Plan Your Visit

The brown pelican is Louisiana's state bird. Look for them on waterways, lakes, and bayous or wherever your travels take you on the way to a Jean Lafitte site.   Join Jean Lafitte's crew! Follow the park on social media and find out what's new with the crew. The six sites of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve offer something for everyone, from history to culture to outdoor adventure. For outdoor activities in a 23,000-acre Louisiana wetland and a visitor center with dioramas, exhibits, and hands-on displays, vist the Barataria Preserve in Marrero. For talks and tours at the site of the War of 1812's Battle of New Orleans, visit Chalmette Battlefield in Chalmette. Every year in early January, the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans is commemorated with reenactors, cannon firings, and more. Stop at the visitor center for exhibits about the battle and how it shaped American history. For a look at the influences that shaped one of America's great cities, visit the French Quarter Visitor Center in New Orleans. For the history of the Acadian (Cajun) people who settled southeast Louisiana, bayou boat tours, music, and other programs, visit the Acadian Cultural Center in Lafayette. For the prairie Acadian story, music, dancing, craft demonstrations, and Saturday night at the "Cajun Grand Ole Opry," visit the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center in Eunice. For bayou boat tours, free jam sessions with local musicians, history walks, and the story of Louisiana's bayou country, visit the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux. Other National Park Service areas in Louisiana are New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park in New Orleans Cane River Creole National Historical Park in Natchitoches Cane River National Heritage Area in Natchitoches Poverty Point National Monument in Epps El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail       When you plan your visit to Jean Lafitte, check out some of the neighbors too! Links to nearby sites of interest outside the National Park Service are Atchafalaya National Heritage Area - Established in 2006, the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area stretches across 14 south-central Louisiana parishes and is one of the nation's most ecologically varied regions. It is also home to many peoples and cultures, including Cajuns and people of European, African, Caribbean, Asian, and American Indian descent. City of Eunice Lafayette Travel Louisiana Museums the Mississippi River and the Great River Road New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau St Bernard Parish Tourism