New Iberia is often seen as Cajun to the core. The smell of boudin wafts through the air in this town on the bayou. But it was settlers from southern Spain who founded it in 1779, under the leadership of the great Spanish governor of Louisiana, Bernardo de Galvez. Cajun settlers quickly overwhelmed them in numbers and cultural lines became a blur. Thus, Nueva Iberia became Nouvelle Iberie and finally New Iberia. And surnames like “Romero” came to be considered Cajun. Deep in bayou country, sugar cane has long been the principal crop, and fittingly, New Iberia celebrates it each September with the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival. With its distinctive historic downtown overlooking Bayou Teche, you see why New Iberia is one of Louisiana’s Main Street communities. A short drive away is lovely Avery Island where, since 1868, the McIlhenny family has produced the world’s most famous hot sauce--Tabasco.