Being a largely nature-based destination, much of the appeal of Baton Rouge lies in the fact that it is an escape from the big city-feel of many other state capitals, offering the wonderful swamplands, marshes and bayous of Cajun Country, right on the doorstep. Parents can take advantage of the easily accessible nature reserves, giving children an opportunity to get up close with the region’s wildlife.

Blue Bayou Water Park
Great for the summer months, when the Southern states heat up into a sweltering sauna; come and cool off at Blue Bayou Water Park, where you can enjoy slippery slides, a wave pool, lazy river and kid’s area. Ideal for all the family, adults can get a bite to eat at the snack bar, while the kids are being watched by mindful lifeguards.
Phone: +1 225 753 3333; website: www.bluebayou.com/

Bowling
Circle Bowl on Florida boulevard caters for Baton Rouge’s bowling enthusiasts, of which there are many. This is the perfect place to come for family fun and entertainment, with 32 lanes ensuring everyone gets to play a game. The bowling centre features Galactic Bowling (or Glow-in-the-Dark Bowling), league competitions, day camps, parties and events.
Phone: +1 225 925 5471; website: www.circlebowl.com

Lake Martin Nature Reserve
Situated just off Highway 31, near Breaux Bridge, this reserve gives children and accompanying adults an opportunity to experience the swamplands around Baton Rouge. The eerie, cypress-filled waters are home to local alligators and birds which are unique to this region including herons, spoonbills and egrets. Trails take you through Spanish moss-infested greenery, while canoes are also available for hire if you fancy a paddle.

With a rich heritage that is well-preserved and cherished by the locals, visitors will find plenty of cultural goings on here. The choice of museums is quite impressive for a small state capital, with the vast majority focusing on the historical past of the area. With the State Capitol as the centrepiece of the city, don’t overlook the city’s suburbs, which contain some of the finest plantation houses in the South.

Enchanted Mansion-a-Doll Museum
Of appeal to both adults and children, this museum offers a rare chance to see some unique and antique dolls. Located on Lee drive, the architecture and charm of the building is in itself a reason to visit, with highlights being a life-sized Victorian doll house and the exhibit on Gazoba fairies. Visitors of all ages will quickly be put under this museum’s spell.
Phone: +1 225 769 0005; www.enchantedmansion.org/

Louisiana State Capitol
While this magnificent architecture showpiece is the focal point of the city, the 50 acres of landscapes gardens surrounding the capitol should not be overlooked. Built in the Art Deco style and serving as a memorial to Huey Long, the state governor who commission the building, but who was later assassinated in one of its corridors; visitors can tour parts of the interior of the building daily, free of charge.

Tours reveal some interesting sculptures and murals, as well as details on some of the more famous figures to have worked in the building such as Jimmie Davis, Eddie Edwards and Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke. As the tallest capitol in the country, and the tallest building in the city, the observation deck on the 27th floor provides breathtaking views of Baton Rouge down below.
Phone: +1 800 488 2968.

LSU Museum of Art
Not to be missed by art lovers, this moving and dynamic collection of artworks is well worth a look. With everything from contemporary visual arts to decorative Asian works alongside pottery, portraits and silverware, the collection covers an extensive range of media. Special rotating exhibits are also frequently presented, adding variety for returning visitors. Gallery tours are available, as are bites to eat at the dining facility and souvenirs from the museum shop.
Phone: +1 225 389 7200; website: http://www.lsumoa.com/

LSU Rural Life Museum
Located east of downtown Baton Rouge, this interesting museum explores pre-industrial Louisiana through architecture. Consisting of a splendid collection of rural buildings, visitors can enter and admire a plantation house, grist mill and slave cottages among other edifices. The 25 acre gardens are also the perfect place to relax after taking in the sites and their historical context. Phone: +1 225 765 2437; website: http://rurallife.lsu.edu/

Old State Capitol
While no architectural wonder, and in fact referred to by Mark Twain as: ‘that monstrosity on the Mississippi’, the Old State Capitol is worth visiting for the Center for Political and Governmental History, housed within. The building ceased to be used as the state’s capitol in 1932, upon the opening of the new Louisiana State Capitol, commissioned by Huey Long, the 1928 governor, famously known as the ‘Kingfisher’. Visitors can view movies, exhibits and footage of some of Long’s larger-than-life speeches, recorded before he was assassinated in 1935. Phone: +1 225 342 0500;
website: www.sec.state.la.us/museums/osc/osc/osc-index.htm

Plantation Homes
No visit to this part of the States is complete without a visit to some of the plantation houses that dot the area. The River road (Highway 44) that leads in from New Orleans, hugging the Mississippi River, is a great route to take for coming across some fine examples. The 70-mile road passes through mainly farmland, which does a great job of hiding some of the country’s finest antebellum homes, restored to their former glory.

