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The Dive
Cacio e pepe lasagna combines two classics.
C'è Pasta... E Pasta!
Spaghetto taratatà is named for the sound of rattling sabers.
Giano Restaurant
The gnocchi here get blanketed in a sugo with braised oxtail.
Cesare al Pellegrino
Romans insist you should feel the cracked peppercorns and cheese grains on your tongue.
Flavio al Velavevodetto
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All the United States Louisiana

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Louisiana

182 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Louisiana

Updated May 27, 2025

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Cities

Top Cities
New Orleans
Ogilvie-Wiener Mansion
Shreveport
Louisiana Old State Capitol from the Repentance Fountain
Baton Rouge
Mandeville
St. Francisville
The Antioch Baptist Church, donated to the Whitney Plantation.
Edgard
All Cities
  1. Baton Rouge
  2. Chauvin
  3. Edgard
  4. Mandeville
  5. New Iberia
  6. New Orleans
  7. Rayne
  8. Shreveport
  9. St. Francisville
Attractions
Food & Drink
Map
Leaderboards
Stories

Unusual Attractions in Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum

A snapshot of the city's fascinating voodoo culture.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Abandoned Jazzland

A theme park that suffered massive flooding during Katrina was abandoned, and now proves irresistible to trespassing explorers.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Museum of Death

A collection of oddities including Dr. Kevorkian's suicide device, the Thanatron.
The bar still stands.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Jean Lafitte's Old Absinthe House

A 200-year-old bar in the historic French Quarter refuses to give up its place in history, nor its role in securing ours.
Marie Laveau’s tomb in 2005

New Orleans, Louisiana

Marie Laveau's Tomb

The final resting place of New Orleans' most famous voodoo priestess.
Inside

New Orleans, Louisiana

Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo

A museum and shop on Bourbon Street located in the French Quarter.
The Singing Tree.

New Orleans, Louisiana

The Singing Oak

This New Orleans tree is filled with hidden chimes that produce a carefully tuned melody.
Carousel Bar in 1968.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Carousel Bar

The only rotating bar in New Orleans has been slowly spinning since 1949.
See All 182 Things To Do in Louisiana

Cool Places to Eat & Drink in Louisiana

The bar still stands.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Jean Lafitte's Old Absinthe House

A 200-year-old bar in the historic French Quarter refuses to give up its place in history, nor its role in securing ours.
Carousel Bar in 1968.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Carousel Bar

The only rotating bar in New Orleans has been slowly spinning since 1949.
The Séance Lounge

New Orleans, Louisiana

Séance Room at Muriel's Jackson Square

The restaurant keeps a hidden séance room on the second floor and reserves a table for the spirit of the former owner each night.
Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop

New Orleans, Louisiana

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop

The second oldest continuously operating bar in Louisiana.
See all 27 Places to Eat in Louisiana
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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Atlas Obscura Itineraries

Gastro Obscura’s 10 Essential Places to Eat and Drink in New Orleans

It’s not hard to find a great meal in New Orleans. Every neighborhood—from Carrollton to the Bywater and across the river into the Westbank—is teeming with restaurants, bakeries, and bars, all serving up something they call their own, all contributing to this great symbiosis of flavors and cultures we call Southern cuisine. So the trick isn’t in finding places to visit, eat, and drink while here, it’s in deciding which places out of an overabundance of options. Do you trace the roots of Creole and Cajun cooking, or seek out the flavors of global diasporas spread across the city? Do you sit for a multi-course tasting, or do you dig into neighborhood dives, cultish in their fandom, where everything is handed over in to-go containers? The spectrum of dining in New Orleans is as diverse and exciting as the city itself. Here is but a small offering of all there is to explore—consider it more of a culinary snapshot of a city in constant flux than a best-of list. You’ll find James Beard nominees and previous winners to neighborhood diners, soul food favorites, and punk rock outposts in Algiers Point, plus some of the best Thai food this side of the Mekong. If there’s a prevailing sentiment here, it’s that of community, of meals shared and cultures crossed, of service in all its manifest forms, and of how food can be a catalyst for all these things. In New Orleans, love and togetherness are woven into the city, shared over and over again, one great meal at a time.

