One of the major industrial and shipping port centers of the American South, Baton Rouge, Louisiana has also become a popular destination where travelers are immersed in interactive arts, a variety of cultural cuisines, and an chart-topping music scene. The Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre, the Baton Rouge Symphony, and the Louisiana Art & Science Museum are some of the most popular attractions in the city. Baton Rouge's balmy, semi-tropical climate, featuring crisp sun-filled days and cool nights, is custom fit to host the city's various popular outdoor activities.
Baton Rouge offers approximately 190 public tennis courts, 184 city parks, an amusement park, a miniature golf course, two roller skating facilities, four bowling alleys, and seven public golf courses. Restaurants in the Rouge serve up cuisine with a strong correlation with the city's Cajun, Creole, French, and Mexican history. Baton Rouge offers almost one thousand dining establishments showcasing an abundance of regional and international eats. The metropolis, a pure slice of Cajun Country, is a must-see and is one of the fastest growing cities in the United States.
Belle of Baton Rouge is one of three popular Baton Rouge area casinos. The casino features three floors filled with table games and rolling slots, like craps, poker, and Blackjack. The Belle, located across the street from Baton Rouge River Center, is adjacent to to the Sheraton Hotel. Free parking is available in the Belle of Baton Rouge parking lot. Free shuttle service to the casino from the garage.
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Headquartered in Prairieville, just fifteen minutes outside of Downtown Baton Rouge, Alligator Bayou Swamp Tours offer ecological family-friendly tours of Alligator Bayou and Bluff Swamp-many of which will travel through old lake Cypress Flats . The swamp tours' main vessel is a large floating barge sporting comfortable seating and convenience. Tour patrons bask in the presence of water wildlife like alligators, turtles, birds, and nutras. Each two and a half-hour tour is fully guided with soft drinks, water, and beer available on board. Tour topics include history, biology, and ecology. Major Credit Cards Accepted. Reservations recommended.
Note:As of May 17, 2009, full tours have been suspended due to the draining of Alligator Bayou. Exhibit tours are still being offered by reservation, at a charge of $15 per person, and lasting about an hour.
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Baton Rouge Zoo is the #1 year-around family attraction in the city. The zoo fosters 1,800 animal species, that include white tiger, flamingos, giraffes, alligators, and elephants, in an neatly manicured park. The Otter Pond, L'aquarium de Louisiane, Parrot Paradise, New Safari Playground, and Kids Zoo are popular zoological park attractions. Sidewalk tram and trains are available to transport guests across the massive facility.
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Enclosed on an 900 acre reserve one east of Baton Rouge, more than a thousand animals hailing from every corner of the globe call Global Wildlife Center home. Guests to the reserve are able to feed and touch the various forms of wildlife during one and a half hour safari wagon guided educational tours. The Folsom, Louisiana compound is handicap accessible.
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The Baton Rouge Gallery is the oldest modern arts gallery and cultural center in the capital city. The gallery prides itself on offering contemporary exhibits and weekly spoken word poetry programs to the Parish of East Baton Rouge. The Baton Rouge Gallery also hosts traveling exhibits, sports and nature programs, and special guests.
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The African-American Museum is open Monday-Friday from 1pm-5pm with the goal of dazzling museum guests with history on African-American inventors and inventions, African art, and an archive of the city's Historic Juneteenth festivites The Baton Rogue African-American Museum is the sponsor of the Louisiana State's Juneteenth Festival, held on the third Saturday of the month each June.
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The Highland Observatory is a secluded Baton Rouge museum specializing in the interactive study of "starry" events.The observatory offers the patronizing public an inside view into the world of astronomy and space science.
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The Governor's Mansion overlooks the Capitol Lake here in Baton Rouge and is situated just a stone's throw away from the State Capitol. The Louisiana Governor's Mansion, in it's present form, was erected in 1963 during the governing regime of Jimmy Davis. Knowing that many of Baton Rouge's classic architecture went up in flames during the Civil War era, then-Governor Davis opted to create a state home that would honor the Greek Revival of construction-a period that was a powerful form of Louisiana architecture prior to 1830. The Louisiana Governor's Mansion is 25,000 square feet with three floors and a basement.
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Boutin's Cajun is Baton Rouge area restaurant that showcases both authentic Cajun cuisine and live Cajun entertainment. Boutin's aims to envelope patrons in an environment that is completely filled with Cajun sights and sounds. The family restaurant boasts a large oak dance floor, a big scene TV, and wall to wall mural documentation of Cajun history and home life. Boutin's serves traditional Cajun-Patented Louisiana dishes like Crawfish Ettoufe, and Shrimp and Oysters en Brochette. Modern Cajun eats, consisting of Crawfish Enchiladas, Seafood Wonton and Pepper Jack Shrimp, and Honey-Glazed, Maple Leaf Duck. Live Cajun Music Monday - Wednesday 7pm to 9:30pm Thursday - Saturday 7pm to 10pm.
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Seafood in a laid-back environment is what diners can expect at Ralph & Kacoo's, a Baton Rouge institution since 1969. Sporting dishes seasoned with authentic Louisiana flavor, Ralph & Kacoo's was voted Louisiana's Best Seafood Restaurant and Best Seafood Restaurant in Baton Rouge during the city's celebrated Taste of Baton Rouge festival. Ralph & Kacoo's family-friendly Baton Rouge flagship is noted around this coastal city for serving up crawfish, gumbo, alligator, crab, shrimp, oyster.
