There are loads of charming things to do in Houma, Louisiana, located just an hour south of New Orleans. Snuggled deep into Louisiana’s Bayou Country, this slice of Louisiana is quite the experience. With a small city center and miles and miles of marshland and bayous surrounding the area, you can squeeze quite a lot out of a little trip to Houma.
This is a more authentic part of Louisiana, home to some of the biggest shrimping and crabbing industries around, as well as the true bayou lifestyle with stilted houses, Cajun food, and families with French heritage who have spent generations in this area.
I spent a long weekend exploring Houma in October, which I think is the perfect time to visit. I tried to get done as many Houma activities as I could during this time, as well as a very special festival I’ll mention below.
These Houma LA tourist attractions offer a bit of it all — from creative and cultural folk art to up close and personal gator encounters. In addition, dolphins, amazing food, and Antebellum-era mansions await travelers (just like you!) to visit them.
Things to Do in Houma Downtown/Around the City
Here are the activities to try around the center of Houma.
Boudreau & Thibodeau’s Cajun Cookin’ Restaurant
You didn’t go to Houma unless you tried some proper cajun cooking,’ and there’s nowhere more proper than Boudreau & Thibodeau’s. You will be welcomed to this restaurant by a huge stuffed alligator named Gaston – yes, a real one.
This is more than a restaurant; it’s an experience. The decor is fun and bayou-themed, and the entire menu is written in a hilarious Cajun accent (somehow, it’s easy to read in an accent the way they spell and punctuate it), and the menu alone is a massive laugh. There are also Cajun jokes all over the wall!
Finally, the food – WOW, the food is epic and truly local. We tried alligator bites (like chicken but tougher, and so good!), redfish courtbuillon, fried okra, crab and corn bisque, and my personal favorite, shrimp creole. I will never forget how good that dish was!
Downtown Jeaux for Breakfast & Coffee
Right in the tiny city center, you will find the local favorite morning spot for coffee + breakfast/lunch/brunch. It’s extremely homey and welcoming with a great diner-like atmosphere that feels like a true local hotspot where friends would often unite.
The beignets here are absolutely delicious, and I loved their breakfast sandwich – it was perfect after a night at Bayou Terrebonne Distillers (see below)! All the food looked great.
City Center Park
Across from Downtown Jeaux and the Rotary Centennial Plaza is a beautiful leafy green park that’s small but gorgeous! I’m not sure if it has a name, but it’s worth checking out. Try grabbing a morning coffee from here and going to relax in the gazebo or one of the shaded and breezy benches in the park.
Lumiere Blues & Jazz Bistro
This is a gorgeous city center restaurant with a great vibe, exposed brick, and live music. We absolutely loved the musician who was playing; he performed a song he wrote with his granddaughter!
We got a few starters (as a local told us, try a cup of gumbo at every restaurant because each place has a unique style – this gumbo was great)! But, the real standout was the seafood loaded baked potato. Wow, wow!!
Try Contraband Corn Whiskey at Bayou Terrebonne Distillers
If you’re a fan of spirits (or simply want a bar to visit), Bayou Terrebonne Distillers is the place to stop! The distillery offers a bar, live music, and an overall fun time (especially on weekends) and is right next door to Lumiere Blues & Jazz Bistro (above).
Their famous spirit is the Contraband Corn Whiskey, with a history rooted in the prohibition era. A passed-down family story shares how the Great-Grandmother Lillie’s Corn Whiskey was just too good to be shut down despite prohibition. Today they carry on the tradition of using copper pot stills to distill the un-aged whiskey like she did.
Rotary Centennial Plaza – Downtown
There’s a beautiful plaza in the center of Houma that could maybe be considered Houma’s version of Fremont Street – but just with regular fairy lights hanging over the whole pedestrian street! It’s a beautiful bright light in the little town, both literally and figuratively. 😉
Bayou Country Crawfish Trail
One of the coolest and most unique things to do in Houma is tick off some spots on the Bayou Country crawfish trail. This is an epic initiative by the tourism board to connect some of the best local places around Houma to get/eat crawfish, 40+ to be exact.