View Itinerary
At High Hat Cafe, the hospitality is warm and the portions are generous.

Explore Louisiana

Museums 17
Architecture 15
Cemeteries 15
Music 14
History 13
Shops 12
Art 11
Restaurants 10
Collections 10
Unique Restaurants & Bars 9
Catacombs And Crypts 8
Graveyards 8
Places To Stay 2

Louisiana Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. Aaron Joel Santos
    17
  2. Annetta Black
    7
  3. Luke J Spencer
    5
  4. J Ginsberg
    5
  5. Laetitia Barbier
    4

Places Edited

  1. Rachel
    28
  2. Martin
    22
  3. breaingram
    21
  4. Mark Casey
    16
  5. jlord7
    13

Places Visited

  1. cherreenkay
    95
  2. KINCAID
    91
  3. amorgan2
    90
  4. nolamike
    83
  5. adriennebreaux
    83

Recent Louisiana Activity

  • savingchurch

    has been to Nicolas Cage's Pyramid Tomb

  • savingchurch

    has been to Marie Laveau's Tomb

  • savingchurch

    has been to Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1

  • happyhappy459

    wants to go to Twelve Mile Limit

  • happyhappy459

    wants to go to Storyville

Stories About Louisiana

The Gocta Waterfalls in northwestern Peru are the subject of one of our favorite recent Atlas Obscura Podcast episodes.

7 Recent Atlas Obscura Podcast Episodes You Just Have to Hear

For our two-year pod-iversary we're headed back to some of the coolest places we've taken you recently.
by April White
March 22, 2023
The rougarou, the Cajun cryptid said to haunt Louisiana’s wetlands, is the mascot of a conservation effort for its traditional habitat.

The Rougarou, Beast of the Louisiana Bayou, Gets a Makeover

One man hopes to turn the wolfish cryptid into a mascot for saving the state's imperiled wetlands.
by Joel Balsam
October 19, 2022

What’s Inside the New Gastro Obscura Vending Machine?

The second iteration is filled with rare and unexpected treats from the American South.
Sponsored by Partners of Travel South
For $1.35 million, you could become the next owner of one of the largest southern live oak trees in the United States.

For Sale: A Grand Old President (That Happens To Be a Tree)

Up to 1,200 years old, the stately 'Seven Sisters' Oak has held the title for more than half a century.
by Sarah Durn
June 9, 2022
The creative costumes might be made of assortments of household or farm trash such as old feed bags, lampshades, bottle caps, and spent shotgun shells.

A Short Drive From New Orleans, Cajun Mardi Gras Is a Different Animal

Colorful costumes and alcohol, sure, but also chasing chickens.
by Fletcher Moore
March 4, 2022
Manila Village, built well after St. Malo was established, included a fishing platform and general store near the town of Jean Lafitte, south of New Orleans.

The Challenges of Reclaiming Filipino Louisiana's Centuries-Old History

Members of what is perhaps the oldest Asian community in the United States are committed to preserving—and sharing—their story.
by Ethan Sandweiss
September 10, 2021
Eyewitnesses believe that GIs were killed in the Lee Street Riot, as it came to be known, contradicting the official record.

Were Black GIs Killed in a World War II–Era Race Riot?

Louisiana locals and historians are both commemorating and investigating the mystery-shrouded incident.
by Benoît Morenne
July 29, 2021
Although potentially poisonous in raw form, cooked pokeweed has long been a hearty green in Louisiana.

The Native-American Origins of Gumbo

While credit for the dish is widely shared, here’s how to choose ingredients that celebrate its Indigenous roots.
by Morgan Randall
June 9, 2025

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