2022-03-03 04:15:40
North Louisiana is a mixture of big cities, big fish and even bigger personalities. It’s a slice of Southern charm, as sweet and juicy as a Ruston peach. Explore the Region! Monroe’s Biedenharn Gardens, built by the guy who first figured out how to bottle Coca- Cola, is several attractions in one. Here you can tour a historic home, formal English gardens, a Coca-Cola museum and a Bible museum. Still not tired? If you’re a Duck Dynasty fan, Duck Commander the Tour in West Monroe should also be at the top of your list. Can’t have enough tchotchkes? Visit Antique Alley in the Cottonport Historic District before heading east to Southern Heritage Air Foundation Museum in Tallulah, where you can take to the skies in an open-cockpit biplane. Got the kiddos with you? Try the splash pad at breathtaking Lake Bruin State Park in St. Joseph. In Ruston, stroll through the enchanting historic district but don’t leave without paying your respects at the North Louisiana Military Museum, honoring those who served from the Civil War to the War on Terror. Explore more of the region’s past at the Dorcheat Historical Museum in Minden, then pop by Mitcham Farms, a sweet place to shop for peach products, gourmet foods, local art and unique gifts. In Shreveport and Bossier City, sit down at one of the shiny new machines at a casino. Visit the Remingtons and Russells at the R. W. Norton Art Gallery, then stop and smell what’s blooming at the American Rose Center. Explore more at LouisianaTravel.com/Cities-Regions Monroe-Ruston Area West Monroe personifies old-time Southern life with its historic district, while Monroe across the Ouachita River adds restaurants and nearby outdoor attractions. Full of charm itself, Ruston is famous for its peaches. Shreveport-Bossier City Area There’s always something brewing in the downtowns and taprooms of Shreveport and neighboring Bossier City, both cities flanking the Red River. Fascination and family fun await at Gators & Friends Alligator Park & Exotic Zoo in Greenwood. Must-See Museum Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow met their end in a stolen V8 Ford, killed in a police ambush near Gibsland, Louisiana. In 2005, the Bonnie & Clyde Ambush Museum opened in this small town, in what used to be Ma Canfield’s Café. Minutes before the ambush, the couple ordered a fried baloney sandwich and BLT to go. They say Bonnie died holding her half-eaten sandwich. Only Louisiana Before ceasing operation in the mid-2000s, Shreveport’s Orlandeaux’s Café was the oldest continuously operated African- American business in the U.S. During the Civil Rights Era, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev. Ralph Abernathy came here for their famous stuffed shrimp and gumbo. Known over the years as Freeman & Harris Café, Pete Harris Café and Brother’s Seafood, it was reopened by family members in 2018 as Orlandeaux’s Café. It and its previous iterations have been serving Shreveport guests “Just the Way You Like It” since 1921. Explore the Outdoors Teddy Roosevelt and Joseph Pulitzer loved to hunt in this part of Louisiana, now made famous by “Duck Dynasty.” Not that much has changed since the president and the publishing magnate pitched their tents here. The magic of the Kisatchie National Forest and several Louisiana State Parks here is legendary. Go hiking, biking, horseback riding, birdwatching or kayaking. There are trophy-size bass with your name on them, too.
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