Good Sam RV Travel Guide & Campground Directory

May's Must-See Places:
 Beauty is in the Eye of the Historian in Southwest Louisiana

Historically speaking, we invite you to step back in time and let Southern sunlight stream through sleepy oaks in the Charpentier Historic District. Here you will find brightly colored Victorian homes and massive mansions on the National Register of historic places. Explore the more than 40 blocks of hundreds of turn-of-the-century buildings of mixed styles with turrets, towers, leaded glass, and extensive “gingerbread” dripping from the porches and railings. The Charpentier Historic District, which stands for carpenter in French, pays homage to the carpenter-architects who freely designed as they built during the lumber boom in 1900, creating a unique Lake Charles—style.

Museums and galleries add to the charm of the history and culture of the area from Mardi Gras and railroads to the USS Orleck ship, while performing arts groups from theatre to the Lake Charles Symphony live to entertain.

The area is home to six museums and many art galleries. The Imperial Calcasieu Museum has rotating exhibits as well as artifacts of historical significance to the area, At the DeQuincy Railroad Museum, visitors can learn about the roots of a railroad town. Other museums include the hands-on Children’s Museum and the Brimstone Museum Complex, featuring rotating exhibits at the Henning Cultural Center.
The Mardi Gras Museum houses the most Mardi Gras costumes of any museum in the world. It’s located in the Historic Central School at 809 Kirby Street in Lake Charles. The spectacular exhibit is located in five rooms in the east wing of the historic school. The Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu is filled with fantastically imaginative feathered, glittering costumes of past celebrations. Each rooms tells the tale of Mardi Gras in Southwest Louisiana from the early beginnings of Cajun Carnival celebrations, costume design, costumes of royalty, kids’ costumes, and a culminating parade float experience complete with our famous dog’s parade!
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