The industrial quality of the city tends to overshadow its other features. Visit the Imperial Calcasieu Museum and take a riding or walking tour of the Historic District , which features many fine old homes. Hundreds of varieties of trees and flowers are found throughout the gardens, which are open year round. Plan on at least half a day. It s looking a bit forlorn and run down these days, however.
Visitors can choose between self-guided hikes or a guided tour in a tram.
It s compact, yet filled with gardens, trees and colonial architecture. Good food, too. The people of Natchitoches are friendly and inclined to fill you in on local history they re particularly proud of the fact that their town was the location for the film Steel Magnolias . Don t fail to see the Roque House Museum , Old Lemee House, the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception and Ft. St. Jean Baptiste.