Though Mardi Gras, music, and the winning ways of the New Orleans Saints football team get the spotlight, there is much more to explore in New Orleans. Unless Louisiana is very familiar and frequent territory, New Orleans will be the top choice for a Louisiana vacation. In northern Louisiana, the I-20 runs west from Monroe to Bossier City, Shreveport, and East Texas.
Central Louisiana is Lake Country, and home to cities like Alexandria and Natchitoches. West of New Orleans along the Gulf of Mexico, the I-10 cuts through Lafayette and Lake Charles on its way past Abbeville to Texas. West of New Orleans is the Great River Road, with the I-10 running to the Mississippi River port capital city of Baton Rogue. Louisiana tourism is centered on New Orleans and the North Shore region in the southeastern corner of the state near the Florida border.
