Founded in 1821 as Vermilionville (revealing strong French roots), the city of Lafayette straddles the Vermilion River ? but even with a name change, modernity sees here a rich cultural blend of Cajun and Creole.

Ancient oak trees draped with beards of Spanish moss shift stately with some distant breeze, unconcerned with the passing of centuries, the pretty show put on by spring azaleas or the scent of creamy magnolias.

Find between Mardi Gras festivities and memories of that natural disaster the music of a bright future. As museums and hotels, restaurants and boarded up shops again open doors, New Orleans, the "Crescent City", is slowly returning to life, and now is the good time to experience the tenacious energy of "The Big Easy" in transition and show this Southern gem your sense of solidarity.

Gentle drapes of Spanish moss hide the lower limbs of old trees that creak and murmur of comings and goings, the passage of time, and the latest in local architecture. Ponchatoula, in Louisiana's "boot", still carries the aura of bygone days on the breeze, an easy-going place with a fetching historic center.

From bright green pastures kept tidy by meandering horses to the secretive shadows of cypress guarded swamp - or the graceful ancient lines of historic buildings, the little city of St Francisville is a fine picture of life along the Mississippi.