Nottoway, 18 miles south of Baton Rouge, is the largest surviving plantation home in the South, and a fine example. In addition to tours, visitors can also sleep here if they want more time to soak up the atmosphere of the place. Boasting a white Italianate façade, there is also a acclaimed restaurant on-site (tel: +1 225 545 2730).

West Baton Rouge Museum
An interesting stop off point for those interested in Baton Rouge’s history and colourful past, exhibits here run the gamut from a large-scale model of a sugar mill, a sugar plantation slave cabin, furniture from the late 1800s and a French Creole house built in the 1830s. Visitors can also attend special events, which often include demonstrations such as craft-making and hands-on activities, conducted by staff dressed in authentic costumes. The museum gives a good insight into Plantation Country-life along this part of the Mississippi.
Phone: +1 225 336 2422;
website: www.westbatonrougemuseum.com/

With Baton Rouge’s strategic location on the Mississippi River and its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, it is no surprise that seafood features heavily on the menus here. Riverside restaurants boast plentiful Cajun delights with shrimp-based recipes along with other tasty Creole dishes.

Louisiana’s bayous stretch all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, producing 30 per cent of the USA’s seafood harvest each year. With this wonderful resource right on the doorstep, you can rest assured you will have shrimps coming out your ears by the time you leave.

Also, be prepared for some hot and spicy treats, with the region’s strong African influences ensuring authentic Creole cuisine. Other evident influences are French, Spanish and Caribbean, while traces of Native American, German and Italian are also present.

The areas around the universities – LSU and Southern, are good for cheap bites, with the student population ensuring reasonably priced and filling dishes are the order of the day. If you’re out in the evening, College drive, Chimes street and Highland road are all good hunting ground for delicious food that is more often than not accompanied by live music, in keeping with the Southern tradition of blues and jazz.

Dishes to try include spicy, buttery crawfish; rice and beans, a dish that originated in the West Indies; gumbo, a thick soup made with seafood, chicken and vegetables; jambalaya, a paella dish that also contains seafood, chicken and vegetables. For lunch, po-boys are popular; a baguette filled with seafood delights such as oysters and crab meat, as are crawfish omelettes. And the great thing about dining out in Baton Rouge is that most of the dishes are very reasonably priced.

Baton Rouge has two main shopping areas, the Mall at Cortana and the Mall of Louisiana. The former mall is expansive and includes some department stores such as JCPenney, Mervyn's, Sears, Foley's and Dillard's, in addition to chains like Gap, Bombay Company and Champs Sports. Restaurants and fast-food are on-hand for hungry shoppers, as is a play area for kids.

The city’s second mall is a little more upscale and houses a charming antique carousel as its centrepiece. Many of the same stores including Dillard's, Foley's, JCPenney and Sears can also be found here, alongside Banana Republic, Victoria's Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch.

If mall shopping isn’t too your liking, check out some of the smaller boutiques dotted around town, while most of the museums have adequate gift shops selling one-of-a-kind knick-knacks.

With Baton Rouge’s location on the edge of the Mississippi, the nearby swamplands, bayous and cypress-filled marshes provide plenty of areas for exploration and wildlife-spotting. No trip to the region is complete without a glimpse of some of the rare birds and alligators that inhabit Cajun Country and its outskirts, and while the parks and nature reserves offer just this chance, there are also lakes which are ideal of fishing for trout, bass and brim.

Creole Nature Trail
Travelling along Louisiana’s Creole Nature Trail is a great way for children to get up close to the wonderful flora and fauna that inhabits this area. Designated as a National Scenic Byway, this 180 mile loop through the Bayou State will take you through captivating marshlands, beachside villages and maze-like bayous. Expect to see everything from unusual birds to alligators.
Website:// www.creolenaturetrail.org/

Fishing
Fishing is available at Wanetiri Lakes, where you can fish for brim, trout, bass and catfish on the banks. Day permits are available and boats can be hired, which come with lifejackets, paddles and trolling motors. For those who want to make an overnight trip, tents are also available for rent. Fishing tours are available through Captin Brent Roy’s (+1 225 268 5420) and Venice Charters Unlimited (+1 225 268 8420).

Parks
The regions parks provide the ideal setting in which to conduct outdoor activities such as picnics, jogging, sunbathing and strolling, while many near Baton Rouge make for great wildlife-viewing. Located in St Francisville, an easy drive from Baton Rouge, Audubon State Commemorative Area is a great place to head, with over 100 acres set aside as a wildlife sanctuary. Visitors to the area can pay a visit to the Oakley Plantation, where John James Audubon once worked. Facilities at the sanctuary include restrooms, trails and picnic areas, while guided tours are also available (tel: +1 225 635 3739).