Culture in Port Allen 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.

Port Allen sits across the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge, but the mighty waterway does more to unite the two neighbors than separate them. As home to the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, the city is the northernmost deepwater terminal on the Mississippi and a busy crossroads with cargo moving from barges and trains to ocean-going vessels. Port Allen's Mississippi Riverfront Development park offers panoramic views of the Capital City's skyline along a pedestrian promenade lined with architectural features and ornamental lighting. The city's important location has fueled its rich industrial and cultural history, which are showcased at the West Baton Rouge Museum complex with its 1830s-era Aillet House and collection of slave cabins. Tour the Railroad Depot Museum with restored caboose and exhibits on 1940s railroad life; come to Sugarfest in October or the Lagniappe Dulcimer Fete Festival, a celebration of handmade musical instruments each March, draws travelers nationwide.