Hosting four main dining rooms, Ralph & Kacoo's can be used for patrons planning every event from a business meeting to a rehearsal dinner to a birthday celebration. Each dining rooms is adorned with different decor. The Louisiana State University room is filled with lots legendary sports memorabilia, including one of the tiger mascots from LSU. The remaining three main dining rooms are dotted with a wide range of mounted animals and even tropical fish. Other attractions at Ralph & Kacoo's include five 250 gallon aquariums, a collection of firearms, and a 12-1/2 foot stuffed alligator in a mounted swamp. Happy Hour Monday-Friday 4pm-7pm.
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Brunet's is Baton Rouge's exclusive Cajun seafood eatery. Brunet's Cajun Restaurant features a menu of Fried Platters, Marinated Crab Fingers, Fried Onion Rings, Little Stuffed Bread, Shrimp and Okra, and Seafood Gumbo, Nightly specials on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Daily lunch specials. Live nightly music Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Major Credit Cards Accepted.
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Beef O'Brady's began in 1985 with owner Jim Mellody's dream of neighborhood pub where family, friends, sports, and the love of food could merge under one roof. Today, Beef O'Brady's Family Sports Pub, just off O'Neal Lane in Baton Rouge, specializes in hamburgers, wraps, salads, and two signature house specials: the ground steakburger and chicken wings. Kids ages 12 and under dine-in free on Tuesday nights between 4pm-8pm.
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Founded in 1905, Galatoires Restaurant holds fast to it's tradition of simple fare. Fried Eggplant, Oysters Rockefeller, Crabmeat Maison, Lyonnaise Potatoes, and Lamb Chops Bearnaise are the signature New Orleans dishes featured on the menu at this business casual Perkins Road bistro.
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The Steakhouse at Hollywood Casino offers high-rollers a big steak to take in with their large losses. Featuring an all-new steakhouse menu, the quaint steakhouse, sandwiched between craps table and clinging slots, The Steakhouse serves only 100% Angus aged for twenty-four days. The casual casino steakhouse also serves veal, lamb, pork, and chicken dishes.
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Parrain's opened in September 2001 with a number of extensive culinary selections prepared fresh to order. Parrain's Seafood tucked away in the Baton Rouge night caters to various traveler's tastes in an environment that offers eats to suit almost everyone. Daily lunch and dinner specials are available. Parrain's serves Sunday brunch from 11am-2pm. Happy Hour Monday through Friday from 4pm to 7pm in the Hammerhead Bar. Parrain's showcases a variety of drink specials on draft beer, wine and martinis. Catfish Fingers, Fried Alligator, Oysters, Seafood Gumbo, Crab & Corn Bisque, BBQ Shrimp, and Crab & Crawfish are a few of the dishes diners dash out to the new patio with.
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This B&B cafe grants Baton Rouge travelers the opportunity to sample Southern home-cooking in a private country atmosphere. David's Country Cottage Cafe opened it's doors in 2001. The three room cafe sports sixty person lounge seating in the dining room and buffets in two adjacent rooms equipped to house thirty. The menu includes Crawfish Soup, Buttered Corn, Green Beans, Macaroni and Cheese, Fried Fish, Buttered Squash, Potatoes Au-Gratin, and English Peas. David's Country Cottage Cafe, located one-half hour outside of Baton Rouge, is wedged between the Louisiana city of Lafayette and the state's capital city.
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Phil's Oyster Bar & Seafood Restaurant is a local bar style establishment specializing in serving Louisiana's famous Poboys, seafood platters, pastas, salads, soups, loaves, desserts, and of course, oysters.
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The Cadillac Cafe is the uber-chic bayou-side Baton Rouge lounge, boasting two bars and a sporty menu, where live music is hot every Tuesday-Saturday 6pm-9pm. The Cadillac Cafe features American dishes like Ham and Hot Sausage Poboys, Chicken Tenders and Fries, Grilled Chicken Salad, and signature Macho Burgers with a side sprinkling of tunes from True Spin, Gutter Sharks, The Andy Smith Band, and The Issue. The twenty-one to early thirties crew often turn out for the DJ'ed party on the dancefloor.
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Baton Rouge's climate make linens, lightweight cottons, and lightweight sweaters great items to pack when visiting Louisiana's state capital.
The weather is consistently warm from May to September. Baton Rouge winters are short and mild, generally only spanning from January to February .
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On Stage Nightclub & Cafe invites Baton Rouge's mature partying masses to enjoy nightly dancing and live entertainment overlooked by daily dining specials and courtyard swimming on the grounds of the Quality Inn-Sherwood Forest. The dancer floor opens nightly at 8pm.
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The Texas Club, custom-fit to accommodate massive crowds topping 1,000, is one of Baton Rouge's most trafficked live music/dance party venues. The Downtown club's steely structure, erected in 1981, is reminiscent of it's former role as a Continental Trailways bus terminal. The Texas Club has hosted national acts that include Garth Brooks and Foreigner.
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