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You are here: Home / Travel / USA / Things To Do in Lafayette LA – Exploring the Heart of Cajun Country with Kids

Things To Do in Lafayette LA – Exploring the Heart of Cajun Country with Kids

June 17, 2019 by Kathryn 52 Comments

travel feature info

Visiting New Orleans, the city of live music and delicious food, has been a dream of mine for a while. But I soon realized that there was a lot more to Louisiana than just the Big Easy and decided that I should make a trip with the whole family to explore the best attractions Southern Louisiana has to offer.

springhill-suites-lafayette

Our first stop was Cajun Country and the heart of Cajun Country is Lafayette. This family-friendly city about two hours away from New Orleans has a laid-back vibe that was instantly appealing. After checking into our room at the beautiful SpringHill Suites Lafayette South, we were ready to explore the best kid-friendly things to do in Lafayette, LA. And luckily, the city has something for everyone!

For Younger Kids – Children’s Museum of Acadiana

things-to-do-in-lafayette-la-childrens-museum-of-acadiana

Families with toddlers, preschoolers or young school-aged children will adore this hands-on children’s museum. Packed with everything from a kid-sized grocery store to a real ambulance, children are invited to climb, touch, play and pretend to their heart’s content.

While the Children’s Museum of Acadiana was a little young for our almost-13-year-old son, our other two boys loved spending a few hours playing inside. At nine, Benjamin was a little old for the museum as well, but he made a few friends and had a great time playing with them. He especially loved “saving lives” in the museum’s ambulance!

boy-at-childrens-museum-of-acadiana

Baby Cormac, though, was in his element in this fun-filled spot! He started out playing with the building blocks just through the front door, then moved on to brushing the giant teeth in the dentist’s corner. He filled dozens of cups with imaginary soda in the miniature restaurant and then finally went on a grand shopping spree in the grocery store!

Watching him play had the whole family smiling the entire time we visited the museum. And as a natural mimic, I knew Cormac was thrilled with finally being able to do everything Mom and Dad did…with items that were just his size! For a few hours or a whole afternoon, the Children’s Museum of Acadiana should be a must on your list of things to do in Lafayette, LA for families with younger children.

For School-Aged Kids – Vermilionville

weaver-in-vermilionville

Located just past the Lafayette Airport is the heritage village of Vermilionville, and I fell in love with it as soon as we stepped inside. The village is dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of the Acadian and Creole people that lived in the area from 1765-1890.

The village features some traditional Acadian houses, a chapel, a schoolhouse, a trapper’s cabin and a forge. But while the houses themselves are rich with history, it’s the people inside that truly bring Vermilionville to life.

vermilionville-schoolhouse

Each building has a craftsperson that performs activities from the time period of the village and shares information about its history. In the first house we walked into, we learned about spinning wool into thread, and how that thread was then used for weaving.

Next, we popped into the schoolhouse where we learned from a First Nations man about how schools had once banned the French language. Both my older boys were shocked to learn that teachers would make you kneel on rice or corn in the corner if you were caught speaking French!

vermilionville-blacksmith

From the local blacksmith, we learned about making snake hooks to help you safely remove snakes from your property. And in the Maison Boucvalt, we heard some of the traditional Acadian music sung in French and played on accordion. It was a toe-tapping good time that really showcased one of the key characteristics of the Acadian people…their love of lassiez bon temps rouler!

After stopping by a local family house where the boys learned about how they would have lived and worked as children in 1765, we finished off our visit with a stop at the animal pen, where we fed the donkey and sheep. Cormac loved looking at the animals, but I think he was happy that they were behind a fence!

feeding-donkey-in-vermilionville-lafayette

Vermilionville was one of our favourite things to do in Lafayette, LA for the whole family, and I loved that my boys learned so much as they were exploring the village. This is a place that has really mastered the art of keeping kids engaged as they learn. The weather building at the beginning even had a special display that let the boys play with a cloud and make their own tornado!

While younger children will have a great time at Vermilionville, it’s school-aged and older children that will get the most out of the experience. And for those that visit on Saturday or Sunday, there’s even the experience to take in live Cajun music jam sessions and dances!

For a Mouthwatering Plate Lunch – Laura’s 2 Soul Food

lauras-2-soul-food-plate-lunch

This hole-in-the-wall restaurant is an institution in Lafayette and if you’re planning on heading there for lunch, you’d better get there early! The restaurant specializes in soul food plate lunches served with your choice of sides and rice covered in gravy. And by the time we got there at 1pm, every side was sold out except the (incredibly delicious) creamed corn!

