Any interesting towns near nola ???

[brownbagg]

Biloxi is very nice, but me, i was go from gonzales down into the delta, get some true cajun food.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Ponchatoula is a beautiful, quaint town only 45 minutes from New Orleans! They have the strawberry festival every year which is a very cool event. Ponchatoula has a very vibrant nightlife and restaurant scene for a city it's size.

Denham Springs has a nice historic downtown and one of the largest collection of antique shops in the nation.

North of Baton Rouge you have St. Francisville which is filled with beautiful, historic plantations and quirky charm.

As others have mentioned Breaux Bridge (and Henderson nearby) are great for Cajun food and their unique French influenced culture.

[Lizap]

Originally Posted by Tom Lennox 70

Ponchatoula is a beautiful, quaint town only 45 minutes from New Orleans! They have the strawberry festival every year which is a very cool event. Ponchatoula has a very vibrant nightlife and restaurant scene for a city it's size.

Denham Springs has a nice historic downtown and one of the largest collection of antique shops in the nation.

North of Baton Rouge you have St. Francisville which is filled with beautiful, historic plantations and quirky charm.

As others have mentioned Breaux Bridge (and Henderson nearby) are great for Cajun food and their unique French influenced culture.

Ponchatoula, LA? Beautiful, quaint, vibrant nightlife?? Perhaps, there's another Ponchatoula. I live in the area and none of these apply, IMO.

[annie_himself]

I don't know what he's talking about nightlife and beautiful. Pontchatoula is just a poor southern town with a few antique shops on the main road.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Ponchatoula has a number of bars and night spots, a quite fun nightlife compared even to Denham Springs, Zachary or Walker which have larger populations. Not quite as hopping as New Orleans or Baton Rouge but for a town its size its quite fun.

I love the charming downtown area around the railroad tracks and the park where the strawberry festival is. Also a lot of diverse restaurants and good food like Roux and Brew, Pawpaw's and especially Paul's Cafe and the various daiquiri shops. I do think the downtown entertainment and shopping district is very walkable. The Ponchatoula Pub is pretty cool too.

Compare this to Zachary which is much bigger and has one bar and one mixed restaurant/bar with cool nightlife, or Denham or Walker. Just sayin.

[Tom Lennox 70]

Originally Posted by annie_himself

I don't know what he's talking about nightlife and beautiful. Pontchatoula is just a poor southern town with a few antique shops on the main road.

I think Ponchatoula has a lot of charm and character compared to a downscale suburb like Kenner or a homogenous, plastic area like Covington, Prairieville or Gonzales (which at some point in the past had a rich unique culture but its all watered down by the new development including cookie cutter neighborhood with zero charm and sense of history).