Discover a melting pot of history, culture and cuisine in New Iberia. It’s nicknamed the “Queen City of the Teche” and combines a proud European past with a flourishing African-American heritage. Walk around the atmospheric historic district, visit an Antebellum-era plantation house and devour delicious Cajun cuisine. You’ll quickly find yourself adopting the city’s official motto of “laissez les bons temps rouler”, which translates to let the good times roll!
Things to do in New Iberia
Stroll along Main Street and admire a jewel box of historic architecture. Grand homes built by sugarcane plantation owners line the thoroughfare. The district is bought to life in the best-selling Detective Dave Robicheaux crime novels by famous American author, James Lee Burke.
Tour the Tabasco Factory on Avery Island and find out how the world-famous Pepper Sauce is made. Learn about the brand’s 19th-century roots, take part in interactive activities and stock up on sauce at the gift shop.
Dive into the city’s colourful past at the Bayou Teche Museum. Exhibits spotlight the wildlife-rich Bayou Teche waterway, a branch of the Mississippi River. Learn more about the city’s dark past at Shadows-on-the-Teche, an Antebellum plantation home reimagined as a museum with a focus on enslaved people.
Cajun cuisine is front and centre in New Iberia. The style is a fusion of West African, Spanish and French cooking techniques and features favourites like gumbo stew, jambalaya rice and crawfish boil, all bursting with flavour. Bite into an authentic Louisiana po' boy stuffed with shrimp, enjoy a slice of old-fashioned Cajun cake made with crushed pineapple and wash it down with a glass of ice-cold sweet tea.
Getting around New Iberia
Downtown New Iberia is compact and easy to get around on foot. The city is 30 minutes from Downtown Lafayette by car and train. Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is a two-hour drive away.