Laura’s 2 is owned by Madonna Broussard, the granddaughter of the original Laura, and it’s kept the same welcoming vibe and hearty food that makes it one of the top things to do in Lafayette, LA. I couldn’t resist trying the fried chicken and with my first bite, I fell in love! It was hands-down the juiciest fried chicken I’ve ever had, and the batter was positively addictive.

laura's-2-framed-article-in-restaurant

My husband and oldest son tried the fried pork chops instead and both of them also raved about the food. In fact, after travelling all over Southern Louisiana, my husband maintains that Laura’s 2 was one of the best restaurants we visited on our entire trip.

And I’m inclined to agree. The delicious food served takeout style in to-go boxes and the friendly and welcoming cooks create the perfect plate lunch experience. And I may never eat rice without gravy again!

For a Cool Afternoon Break – Parc Sans Souci

lafayette-parc-sans-souci

When the heat of the day is starting to slow everyone down, a quick visit to Parc Sans Souci will perk everyone up again! Featuring a large spray park that’s open from 11am to 5pm most days, it lets kids of all ages cool down as they run, jump and splash through the water.

Spray parks like this are especially nice for families like mine with kids that cover a wide range of ages. Toddlers and preschoolers can have just as much fun as older kids…no swimming skills required! Among the many things to do in Lafayette, LA, this one is a surefire crowd-pleaser.

parc-sans-souci-letter-closeup

The park is also a popular spot for photos; the large letter display in front of the spray park spells out the name of the city…with one letter missing! Both my boys were happy to jump into place and create a “Y” to finish off the word. From the moment we arrived in Lafayette, we felt embraced by the city and this photo was the perfect visual representation of that feeling!

For Mid-Day Refreshment – Snowballs at the Snowball Factory

boy-with-snowball-from-snowball-factory

Louisiana is the home of the Snowball and whether you’ve eaten them before or not, you need to try one here! We made the quick half-hour drive to New Iberia’s Snowball Factory to try our tasty treats. And they were well worth the trip!

We bought the boys each a small Snowball, but there was nothing small about them! The heaping helpings of flavoured crushed ice were the perfect cool-down on a hot day and both boys loved them from the first taste. We tried the Blue Bubble Gum and the Tutti Frutti, but there were over 50 other flavours to choose from!

For Tweens and Teens – Shadows on the Teche

shadows-on-the-teche

While in New Iberia, we decided to also take a tour of the historic Shadows on the Teche, a house built for a former plantation owner in 1834. In the days of sugarcane plantations, it was common for plantation owners to have a house in town for entertaining. The plantation wives also usually lived in this house when pregnant.

Shadows on the Teche was no exception and had been built for sugar producer David Weeks. Visiting this house was our first real glimpse into the lives of slave owners in the southern states. The house had been occupied by Union troops during the civil war and the women living there had retreated upstairs and refused to come down until the war ended. It was an interesting experience for us to contrast that brave attitude with the fact that the house’s occupants had been slave owners.

boy-outside-shadows-on-the-teche

Since most tweens and teens in Canada study the book Underground to Canada at some point, a house like Shadows on the Teche is an engaging way for them to actually see a bit of the history they read about in the book. And any older school-aged child that’s studied slavery and the American Civil War in school will find the tour through this house an interesting one.

For a Toe-Tapping Good Dinner

randol's-restaurant-exterior

Like much of Louisiana, Lafayette has deeply musical history. In fact, Lafayette is considered the Zydeco capital of the world! Cajun and Zydeco music tend to have an upbeat, high-energy country feel to their songs, which is partly why dance halls are such an important part of Cajun Country’s heritage!

And while there are tons of places to catch live music each week, one of the most popular spots is Randol’s Restaurant! While it’s a bit of a tourist destination, its advantage is that there’s always live music playing! On the night we visited, the Lee Benoit Family Band was strumming up a storm as my boys headed onto the dance floor.

boy-dancing-at-randols-restaurant

The food itself was traditional Cajun fare, which meant there was plenty of seafood, plenty of deep-fried dishes and plenty of spice! I couldn’t decide what to try, so I tried some of everything with the seafood platter! The fried catfish was especially tasty and having seafood that was clearly fresh was such a treat for a family like ours that lives so far from the ocean!

We also tried the Fried Alligator as an appetizer and once again, the freshness was instantly apparent. We’d tried alligator in the past at a Cajun restaurant in Banff, Alberta and it had been tasty, but quite chewy. The tender bites of alligator at Randol’s melted in the mouth and paired perfectly with the spicy dipping sauce.

randols-gater-bites

Over our two days in Lafayette, we had time to check out a few other attractions as well, from the Tabasco Factory Tour to the Conrad Rice Mill. And finding all these things to do in Lafayette, LA left me sure of one thing…we hadn’t given ourselves nearly enough time in Cajun Country!