Crawfish are a staple of the area, and by following the crawfish trail, you can find the best restaurants, markets, and boilhouses to grab some of the good stuff! If you go to moe than 5, you can also get a free t-shirt!
Halloween Rougarou Festival
This is seasonal, but worth including in this list, especially if you don’t have a date set for Houma. But if you love Halloween, then a visit in October isn’t such a bad idea as that’s when the Rougarou Festival happens!
Each October, there’s a truly local festival here celebrating Cajun folklore. The Rougarou is a half-man, half-werewolf creature that is said to roam the swamps of Southern Louisiana looking for misbehaving children! It’s a funny way that parents would get their kids to behave – or ‘the rougarou would get them!’
Nowadays, the festival is a cultural phenomenon ranked among the best festivals in the USA. It takes place over a few days and has everything from a costume contest (and not just any costume contest – one where people go ALL OUT), a huge parade with synchronized dances and floats, tons of live music on two stages, dozens of markets, cajun games for kids (like pin the tail on the crawfish), local cajun food and themed drinks, tons of carnival rides, and also raises funds for the preservation of the landscapein the area.
Want to learn more about this unique festival? Read my Rougarou festival review-guide here.
Things to Do Outside Houma
The center of the city is just the beginning. When you venture out, you find the best of the Houma LA tourist attractions!
Mandalay Nature Trail
Only about 15 minutes outside of Houma is a gorgeous short nature walk called the Mandalay Nature Trail. The walk is only about 20 minutes and takes you through the forest, along a bayou, and to a platform that looks out over a marsh/lake. This is a great way to immerse yourself in the unique nature of this part of the world!
To be honest, I was a bit skittish as I saw two snakes in the first 10 minutes of the walk – they disappeared into the bush quickly! There was a spider or two (but not in the way, thankfully, as I am terrified, haha), but at the very end of the trail, I got the ultimate treat.
At the end of the train, on a platform overlooking a marsh, I got to see a mama gator and about 4 or 5 little tiny baby gators!! I was a bit scared at first, but some locals came up and started talking and looking at the gator, so I ended up getting a bit closer and snagging some epic pics of the gators in the wild!
Go Sightseeing around the Bayous, Marshlands, and Stilted Houses
Before visiting Houma, I always wondered what the marshlands at the bottom of Louisiana looked like, because they look so interesting on the map. And here, I finally found out! The area is truly beautiful, with so many lakes, rivers, bayous, and marshes chock-full of shrimping and crabbing boats coming in with their fresh catches.
This is hurricane territory, too, so you’ll pass hundreds of amazing tall houses perched high up on stilts, some over a story tall! I loved flying my drone here and getting a bird’s eye view of what the marshland looks like. It’s sad that these areas will likely not be here for much longer due to rising water levels and zoning problems, so see it while you can!
Ceana’s Cajun Cookin’
If you’re heading out into the Marshland (which you must here in Houma), stop by Ceana’s Cajun Cookin for some delicious Cajun food (and ideally a po’boy sandwich – a classic in these parts)!
We got some fried chicken (delicious) and a po’boy, which was half shrimp patty and half shrimp because we wanted to try both! The shrimp po’boy is classic, but we loved the patty, too (with plenty of seasoning, of course – the seasoning around here is insanely good).
Kayaking at PAC Kayak Rental, Point Aux Chenes
This is definitely one of the most unique things to do in Houma or the whole south – kayaking through the Louisiana marshlands to spot local bottlenose dolphins! PAC Kayaks is run by the most amazing local couple and allows you to explore in a unique way. In our case, it was too windy for kayaking, but the owner, Eddie, took us out on his boat and gave us a full tour.
In this area, you can see sacred native American mounds (which they are trying to protect from eroding), LOTS of playful bottlenose dolphins, and epic views. Eddie told us everything about the area, local culture, wildlife, shrimping/crabbing/fishing industries, and well as past hurricanes and their impacts! It was a very special trip, so if you get the chance to chat with Eddie, don’t miss it.
You can also witness the crazy phenomena of wild horses out in the marshland. Apparently, the local Native Americans released horses in the area years ago, and their offspring still live here, off the salt water and the land, and have survived hurricanes! Mind-blowing.
