Culture in Houma Louisiana

When you make a list of all the unique things Louisiana has to offer visitors, you quickly see the long-lasting influences of our French, Spanish and African ancestry. Our past is well-preserved in our architecture, music, food and lifestyles—which include our amazing festivals—and of course in our museums of history and fine arts.

It is not an accident that Louisiana clings to the phrase "Laissez les bons temps rouler," meaning "Let the good times roll". Let yourself get lost in the traditions passed down through generations. Come visit us during Mardi Gras when costumed riders parade and magnificent balls are thrown from New Orleans and Baton Rouge to Houma, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport and beyond. Peek back across the centuries, as you walk under lavish ironwork and through the lush courtyard gardens of a meticulous French Quarter hotel. Touch history with a tour of a plantation where the daily activities of the past are recreated. Let nature's mysteries inspire and awe you via a boat tour through a cypress studded bayou.

Here, in Louisiana, history and lore don't merely live in books on a shelf; they're reflected in our everyday lives.

A network of bayous and shipping channels converge on Houma, creating a crisscross of busy waterways within the city. Many streets are two-lane avenues split down the middle by canals plied by small vessels, and the sight of shrimp boats docked just before their skippers' homes is as common as the family minivan parked in front of other American households. Houma is widely considered the de facto capital of deep bayou country, and here the many pleasures of the region's robust culture are easily accessible. The city is the jumping-off point for countless charter fishing adventures, birding expeditions and swamp tours along the ecologically rich wetlands stretching out toward the Gulf, while the Native American tribe of the United Houma Nation is headquartered here and hosts frequent cultural events. Boisterous Mardi Gras celebrations consume the city each year, while dance halls and restaurants showcase the region's Cajun heritage every day.