But this is also a spot that I know we’ll be visiting again. The friendly people, fun atmosphere and top-notch food and music make Lafayette, LA a perfect destination for families. And the city actually celebrates Mardi Gras just as heartily as New Orleans does…except that the celebration is completely family friendly!

teche-bayou-new-iberia

If you’re planning a trip to New Orleans with your family, I highly recommend taking a few extra days to explore the many things to do in Lafayette, LA. The laid-back vibe and family-friendly activities will help make your vacation one you’ll remember for a lifetime!

things-to-do-in-lafayette-pin

Filed Under: Travel, USA Tagged With: educational family travel, family travel, family trip, louisiana travel, things to do in louisiana

Comments

  1. kellyanne McCall says

    June 18, 2019 at 3:31 pm

    Woah! I never would have thought of New Orlean’s as somewhere to travel with kids. It looks like a great place to travel with kids! they look like they had a great time & were kept busy with fun memory making stuff to do!

    Reply
    • Kathryn says

      June 18, 2019 at 8:00 pm

      Do you mean Lafayette? Lol

      Reply
      • kellyanne McCall says

        June 21, 2019 at 2:44 pm

        giiiiirl. I’m so hot in the face embarrassed . blame early pregnancy or my toddler 😉 I was like…Ill do a quick google & now Im not sure what I googled. hahaha

        Reply
        • Kathryn says

          June 22, 2019 at 8:50 am

          Lol My toddler FRIED my brain, so I totally feel that! Some days I’m barely sure where I am right now! 😉 Lafayette is about 2 hours away from New Orleans, so it’s a great add-on to a trip, especially with kids since it’s so family-friendly! But I do have another blog post planned with some fun New Orleans activities; doing both is must in my opinion!

          Reply
  2. Gail Butler says

    June 18, 2019 at 3:38 pm

    Looks like there is lots to do for everyone!

    Reply
  3. Janet M says

    June 18, 2019 at 3:48 pm

    This is nothing better than learning about a new culture. This would be such an educational trip.

    Reply
  4. Mary says

    June 18, 2019 at 3:53 pm

    Would love to check this out.

    Reply
  5. Amie says

    June 18, 2019 at 3:58 pm

    That looks fun ! I have never been to New Orleans , but it looks awesome and I would love to go someday! My favourite trips are exploring and seeing new things ! I love history to ! Glad you guys had fun ! Thank you for sharing !

    Reply
    • Kathryn says

      June 18, 2019 at 8:06 pm

      While New Orleans was a lot of fun, the post is actually about Lafayette, which is the third-largest city in Louisiana and in the heart of Cajun Country. I highly recommend checking it out!

      Reply
      • Amie says

        June 19, 2019 at 1:40 am

        Oh i see ! I was a little off in where it was located ! Yes , i love seeing new places , i really am over due on a good adventure like this !

        Reply
  6. Cassandra Gale says

    June 18, 2019 at 4:04 pm

    Looks amazing and definitely a place I would love to take my kids.

    Reply
  7. Jen says

    June 18, 2019 at 5:06 pm

    My husband and I have often talked about visiting Lafayette in the future but I never realized there was so much fun stuff for kids to do there. The Children’s museum sounds amazing for my little ones and the Plantation house sounds like a very interesting place to explore

    Reply
  8. Ashley Stone says

    June 18, 2019 at 6:08 pm

    I wouldn’t have thought about Lafayette when it came to family friendly vacations! Looks like so much fun. My son would love love love the children’s museum.

    Reply
  9. Virginia R says

    June 18, 2019 at 7:15 pm

    Wow, so many fun things to do in Lafayette with kids.

    Reply
  10. kathy downey says

    June 19, 2019 at 9:23 am

    Wow,great photos sure looks fun for the whole family !

    Reply
  11. Lisa G says

    June 19, 2019 at 10:40 am

    When I was younger, I saw the past with the present and future. The past would stay while the present would start and then something else would happen. Today, we are lucky to find places where we can enjoy a day in those eras.

    Reply
  12. Christine Topley says

    June 19, 2019 at 12:07 pm

    Definitely looks like a fun family friendly place to vacation. Appears to be so much more to do than I would have thought of. One place that I do want to visit is Assumption Parish. Okay, yes, I am a HUGE Pitbulls and Parolees fan. Would love to visit there. If you happen to venture there on your travels, let me know what it’s like.

    Reply
  13. Elizabeth Matthiesen says

    June 19, 2019 at 1:07 pm

    I remember visiting Lafayette many, many years ago, aren’t there cypress trees draped with moss by swamps nearby?

    Reply
    • Kathryn says

      June 21, 2019 at 8:23 am

      There are, Elizabeth! 🙂 We actually did a swamp tour just an hour or so away from Lafayette in Plantation Country that I’ll be writing about as well. It was fascinating learning about how people actually manage to live and work in the swamps!

