sam Houston Jones State Park and Calcasieu West Fork River where Bayou Adventure now offers self-serve paddle rental kiosks.
  • Wildlife and outdoors activities await on The Creole Nature Trail, a 180-mile scenic byway through ‘outback Louisiana’ (visitlakecharles.org/creole-nature-trail/).
  • Not far from the city of Shreveport, in northwestern Louisiana, Driskill, the state’s highest point at 163 metres above sea level, makes for easy, scenic forested trail hikes.
  • And a ‘tailgate party’ makes a great addition to a college football match at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, the state capital.

Music experiences

  • Head to Lafayette, and local towns such as Opelousas and Eunice, to get the lowdown on zydeco music, while Mamou has been called the ‘Cajun Music Capital of the World’.
  • Tour the fabled jazz clubs of New Orleans neighbourhoods such as Faubourg Marigny.
  • Discover there’s much more to New Orleans’ cultural calendar than Mardi Gras, with French Quarter Festival (April), New Orleans Jazz Festival (April/May), and Essence Festival (July), a celebration of African-American music and culture, featuring among the Cresent City’s musical draws.
  • Visit the village of Mandeville to experience the oldest unaltered rural jazz hall in the US, The Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall, dating back to 1895.
  • For more ideas see: explorelouisiana.com/articles/louisiana-essentials-music

 Explore Cajun country

  • Lafayette, the de facto capital of Acadiana, or ‘Cajun country’, is the meeting point of Cajun and Creole culture. Home to living museum Vermilionville, the city, which has been named ‘The Happiest City in the US’, supports a thriving food scene.
  • Popular experiences in the Lafayette area include airboat swamp tours and kayaking on Lake Martin, while experiential roadtrips await on the Cajun Corridor Byway, on Highway 14 in southwestern Louisiana, and The Creole Nature Trail, a 180-mile National Scenic Byway through ‘outback Louisiana’ (visitlakecharles.org/creole-nature-trail/).
  • Crawfish étouffée features among the seafood treats served up in Breaux Bridge, home to a popular annual Crawfish Festival.
  • And don’t miss Courir de Mardi Gras, the Cajun take on Mardi Gras, held on ‘Fat Tuesday’.

Key Calendar Events for 2025/6

While Mardi Gras draws the crowds to New Orleans and Lake Charles, there are actually more than 400 annual festivals to choose from in Louisiana, many showcasing the state’s proud musical, cultural and culinary heritage. Below are just some of the upcoming highlights, with many more examples to be found here: www.explorelouisiana.com/festivals-events-louisiana

4 July: Fireworks on the River – Krotz Springs is famous for its Independence Day celebrations, which are set to be even more spectacular in 2026 as the USA celebrates its 250th anniversary

5 July: Annual Lebeau Zydeco Festival, Lebeau

18-19 July: Red River Balloon Rally, in Shreveport-Bossier

13-17 Aug: Delcambre Shrimp Festival – one for seafood lovers (shrimpfestival.net).

Aug: Original Southwest Louisiana Zydeco Music Festival, Opelousas (zydeco.org)

26-28 Sept: Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival, New Iberia (hisugar.org/wordpress)

22 Nov–6 Jan 2026: The picture-perfect historic town of Natchitoches is the setting for the six-week Natchitoches Christmas Festival

17-18 Jan 2026: The Louisiana Marathon, Baton Rouge (thelouisianamarathon.com)

17 Feb 2026: While Mardi Gras season starts on January 6, many visitors to New Orleans and Lake Charles aim for the major celebrations on Mardi Gras day, or ‘Fat Tuesday’, the day before Ash Wednesday

20-22 Mar 2026: Amite Oyster Festival (amiteoysterfestival.com)

10-12 Apr 2026: Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival (lastrawberryfestival.com)

April 2026: The annual Rum Revival festival at the Golden Nugget, in Lake Charles, celebrates the Gulf Coast’s deep Caribbean connections.

23 April to 3 May 2026: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2026

01-03 May 2026: Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival