Road-trip stops in Louisiana

Mardi Gras World

The year-round warehouse where the gigantic Mardi Gras parade floats are built. Watch sculptors at work on next year's floats, try on costumes from past parades, eat a slice of king cake at the cafe. The walking tour is sixty minutes. On the Mississippi River downtown — free shuttle from the French Quarter. Family-friendly proof that Mardi Gras is built year-round, not just one Tuesday in February.

Atchafalaya Basin Bridge

You don't stop here — you drive over it and try not to think about it. The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge is 18 miles long over a swamp. Eighteen. Miles. Of. Swamp. Your kids will either love it ('look, alligators!') or have an existential crisis. Either way, it's the most memorable stretch of highway between Texas and Florida. No exits, no services, no escape. Just you, your family, and the bayou. Welcome to Louisiana.

Boudin King - Jennings

If you drive through Louisiana on I-10 without eating boudin, you have committed a crime against food. Boudin is a Cajun sausage stuffed with pork, rice, and seasoning, and the Boudin King in Jennings is the original. Your kids might look at it sideways. Ignore them. Order two links and a bag of cracklins. This is Louisiana — we don't eat boring food here. Two minutes off I-10.

Café Du Monde - New Orleans

Beignets and chicory coffee at a table overlooking the Mississippi River. Your kids will be covered in powdered sugar within thirty seconds. You will take a photo. It will be the best photo of the entire trip. New Orleans is a detour off I-10 that ranges from 'quick beignet stop' to 'we accidentally spent three days here,' depending on your willpower. At minimum, get the beignets. At maximum, lose yourself in the French Quarter. The Griswold family has done both.

Comfort Suites Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge is the midpoint between Houston and the Mississippi border, which makes it the logical overnight for the Texas-to-Florida run. The Comfort Suites is right off I-10 with a pool and suites that give the kids their own corner. Tomorrow you've got the long Mississippi-Alabama stretch, so sleep well. Also, LSU is here, so if it's football season, book three months in advance or sleep in the car.

Comfort Suites New Orleans Airport

If you're doing the New Orleans detour but don't want to pay French Quarter hotel prices, the Comfort Suites in Metairie is right off I-10, fifteen minutes from the Quarter, and about half the price. Pool, suites, breakfast, and you drive into the city instead of paying $50/night for parking at a downtown hotel. The Griswold family budget strategy: sleep in the suburbs, play in the city.

National WWII Museum - New Orleans

Ranked the #1 tourist attraction in New Orleans and one of the top museums in America. The immersive exhibits put you on Omaha Beach and in a submarine, and the 4D film narrated by Tom Hanks will make every adult in the theater cry while pretending they're not. If your New Orleans detour can fit one museum, this is the one. For families with kids over ten, it's transformative. The real artifacts — letters, uniforms, vehicles — hit different than any textbook.

TABASCO Factory - Avery Island

Every bottle of TABASCO sauce on every table in America comes from this one small island in the Louisiana bayou. The factory tour is quick, the tasting is fun, and the Jungle Gardens have alligators just wandering around like they own the place — which, to be fair, they kind of do. About twenty minutes off I-10. Your kids will try the hot sauce, make a face that you'll photograph, and you'll buy a bottle of the special reserve that costs more than dinner.