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Consolidated city-parish in Louisiana, United States
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Lafayette is a city in Louisiana. It's the unofficial capital of Acadiana or Cajun Country. This flourishing moderate sized city is home to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Music and dancing is an integral part of community life. Several restaurants and dance halls thrive in the area and the city hosts several musical festivals throughout the year.
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You can spend an hour or so here learning about the history of the Acadian (Cajun) people. Free, donations accepted.
A large four-year university with a great campus and a small swamp containing live alligators next to the Student Union. There is a University Art Museum on campus, and an International Film Series is screened every semester.
A heritage and folk-life park depicting the way of life on the Bayou. The park has costumed French interpreters, traditional craft demos, and hosts traditional Cajun music and dance parties each Sunday.
Museum collection of over 4,000 objects including 18th-, 19th-, 20th- and 21st-century American, European and Asian art works.
Pétanque is a deceptively simple two-player French game played with tennis-ball-sized metal orbs that is similar to bocce or horseshoes. Players score points by tossing their balls as close to a target ball as possible while trying to knock their opponent's away. It's a ubiquitous sight in parks all over France, where it is a national game of sorts, but quite rare in the U.S. Members socialize in both English and French. Visitors are encouraged.
With a combination of Louisiana country music sung sometimes in French accompanied by accordion, and sometimes in English, listening to this radio station as you travel the area very distinctly tells that you are in Acadiana, and not some other part of the United States.
Indoor trampoline park
Weekly country swing and line dancing community for young adults (18-30s). No partner or experience required. Partners rotate during class. Alcohol-free and smoke-free. Beginner instruction 9-9:30PM. Featured in Country Roads Magazine. Free parking available.
This annual weekend veneration of the "mud bug" brings together the best features of Cajun culture. The main centerpiece of the festival is a massive iron kettle which sees a constant flow of the festival's namesake critters throughout the day (also available in abundance in any form you could wish for.) The other centerpiece of the festival is a stage, which sees the most popular Cajun, Zydeco, Swamp Pop, and Creole musicians around. D.L. Menard was a regular performer there until a few years before his death in 2017. Other events include Cajun dancing contests and lessons, Cajun cooking demonstrations, crawfish races, a crawfish eating contest, a crawfish étouffée contest, and typical (if you can call anything crawfish-themed typical) carnival rides, activities, and vendors.
Four-day festival that brings musical acts and other performers from all over the world, with an emphasis on Francophone countries. The festival usually takes place the last weekend of April, and is usually a nice diversion from the expensive and often over-crowded New Orleans JazzFest the same time of year. The amazing food selection from local restaurants is moderately priced, and there are several shopping bazaars with everything from international vendors to local artists. Most importantly the festival is free, with a great deal of funding coming from donations made by Lafayette residents. Jefferson Street and most of Downtown Lafayette virtually shut-down to traffic from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening with around six stages of live music.
Sports teams of the above university, competing in 16 NCAA Division I sports (eight for each sex) in the Sun Belt Conference. As with most major schools, the hot-button sports are typically football and men's basketball, but the most nationally competitive are baseball and softball (the latter a women-only sport in the NCAA). Most of the key sports venues are on university-owned land away from the main campus, most notably Cajun Field (football), the Cajundome (men's basketball), and Tigue Moore Field (baseball). The Cajundome also houses the central ticket office for all Ragin' Cajuns sports.
Enjoy an ice-hockey game at Planet Ice Rink. The Drillers play in the North American Tier III hockey league.
Tex-Mex with some Tex-Mex / Creole fusion dishes. Inside and outside eating.
Terrific breakfasts and brunches.
Eclectically decorated restaurant, bar and hookah bar with live music and a wide variety of great food.
Ice cream, ice cream dishes and soda fountain.
Steaks, seafood and spirits.
Specialty in seafood. Excellent bar. Live piano music.
Great local and French food, lunches and breakfasts. One of Lafayette's most celebrated for good reason.
Tex-Mex menu with great margaritas.
Casual place known for great boudin, bbq, and smoked meats.
Popular little joint for cheeseburgers and beer.
Two other locations in Lafayette. Serves great po-boy sandwiches and spicy platters.
Great noodles, mixture of Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, and Laotian cuisine.
Touristy but enjoyable Cajun food. $8-20.
Tacos & burritos, convenient drive-thru.
Thai food; try the Pad Thai.
Sushi and Japanese cuisine.
Farm to table restaurant serving breakfast and brunch. Food is always super fresh and drinks are delicious!
Great local bar in Downtown Lafayette with an easygoing vibe. Several local and imported beers on tap, with the widest bottled beer selection in town. Nightly drink specials, pool tables, shuffleboard, foosball, and plenty of good people..
A clean, safe, and very hospitable hostel located in downtown Lafeyette.
A decent sized shopping mall at the corner of Ambassador Caffery Pkwy and Johnston St.
While Lafayette does have a bus system that is accessible from most areas in town, driving by car is still the most popular way to get around the city.
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Lafayette · Regional · LFT
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