      Reply
  14. richard turner says

    June 19, 2019 at 1:17 pm

    It looks really nice down there!

    Reply
  15. leana says

    June 19, 2019 at 3:52 pm

    My daughters would adore the blacksmith!

    Reply
  16. Bailey Wilson says

    June 19, 2019 at 5:21 pm

    I really wish we had a children’s museum like that near me!

    Reply
  17. Linda says

    June 19, 2019 at 5:58 pm

    I would be very interested in seeing Vermilionville because I’m interested in taking the kids to sites that make history come alive.

    Reply
  18. Micheline says

    June 19, 2019 at 8:22 pm

    This must of been an amazing trip, there was so much to do for all. Not sure if I could try the alligator bites.

    Reply
  19. Alex LeBlanc says

    June 20, 2019 at 6:04 am

    Never been to Vermilionville but I used to love places like this as a kid.

    Reply
  20. Shirley P says

    June 20, 2019 at 7:26 am

    This place looks so amazing I would love to visit here

    Reply
  21. Nancy lafrance says

    June 20, 2019 at 7:56 am

    Top of my list! Would love to take my kiddos there.

    Reply
  22. Krista M says

    June 20, 2019 at 10:12 am

    What an interesting place! I’ve never really heard of Lafayette before. Lots of places on my bucket list & it’s always great to see & hear about such family friendly places like this.

    Reply
  23. Mike Gismondi says

    June 20, 2019 at 11:36 am

    This looks like a great destination. I would have never thought of it

    Reply
  24. Yadira Pelkey says

    June 20, 2019 at 1:53 pm

    so fun hope to visit one day

    Reply
  25. Nate says

    June 20, 2019 at 5:54 pm

    looks like a nice place with a lot of things to do

    Reply
  26. Silvia D says

    June 20, 2019 at 7:33 pm

    such a beautiful historic place to visit!

    Reply
  27. Shirley says

    June 21, 2019 at 8:46 am

    Its nice that there are so many things for children to do

    Reply
  28. Donna o says

    June 21, 2019 at 5:01 pm

    Nice stroller

    Reply
  29. Shirley says

    June 22, 2019 at 6:33 am

    I enjoyed reading your article there is so much to do here I would love to spend a few days in this awesome place

    Reply
  30. Anne Taylor says

    June 22, 2019 at 1:55 pm

    I have always wanted to experience Louisiana! The food and the culture seem amazingly fun!

    Reply
  31. Paula Ritchie says

    June 23, 2019 at 8:41 am

    foods look delicious, I have never visited Georgia

    Reply
    • Kathryn says

      June 24, 2019 at 7:03 am

      I haven’t either! 😉 Lafayette is actually in Louisiana, about two hours away from New Orleans.

      Reply
  32. Sarah says

    June 23, 2019 at 10:18 am

    Looks beautiful there!! I can only imagine how amazing that food must be! 🙂

    Reply
  33. AD says

    June 23, 2019 at 2:22 pm

    Looks like a great trip! I have been wanting to make a trip down to Louisiana, but have heard a few negative things that have kept me away. Will have to look at it again…

    Reply
  34. Pam says

    June 24, 2019 at 1:37 am

    I love fried chicken and one day when I get to New Orleans I will make the visit to Laura’s 2

    Reply
    • Kathryn says

      June 24, 2019 at 7:02 am

      It is definitely worth the two-hour drive from New Orleans to get this fried chicken. 🙂 Especially since there are so many other great things to do in Lafayette, too!

      Reply
  35. Nicola Turner says

    June 24, 2019 at 5:14 pm

    Looks like an amazing place, would.love to go sometime

    Reply
  36. Shirley says

    June 25, 2019 at 7:03 am

    It looks like there is so many interesting things to do here The food looks very good

    Reply
  37. Anne Taylor says

    June 26, 2019 at 3:14 pm

    What an awesome time for your family!

    Reply
  38. micheline says

    June 29, 2019 at 10:04 pm

    Looks like a fun trip and great food.

    Reply
  39. nicky says

    June 30, 2019 at 6:41 am

    So many cool things! The Children’s Museum of Acadiana would be perfect for my kiddos 🙂

    Reply
  40. micheline says

    July 5, 2019 at 5:08 am

    Love your photos, so much fun.

    Reply
  41. Lori says

    July 6, 2019 at 8:19 am

    This would be an interesting getaway. The food

    Reply
  42. Melinda says

    July 8, 2019 at 3:17 pm

    I would love to visit the Children’s Museum.

    Reply
  43. Shirley says

    July 9, 2019 at 6:22 am

    This looks like an amazing place to visit There are so many fun things to do

    Reply
  44. kathy downey says

    July 15, 2019 at 8:24 am

    You post are filled with info and photos I feel like I’ve been there !

    Reply

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