Getting the flavor of ... Lesser-known Louisiana

Lesser-known Louisiana

Get a taste of a different Louisiana in Lafayette, said Margie Goldsmith in National Geographic Traveler. Situated about 50 miles west of Baton Rouge, Lafayette is neither as busy as that crowded capital nor as touristy as New Orleans. But it’s the kind of town where you can hear “knee-slappin’ music from morning till night, all year long.” Start the day at the “get-up-and-dance” zydeco breakfast at Café Des Amis, then set off to explore “one of the most culturally unique cities in the South.” Stop at Vermilionville, a Cajun/Creole heritage park that offers live music and cooking classes, where you can learn to make “local temptations” such as the powdered-sugar pastries known as beignets. You can catch a glimpse of an alligator in a swamp at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then finish the visit downtown at McGee’s, dining on crawfish étouffée, gumbo, and, yes, gator.

Contact: Lafayettetravel.com

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Old-time Georgia

Macon has so many buildings on the National Register of Historic Places—more than 5,000—that you’d need far more than a weekend to see them all, said Andrea Sachs in The Washington Post. Founded in 1823, the central Georgia town quickly grew wealthy off cotton and the railroad. “To flaunt their riches, showy residents built grand homes in architectural styles popular at the time.” Today, the city is divided into 11 different historic districts, but the one known as Historic Macon boasts the largest concentration of ­National Register buildings, including the Italianate-style Hay House, built in the 1850s. The neighborhood also features such “storied institutions” as the Tubman African American Museum and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. Once home to musicians including Little Richard and Otis Redding, Macon calls itself “the song and soul of the South.”

Contact: Maconga.org