This lush, pretty state park is a quilt of forest, marshland and waterfront ecosystems strung together by a series of attractive walking and cycling trails. It's a good, green escape from New Orleans and beloved by local families.
Fontainebleau State Park
Louisiana
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
26.13 MILES
Whatever happens in the French Quarter usually begins here in Jackson Square, at Decatur and St Peter Streets. It's a gentle, carnivalesque scene,…
24.48 MILES
Live oaks, Spanish moss and lazy bayous frame this masterpiece of urban planning. Three miles long and 1 mile wide, dotted with gardens, waterways and…
26.13 MILES
The former seat of government in colonial Louisiana now serves as the gateway to exploring the history of the state in general, and New Orleans in…
28.22 MILES
Of all the cemeteries in New Orleans, Lafayette exudes the strongest sense of subtropical Southern Gothic. The stark contrast of moldering crypts and…
26.1 MILES
One of the best examples of French architecture in the country, this triple-spired 18th-century cathedral is dedicated to Louis IX, the French king…
26.45 MILES
Royal Street, with its rows of high-end antique shops, galleries and potted ferns hanging from cast-iron balconies, is the elegant yin to well known…
27.13 MILES
The South has one of the most distinctive aesthetic cultures in the US artistic universe, a creative vision indelibly influenced by the region's…
Sydney & Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden
24.39 MILES
The sculpture garden that sits just outside the New Orleans Museum of Art in City Park is a wooded quilt of streams, pathways, lovers' benches and, of…
Nearby Louisiana attractions
1.13 MILES
Several miles of boardwalk and forest trail wind through this nature preserve, which is popular with families looking to give little ones a place to…
2. Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge
5.89 MILES
The Big Branch Marsh includes some 18,000 acres of protected pine flatwoods and marshland that houses gators, pelicans, egrets, swamp sparrows, purple…
9.75 MILES
With its stuffed alligator-dog-monster, psychedelic mural art, paint-by-numbers paintings, River Road dioramas and comb collection, the Mystery House is…
10.1 MILES
The waters once attracted visitors to Abita Springs, 45 miles north of New Orleans on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain – now beer does. Abita Brewery…
5. Audubon Louisiana Nature Center
21.23 MILES
Out in New Orleans East, Audubon has opened a nature center aimed at teaching kids (and their parents) about the wetlands and forests of South Louisiana…
6. Mary Queen of Vietnam Church
21.39 MILES
In New Orleans East, the Mary Queen of Vietnam Church is a focal point for the Catholic Vietnamese community. The best time to visit is during Tet …
21.58 MILES
The closest you'll come to witnessing Saigon on a Saturday morning (by the way, lots of local Vietnamese, being southern refugees, still call it 'Saigon')…
23.29 MILES
Outside of New Orleans East, Couturie is the wildest natural space in the city. A series of paths wind through acres of Louisiana hardwood forest and lead…