3 Day Itinerary for Top Things To Do in Lafayette, LA & Breaux Bridge, LA
Lafayette and Breaux Bridge, Louisiana are rich in culture, history, and nature, hence so easy to immerse yourself in all its offerings! Whether it’s tasting the local boudin sausage from Billy’s Boudin or the brunch with live zydeco music at historical downtown Breaux Bridge, or exploring murals and boutique shops in downtown Lafayette, or learning about the Arcadian culture at Vermilionville, the region is full of wide range of offerings!
Getting There
Unfortunately in America, the mode of public transportation once you leave a large city is almost nonexistent. The best way to travel to Lafayette and Breaux Bridge, a suburb 20 minutes on the east of Lafayette, is by car. We went to these two cities as part of our road trip in Louisiana, where we first flew into New Orleans and drove from there. The entire drive from New Orleans to Breaux Bridge took about 2.5 hours. I would imagine most of you guys would fly in from New Orleans as well so if you are looking for a full 4-day Ultimate Itinerary of the fantastic city of Mardi Gras, here it is!
Getting Around
From and to Breaux Bridge and Lafayette: by car
Within Lafayette: by car
Within Breaux Bridge: walk. Breaux Bridge is small and very walkable! All the cute restaurants and shops near main street are within walking distance.
Stay
We stayed in Breaux Bridge the entirety of 3 days we were in the region and I highly highly recommend it! A super cute and small suburb within 20 minutes from Lafayette, it’s very convenient to get to all the key points-of-interests and it is an incredibly charming and quaint town with boutique shops and local restaurants!
Our cute little airbnb cottage next to it's own creek and bridge in Breaux Bridge, LA
Day 1 Downtown Breaux Bridge and West Lafayette
Downtown Breaux Bridge
Breakfast & Brunch
Kick off your morning by grabbing brunch at one of the many local favorites. A town featuring multiple family-owned, authentic Cajun and Creole restaurants, there’s an array of places to choose from! We opted for Tante Marie while we were there but there are so many additional places that we didn’t get a chance to try - some of them, depending on the day of the week, even feature live Zydeco music!
I got a little too excited and totally forgot to take a picture of my eggs and biscuit. Only have it in video form and not still form <.<
Chicken salad from Tante Marie in Breaux Bridge, LA, a cute local restaurant in historical downtown!
If you are looking for something lighter or a sweet pick-me-up, head to Cajun Market Donut Company, a retro diner-style decorated donut shop that makes freshly baked donuts on the daily! Got the glazed donut and bite-sized apple donuts that had fresh chunks of cinnamon spiced apples!
Cajun Market Donut Company in downtown Breaux Bridge, LA. Retro vibe fresh donut shop for an afternoon pick-me-up or breakfast and coffee!
Glazed donut, spiced apple bite-sized donuts from Cajun Market Donut Company in Breaux Bridge, LA and my reading of the day as well as my personally brewed cup of coffee!
Explore Main Street
Main Street of Breaux Bridge has about 5-6 blocks of very nicely preserved and re-developed bright colorful buildings that feature rows of boutique shops in addition to the locally-owned restaurants and cafes. A few notable ones include Lagniappe Antiques (huge!!!) and the Rustic Relic.
Antique shops and colorful restored historical buildings in downtown Breaux Bridge, LA
Afternoon - West Lafayette
After a morning in the historic downtown Breaux Bridge, drive 30 minutes westward towards Lafayette to spend the afternoon at Larc’s Arcadian Village and a few noteworthy food points-of-interests along the way!
LARC’s Arcadian Village
Don’t be alarmed and feel like you are lost as you drive from Breaux Bridge to LARC’s Arcadian Village! Prior to arriving, it feels like you are driving out to the middle of nowhere, but do follow google maps and the signs along the state highway and you will arrive onsite with a large parking lot.
The Arcadian Village consists of a collection of different styles and functional wooden houses and cabins, many of those are that of the originals when the Arcadian settlers first moved down to Lafayette from Quebec. The houses mimic the original village-like settlement in that there are various cabins that represent types of residential houses during the 1700-1800 time period as well as a church, local store, and more.
Entry to LARC’s Arcadian Village, a curated and preserved village houses from the first Arcadian settlers into the Lafayette, LA region.
Community church of a typical Arcadian Village from LARC’s Arcadian Village, Lafayette, LA
Reflections of a wooden cabin from LARC’s Arcadian Village in Lafayette, LA
Billy’s Boudin Cracklins
THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST-GO and on my #1 list for Lafayette and Breaux Bridge. The OG location is located in the town of Scott, Louisiana, to the west of Lafayette and less than a 15-minute drive from LARC’s Acadian Village. The lines may be long when you go but it is absolutely worth it! We waited for about half an hour in line but do not regret it at all. And you know a place is good when you see all sorts of folks - white, black, asians all waiting at the checkout!
We met a really nice gentleman from the area while waiting in line and recommended these top things to try, which now I am recommending to y’all when you go!
To cook at home: Original Boudin (they are traditional sausages but the secret addition is the stuffed rice that gives it such a umami crunch when you cook them over the stovetop on a skillet!)
Ready to eat:
boudin ball (fried sausage ball with stuffing)
cracklins (so so so good! If you are not familiar with cracklins in general, they are a typical southern snack, which is basically deep fried pork fat/skin but it’s so crispy and good!)
Billy’s Boudin and Cracklins in Scott, LA. An absolute MUST GO when you are in Lafayette, LA for the best boudin sausages and cracklins. NO LIE!
A look at the hot food section at Billy’s Boudin in Scott, LA. On display here you see a variety of boudin balls and cracklins!
