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Thibodaux, Louisiana - Coolest Small Towns 2022

By Budget Travel Editors
September 30, 2021
Thibodaux Downtown Louisiana
Lafourche Parish S CAJUN BAYOU TOURISM
The crossroads of American history and culture

Most folks already know that Louisiana is at the crossroads of American history and culture — but you might say that Thibodaux, in Bayou country, near the Gulf of Mexico, is at the very center of those crossroads.

Here, people from France, Spain, and West Africa met Native Americans and French Canadians, known then as Acadians and now known as Cajuns, and a rich cultural stew began to simmer.

Visitors to Thibodaux can’t help but dive into local history: From the E.D. White Historic Site, dedicated to a Bayou Lafourche family that produced a governor and a U.S. Senator, to the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center (part of the multisite Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve), the region wears its multicultural heritage with pride. A visit to Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center delivers immersive presentations via film, exhibits, performances, and boat tours of the Bayou.

Visitors can also take a guided tour of downtown led by a National Park Ranger. Whether guided or not, you should definitely stroll Thibodaux’s historic downtown for a taste of Cajun cuisine — dishes such as boudin sausages, gumbo, and jambalaya, that bear the influence of the Bayou’s varied settlers.

More about Thibodaux

Thibodaux, LA
Thibodaux, LA

Thibodaux’s backstory is linked to French, Spanish and African peoples who arrived in the region in the early 18th century, and French-Canadian immigrants — known as Acadians (or Cajuns) — who settled here in the mid-1700s. Keep Reading...

Meet Budget Travel’s Coolest Small Towns for 2022:

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Thibodaux, Louisiana

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