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Spanish colonists from Malaga founded New Iberia on the Bayou Teche in 1779, and the town still carries that origin in its name. It grew into the hub of Louisiana's sugarcane country, and cane fields, sugar mills and the hot-sauce and rice businesses of the surrounding parish shape its economy and its table to this day.
The finest reminder of the cane era is Shadows-on-the-Teche, an 1834 brick house whose oak-shaded gardens run down to the bayou. Along Main Street, a Roman marble statue of Emperor Hadrian, the Bayou Teche Museum and riverside Bouligny Plaza sit among old storefronts, and the Conrad Rice Mill still roasts and packs rice a few blocks away. Every September the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival fills downtown with parades and music.
The salt domes south and west of town make the best day trips: Avery Island, home of Tabasco sauce and its egret rookery, and Jefferson Island with its gardens on Lake Peigneur. Lafayette is about 30 minutes north.
Brick plantation-era house built in 1834 for the Weeks family, with Greek Revival columns and gardens of live oaks and camellias running down to the Bayou Teche. Guided tours cover the house and the lives of the family and the enslaved people who worked their land. Owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Home of the McIlhenny Company, which has made Tabasco pepper sauce on Avery Island since 1868. A self-guided tour shows the barrel warehouse and bottling line, and the country store sells every flavor plus pepper-laced snacks. There is a small toll to drive onto the island, about 20 minutes south of New Iberia.
Family-run rice mill built in 1912 and considered the oldest of its kind still operating in the country, best known for its Konriko brand. Short tours show the old milling machinery, and the company store sells rice, Cajun seasonings and local foods. Check tour times before visiting, as they run on a set schedule.
Semi-tropical garden created by Edward Avery McIlhenny on the salt dome of Avery Island, with live oaks, camellias, azaleas and a centuries-old Buddha statue in a pagoda. Its Bird City rookery fills with snowy egrets in spring. Drive or walk the loop road, and keep an eye out for alligators in the ponds.
Gardens on Jefferson Island around the 1870 house of actor Joseph Jefferson, famed for playing Rip Van Winkle, set on the shore of Lake Peigneur. Guided house tours cover the actor and the 1980 drilling accident that drained the lake into a salt mine. Peacocks roam the lawns and the cafe overlooks the water.
Downtown museum on Main Street that tells the story of New Iberia and the Teche country through exhibits on sugarcane, salt mining, hot sauce, local music and regional artists. It is compact and easy to see in about an hour, and staff are happy to point you toward other downtown landmarks.
Marble statue of the Roman emperor Hadrian, carved in the second century, that stands outdoors on a pedestal at a downtown Main Street corner. It was brought to New Iberia in the 1960s by a local bank and has become one of the town's oddest and most photographed sights. It takes only a few minutes to see.
Small riverside plaza on Main Street named for Francisco Bouligny, who led the town's Spanish founding, with a gazebo, benches and a boardwalk view over the Bayou Teche. Concerts and festival events are often staged here. It is a handy starting point for a walk along downtown's historic storefronts.
Walkable stretch of Main Street with the restored Evangeline Theater, the old Wormser's department store, Victorian homes such as the Steamboat House and a string of cafes and antique shops. The street runs parallel to the bayou, so side streets lead down to the water. Mornings are cooler for a stroll in summer.
Annual festival held in late September since the 1930s to mark the start of the sugarcane harvest, with parades, the crowning of a festival queen, live Cajun and zydeco music, food stalls and a fair. Most events take place downtown and at the city park; hotels fill early that weekend.
Small state park on Vermilion Bay, about 40 minutes south of New Iberia, with a man-made sand beach, picnic areas, a fishing pier and a boat launch. It is one of the few places near the Gulf in this area where you can reach the water by car. Bring bug spray and check the day-use fee before you go.
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