4 Best Sights in Side Trips from New Orleans, Louisiana

Head out to Abita Springs to see where this popular beer is made—the area has long been known for its artesian spring water, which is used in brewing. Half-hour guided tours ($8) are on Wednesday and Thursday at 2 and 4 pm, and on the hour Friday 1–4 pm, Saturday 11 am–4 pm, and Sunday noon–3 pm. Tours include four 4-ounce brew samplings. Note that closed-toe shoes need to be worn on all tours. The Tap Room on premises features 30 taps, including Abita mainstays and beer only available on-site.

This museum traces the African and African American experience in south Louisiana. Videos, artifacts, and text panels combine to create a vivid, disturbing, and inspiring portrait of a people. It is an ambitious and refreshing counterpoint to the sometimes sidelined references to slavery and its legacy.

Part music store and part Cajun accordion workshop, proprietor Marc Savoy's factory turns out about five specialty accordions a month for people around the world. On Saturday mornings, from 9 am until noon, accordionists and other instrumentalists head here for a Cajun jam session that has been attracting musicians from across the region for 40 years. Chairs are set up as well for those who just want to stop by and enjoy the music.

Directly behind the Acadian Cultural Center, this living-history village—serene and set beautifully along a bayou—re-creates the early life of the region's Creoles, Cajuns, and Native Americans, focusing on the late 1700s to 1890. On select days, visitors can see a blacksmith demonstration or watch weavers at work. There are exhibits in 19 Acadian-style structures, including a music hall where live Cajun or zydeco music is played on weekend afternoons, often luring dancers onto the floor. A large, rustic restaurant serves Cajun classics. Check ahead for live demonstrations from the on-site cooking school.