Lafayette

The hub of Acadiana, the heart of Cajun and Creole country, Lafayette Parish is named for the Marquis de Lafayette, the French hero of the American Revolutionary War. The parish’s largest city and seat of government are Lafayette, called Vermilionville from 1821 to 1884, and is known as the Happiest City in America after a national survey proclaimed it such. A bustling city with a wealth of shopping and dining options, Lafayette hosts a food or music festival nearly every weekend of the year, including the Festival International de Louisiane in April, the Festivals Acadiens et Créoles in October, and the state’s second-largest Mardi Gras celebration. The Vermilionville Historic Village offers a fun and informative look at colonial life, while the Acadian Cultural Center features special exhibits and ranger-guided boat tours of the Bayou Vermilion. The Hilliard University Art Museum and the Acadiana Center for the Arts host a rotating schedule of art exhibits and concerts featuring local and national acts. In the nearby town of Scott, the “Boudin Capital of the World,” the pork and rice-stuffed sausage is everybody’s favorite meal.