Borden’s Ice Cream Shoppe
Open since 1940, this retro-vibe ice cream sundae shoppe is so cute and delicious! Next to University of Louisiana Lafayette, it is largely student run as it was inherited by the University in 1981. Interestingly, there’s a woman named Ella Meaux who has worked in the shoppe for over 55 years! This fun-fact is displayed throughout the ice cream shoppe with local paper clippings and also on Borden’s website :)
We got the banana sundae and I loved it! I’m usually just a ice cream no toppings kind of girl but this was the bomb!
Me with my delicious ice cream sundae from Borden’s Ice Cream Shoppe in Lafayette, LA. A retro ice cream sundae shoppe that’s been around since 1940!
Day 2 Downtown Lafayette & Vermilionville
Begin Day 2 of your Lafayette and Breaux Bridge trip by exploring downtown Lafayette. Similar to downtown Breaux Bridge, although much bigger in size and scale, downtown Lafayette features cute boutique shops, cafes, and restaurants.
Morning - Downtown Lafayette
Grab your morning coffee and breakfast pastry at Reve Coffee Roasters.
Walk around and enjoy the beautiful murals and architecture throughout the vacant walls in the neighborhood.
Grab a coffee from Reve Coffee Roasters in Downtown Lafayette prior to exploring all the boutique shops and murals!
Beautiful pink mural in downtown Lafayette, LA featuring the beautiful trees and the Louisiana bayou!
Afternoon - Vermilionville Living History Museum
Similar to LARC’s Arcadian Village, although much larger in size, Vermilionville features a full staff (most of them are descendants of Arcadians) to share stories of their ancestors. We met a really friendly old gentleman, dressed in traditional Arcadian clothing from the 1800s in the school house. He had an accordion with him and told us stories of the Zydeco and other Cajun music traditions, and sang many songs to us that were passed down from generation to generation. Interestingly, a few of the songs he sang were traditional songs from France that date back to the 13th century!
Another fascinating fact we learned from him was that the word “zydeco” was derived from the French phrase “Les haricots ne sont pas salés” meaning “the green beans aren't salty” or idiomatically for “the times are hard.” The type of zydeco music originated from the rural communities in Louisiana, which similar to the blues, were a way for the low income farmers at the time to lament about their hardships through music.
Many of the staff on site also speak Cajun! We also met a young man who is a descendant of the Arcadians and spoke Cajun with my husband, who is French. It’s very interesting to see that for the most part, Pierre was able to communicate and understand each other, even though the variation and transformation of the language evolved throughout the centuries!
There’s also a lovely restaurant onsite called La Cuisine de Maman (Mama’s Cooking) that is absolutely lovely, super affordable, and offers a fantastic view of the wooden cabins and natural surroundings of the living museum!
Little cat onsite that followed us around for awhile at Vermilionville in Lafayette, LA
Wooden cottage from Vermilionville, Lafayette, LA
Traditional Cajun and Creole food of Gumbo, Jambalaya, Green Beans, Fried Catfish, and biscuit from La Cuisine de Maman, a restaurant onsite of Vermilionville in Lafayette, LA.
Peach cobbler and bread pudding from La Cuisine de Maman, onsite restaurant of Vermilionville, the living history museum in Lafayette, LA.
Day 3 - Lake La Pointe & Day trip to Avery Island Tabasco Tour
Lake La Pointe
Begin the last morning with a walk around Lake La Pointe near Breaux Bridge. The beautiful lake features incredible natural beauty of the Louisiana landscape. The morning we went was very cloudy and gray. The Spanish mosses that hung on the branches of the oak trees that stood in the waters of the lake looked incredibly haunting and beautiful as it swayed back and forth against the occasional wind.
The lake is also home to a few swamp tours if you are keen to get into the water on a boat!
The trees and Spanish mosses of Lake La Pointe near Breaux Bridge, LA
Avery Island & the Tabasco Factory
Head towards Avery Island, about a 50 minute drive south of Breaux Bridge and Lafayette to visit the home and factory of the world-famous Tabasco sauce! For some reason, prior to this trip, I always was under the impression that Tabasco Sauce was from Mexico…? Even though it says very clearly on the bottom that it’s from Avery Island, Louisiana!
A super interesting experience, the tour consists of both of the island itself in addition to the Tabasco Factory. The Factory tour includes several buildings with exhibits of the history of Tabasco sauce production.
Did you know, these sauces are made from peppers grown on the island, aged in salted wooden barrels for 3 years, then, the fermented chili paste is mixed with a special vinegar mix in large industrial machines, and churned for 2-3 weeks until it’s bottled and packaged for distribution? Fascinating!
The Tabasco Sauce Factory in Avery Island, Louisiana
There is also a cute gift shop onsite for you to get your Tabasco Sauce memorabilia!
As it sits on a beautiful island, the Tabasco Factory Tour tickets also come with a park tour of the entire island. The staff at the entrance told us we can walk or drive - but let me tell you, this island is HUGE! There’s no way you can walk the whole thing unless you plan to stay a full day and make a hike out of it! There are various points where you can park your car to take small walks around and for photo ops, but overall, I recommend driving around the island to see all the different points-of-interest!
The natural beauty of Avery Island, LA. Beware! There are bears on this island! (I thought it was a joke at first when seeing the signs but the park rangers tell us it is FOR REAL!)
Hope y’all found this helpful or useful! If so, feel free to drop me a comment or find me and send me a shout out on social media! xoxo
I got hot sauce in my bag swag baby!!! Tabasco Factory Tour in Avery Island, LA.
