3 Best Sights in Side Trips from New Orleans, Louisiana

The courthouse contains an impressive collection of more than 2,000 historical photographs of life in the Lafayette area. There are images of famous politicians such as Dudley LeBlanc and Huey Long working the stump, and scenes from the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.

When this turreted Gothic Victorian castle was constructed between 1847 and 1852, it was declared by some a masterpiece, by others a monstrosity. No one can deny that the restored building is colorful and dramatic. In the entrance hall a stunning cast-iron spiral staircase with gold leafing winds toward a stained-glass atrium. The building is now an education and research facility with audiovisual exhibits including the "assassination room," which covers the legendary Huey Long's final moments and is a major draw. The Ghost of the Castle Exhibit is a 12-minute 4D presentation that tells the history of the building, as narrated by an actress playing Sarah Morgan, whose father sold the land on which the building was built.

This building has housed the offices of the governor and the Legislature since 1932. It is a testament to the personal influence of legendary Governor Huey P. Long that funding for such a massive building was approved during the Great Depression, and that the building itself was completed in a mere 14 months. You can tour the first floor, richly decorated with murals and mosaics, and peer into the halls of the Louisiana Legislature. Long's colorful personality—and autocratic ways—eventually caught up with him: he was assassinated in 1935, and the spot where he was shot (near the rear elevators) is marked with a plaque. At 34 stories, this is America's tallest state capitol; an observation deck on the 27th floor affords an expansive view of the Mississippi River, the city, and the industrial outskirts.