Day Trip Itinerary: Houma
Experience Cajun culture in Louisiana’s bayou country.
Experience Cajun culture in Louisiana’s bayou country.
Houma (pronounced Home-ah), just an hour drive from New Orleans, was named after the Houma Native American tribe that first lived in the area. The Indigenous tribes mingled with exiled French colonists and Spanish, English, Italian, German and West Caribbean settlers to create a new culture — what we now know as Cajun.
Besides being an offshore fishing hot spot and home to the Bayou Country Crawfish Trail, Houma is also the perfect day trip from New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Here’s how to enjoy Cajun culture in the heart of bayou country.
Grab Brunch, Then Enjoy Arts and Culture
Nifty Fifties Cafe
This vintage restaurant serves breakfast and traditional diner foods in a 1950s-style café. Feast on breakfast platters featuring eggs, pancakes or French toast, or indulge in a themed sandwich, like the Patty “Melt My Cold Cold Heart.”
Southdown Plantation & Museum
A former sugar plantation — and home to the last operational mill in Terrebonne Parish, Southdown Plantation & Museum offers an in-depth history of the sugar industry in Louisiana. Museum exhibits include original 19th century furnishings, Mardi Gras artifacts and costumes, handmade baskets, dolls and other local crafts, literary collections and a restored plantation worker’s cabin.
Terrebonne Folklife Cultural Center
In the heart of Houma’s historic district, Terrebonne Folklife Cultural Center hosts interesting exhibits and unique artwork by local craftspeople, as well as weekly classes and workshops. Try quilting, knitting or crocheting, soap carving or duck decoy carving, or kick up your heels at their ever-popular Cajun dance lessons.
Regional Military Museum
The Regional Military Museum near downtown Houma displays military artifacts from the Civil War through modern times, including uniforms, helicopters and planes, antique weapons and more.
Southdown Plantation
Enjoy a crawfish boil at Houma restaurants.
Stroll through Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge.
Houma Lunch Restaurants
Off the Hook
A local Louisiana favorite, Off the Hook’s menu is full of Cajun delicacies and familiar diner classics. Enjoy a variety of po’boys, including freshly caught Gulf shrimp, Southern-fried catfish or smothered roast beef.
The Shack of Houma
The Shack of Houma serves rotating daily lunch specials in a family-friendly atmosphere. The chefs specialize in Cajun cuisine, and lunch specials often include in-season seafood, like boiled crawfish (Houma’s favorite crustacean), fried flounder and charbroiled oysters.
Dominique’s Wine Boutique & Bistro
Executive chef Dominique Malbrough sources local produce, seafood and meats to craft delicious lunch offerings and specialty cakes for any occasion at Dominique’s Wine Boutique & Bistro. Sip on a Louisiana wine at the wine bar, accompanied with the shrimp and bacon flatbread or the corn and crawfish dip, served with Zapp’s potato chips.
Hold a gator at Greenwood Gator Farm and Tours.
Bayou Terrebonne Distillers
Learn Cajun dance at Terrebonne Folklife Cultural Center.
Best Dinner Restaurants in Houma
Boudreau & Thibodeau’s Cajun Cookin’
Still craving Cajun? Boudreau & Thibodeau’s menu is chock-full of delicious down-home dishes, from slow-pot Cajun cookin’ to boiled seafood. Order the Creole flight and pick three or more of their signature dishes to try in small portions.
Ember Kitchen + Cocktails
Enjoy American bistro-style cuisine in downtown Houma at Ember Kitchen + Cocktails. Start with smoked fish dip or a butcher board of chef-selected meats and cheeses, then try the shrimp fra diavolo with garlic and chili.
Nightlife and Bars in Houma
Bayou Terrebonne Distillers
Bayou Terrebonne Distillers was born from a Mardi Gras queen’s illicit moonshining during Prohibition. The family’s great-grandmother (and Houma’s first-ever Mardi Gras queen) first brewed the spirit, and her great-grandsons preserve her legacy in a tin warehouse in downtown Houma. Stop by for a distillery tour and sample their small-batch whiskey, barrel-aged bourbon and variety of rums.
Jeaux’s New Horizons
This neighborhood bar offers karaoke, DJ nights and live music on weekends, with artists from every genre, from swamp pop to country, blues and more. Locals love the musical variety — and the dance floor!
Mahony’s Irish Pub
Known for its friendly staff and massive beer selection, Mahony’s Irish Pub hosts rotating weekly events, including trivia, live music, festivals and more. Head upstairs to sister bar The Balcony for more live music and DJ sets on select evenings.