If you do get the chance to get a kayak, many rent kayaks here to go kayak fishing – it’s one of the top spots for kayak fishing around.
Chauvin Sculpture Garden – Folk Art
The Chauvin sculpture garden, which is a fascinating folk art sculpture garden created by a Vietnam Veteran over 20+ years. Yes, meaning he took 20 years to create it all!
It’s absolutely captivating to look at all the sculptures and pieces – some religious symbols, animals, angels, demons, and more – and think about what the creator may have been going for with each one. Truly, the closer you look, the more interesting it gets.
Greenwood Gator Farm & Tours
Whether or not you agree with gator farming, the truth is that it has been an integral part of Louisiana’s culture, jobs, and economy for generations. It’s also been heavily regulated for decades to make sure the wild gator population continues to thrive, which it is!
As part of my visit with Explore Houma, I toured Greenwood Gator Farm just outside the city. Here, they have tours set up beautifully so they can walk you through each stage of the process of gator farming with setups to show how it works from egg collection to what the gators and skins are used for.
We got to hold a baby gator and see some of the larger gators (and other animals) they have here!
Southern Style Mansions (Southern Plantation & Mansion)
While we didn’t specifically tour any plantations while exploring Houma, we surely saw tons of them while driving around (especially on the way to the Greenwood Gator farm, where you pass Orange Grove Plantation)!
There are loads of well-maintained and beautiful antebellum mansions on old sugarcane plantations that you can visit while in this area, which will immerse you in both the fascinating and dark history of the area. Many of them are just north of Houma, such as Ardoyne Plantation and Southdown Plantation.
A Cajun Man’s Swamp Tours
I wish we could have done this iconic tour, although we definitely had a few very personal swamp experiences of our own! If you have less time, jump aboard A Cajun Man’s big boat that takes you and your family around all the bayou scenes and wildlife you could have imagined.
Where to Stay in Houma:
Houma doesn’t have too many unique places to stay (I focus on a lot of unique stays the USA in many of my other articles), but the deals are pretty good! Here are a few of the most highly-rated hotels near Houma (plus one gem 💎 )!
Hotels in Houma:
The hotels below are the best hotels in Houma that offer clean rooms and pools. They are located either in or just outside Houma, making getting around easy!
Courtyard by Marriott: We stayed here at this lovely hotel with an outdoor pool and bar for Rougarou festival and were soooo impressed with the quality of the facilities! The rooms are stunning and the hotel is right in the middle of the festival – or close to the center too. It’s seriously gorgeous.
Comfort Inn & Suites: This is a modern Hotel with an indoor pool located near some of Houma’s bigger shopping centers.
Unique Hotel Outside Houma:
Da Boat House is located 10 miles South of Houma in the Bayou. It’s a boat-themed home that can host up to four guests, has a fully equipped kitchen, and has views over the water. If you’re looking to go on a fishing trip (or just want to be in nature), this is a memorable place to stay to experience Houma.
Final Houma Tips
- Make sure to get out into nature a bit around here. The wildlife and scenery is like nowhere else I’ve seen in the world!
- Make sure to try all the seasonings! Tony Chachere’s, Louisiana’s most popular seasoning, is amazing, but this area has some epic locally-made seasonings that rival it.
- You’re missing out if you don’t try shrimp, crawfish, gumbo, and gator, as well as other amazing seafood dishes – ask specialties wherever you go!
- What else do you recommend in Houma? Let me know in the comments below!
Passionate, full-time travel blogger with over 230k on social media and 150kMPV blog. Extraordinary photographer with two DSLR's + a drone with a love for capturing candid moments, epic drone shots, and magical compositions. I'm a natural-born content creator originally from California, but I've been on the road for 9 years living, working, traveling, blogging, and photographing my way around the world. I recommend the most amazingly adventurous and unique + boutique travel experiences/stays and helpful products to my audience and write comprehensive guides on my website that have helped millions of travelers so far. I love to inspire people to plan their dream trips, and many readers have given feedback as such. The reach on my platforms continues to soar, especially when combining cutting-edge social content with optimized articles on my high-authority website.