36 Hours in Acadiana, Louisiana

When people think of the Louisiana swamp, they probably imagine Cypress Island Preserve at Lake Martin: a waveless expanse of water winding among Spanish moss-draped cypress trees, with preening snowy egrets and turtles perched along the same roots as sunbathing, seven-foot long alligators. Pack & Paddle offers an approximately two-hour guided kayak tour ($69 per person) at various times. Sunset is ideal to capture the spookiness of the swamp, so call ahead to see if they can accommodate. Kayaks are preferable to motorized boats, which can create a wake and noise that disturbs the animals, Lake Martin’s biggest draw. Located between the towns of Lafayette and Breaux Bridge, the reserve is home to some of Louisiana’s largest nesting colonies of water bird species, like the great blue heron, the white ibis and the stunning roseate spoonbill, nicknamed the Cajun flamingo.

Not many think it’s normal to down Bloody Marys and dance with strangers to accordion music first thing in the morning. Those who do are called Louisianians. Every Saturday from 8 a.m., the zydeco breakfast at Buck & Johnny’s in Breaux Bridge, a 20-minute drive from Lafayette, is packed and partying. Local bands play zydeco music — a rhythm-and-blues-like genre with Creole and Native American influences — using washboards, accordions and guitars, and the dance floor is filled with teenagers bopping with grandmas, neighbors waltzing and the occasional wide-eyed tourist learning some steps. The food is great, too: grits with crawfish étouffée ($8), beignets ($7) and omelets with tasso, hog’s shoulder meat ($13). Add bottomless mimosas ($15) and you’ll get those dance moves right in no time. Admission, $10. No reservations, so get there early.

For generations, a 100-acre greenspace in the heart of Lafayette was known as the “horse farm.” But after coming under threat of commercial development, a community-wide campaign to save the area resulted in the creation of Moncus Park in 2018. The park today is a great place for visitors, including kids, to enjoy the playground, dog park, fishing pier and hiking and jogging trails. One especially cool addition is the treehouse, built around the branches of a majestic live oak; you can climb up into the tree and flop into a suspended net. Every Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon, the park hosts the Lafayette Farmers & Artisans Market, a gathering of farmers selling produce, artisans displaying their wares, and local musicians having a Cajun jam session. Free entry; parking starts at $2.

The humble po’ boy sandwich is believed to have originated in New Orleans, but you can get an excellent version in Acadiana, too. Try Pop’s Poboys in downtown Lafayette, where the traditional crusty French bread has standard fillings like fried shrimp and oysters, but also innovative ones. The Boudreaux po’ boy includes buttermilk fried catfish topped with pickled-okra tartar sauce and blue-cheese coleslaw ($9.25, half sandwich). The Red Bean Falafel doesn’t hold back on flavor just because it’s vegetarian, with cayenne tzatziki supplying a kick ($9, half). And if you’re interested in burning your face off, try the Hot Hot, a Nashville-style fried chicken sandwich ($9.75, half). The pro move is to order multiple half-sizes to mix and match until you find your favorite.

Lafayette’s few downtown blocks are packed with neat local stores worth exploring. Genterie Supply Co. offers a fast-track for morphing into a Lafayette hipster (think alligator-leather accessories), and Lagniappe Records has hard-to-find records, from 1940s lo-fi Cajun recordings to updated gospel voices. Beausoleil Books specializes in titles by local authors. The Cajun Hatter is where Colby Hébert molds custom hats, adding flair like turkey feathers and festival pins. LiLou Lafayette has a well-edited selection of vintage finds like fringed skirts and worn-in cowboy boots. Parish Ink’s screen-printed T-shirts, which are ridiculously soft, are super souvenirs. Sans Souci Fine Crafts Gallery displays works like driftwood turned into Santa Clauses and pelican-themed jewelry. Refresh with a shake at Sunday’s Soda Fountain, which opened last year.

In an old 1939 Conoco gas station on downtown Lafayette’s main drag, Spoonbill Watering Hole and Restaurant is great for people watching. But its interior architecture, with a central bar where the filling pumps once were, draws plenty of attention, too (the restaurant was a James Beard finalist for Outstanding Restaurant Design in 2020). The large, dog-friendly patio is great for brunch, and the pink neon lights cast a cozy mood for date nights. Named after the roseate spoonbill, one of Acadiana’s most treasured water birds, the menu includes local favorites done with a light touch. Blue-crab quesadillas ($14), grilled local fish ($26) and chicken brined in Tabasco sauce ($12, Tabasco’s factory is south of Lafayette) pair with cool tiki cocktails and spritzes.

Leave it to laissez-faire Louisiana to find a legal loophole that allows for drive-through daiquiri shops. The state’s open container laws require frozen alcoholic beverages to be sealed with a lid and that a straw is handed over separately. (D.U.I. rules are still in full effect, and drinks should be consumed responsibly.) The best place to experience this South Louisiana rite of passage is at Frankie’s Best Daiquiris, a beat-up trailer behind a car dealership in Lafayette. Frankie himself hands you your foam cup, which he jazzes up with little towers of fresh fruit pierced by cocktail umbrellas. The daiquiris, whose flavors are listed on a sun-faded panel, are all insanely strong, so a small size should do; just choose by liquor quality: well ($5), premium ($8) or top-shelf ($11).

Two must-try South Louisiana food items are boudin and cracklin. Traditional boudin (pronounced locally as BOO-dan) is a blend of pork, rice and seasonings stuffed inside a pork casing. Cracklin is the local term for pork rinds. Both fuel rabid competition among the region’s shops, but the little town of Scott, just west of Lafayette at exit 97 off the I-10 Interstate, has become the O.K. Corral of boudin and cracklin showdowns. Exit the freeway and judge for yourself with some snacks for the road. The Best Stop Supermarket, Billy’s Boudin and Cracklin and Kartchner's Specialty Meats are about a two-minute drive from each other. (Prices vary, but one link of boudin is usually around $3.50, and one pound of cracklin is about $23). Some offer innovative takes like crawfish boudin, chicken cracklin or boudin balls stuffed with pepper jack cheese and fried.

When the British forcibly removed the Acadians from parts of Canada in the mid-18th century, an event known as Le Grand Dérangement, the French-speaking Acadians started making their way down the Mississippi River, creating settlements in South Louisiana. Vermilionville was the name given to Lafayette when it was established in the 1820s as one of those settlements. Today, Vermilionville, a 23-acre, open-air living history museum along the banks of the Vermilion River, tells the story of that migration and how the Acadians’ mingling with Creole, Spanish and Native American traditions created the unique culture of today’s Acadiana. Visitors can embark on a guided boat tour of the grounds, be entertained by costumed actors and historical reenactments, or join Cajun dance lessons and jams. The on-site restaurant, La Cuisine de Maman, also hosts an all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch. Adult admission, $10; handicap-accessible.