Acadia Parish

A melding of many cultures makes up Acadia, but the parish is most closely associated with Creole and Cajun heritage and even draws its name from the French colony in Canada where Louisiana's first Cajun settlers started their historic journey. The Zydeco Cajun Prairie Scenic Byway makes a big loop through Acadia, taking motorists through country roads lined with glistening rice fields and meadows bursting in wildflower and into the historic downtown centers of the parish's cities, including Crowley, with its ornate Victorian architecture and its Grand Opera House of the South. This turn-of-the-century theater is newly restored for today's audiences. Rayne, known as the City of Murals for its many public art displays, draws thousands to its annual Frog Festival in November while Church Point is a destination for a large, lively rendition of Cajun-style Mardi Gras with costumed riders on horseback and colorful floats. Naturally, Cajun food abounds.