Lafeyette LA to New Orleans drive: Best stops, distance & time

The distance from Lafayette LA to New Orleans by car is 135 miles, with a 2h10m driving time. The best road trip stops on the Lafayette to New Orleans drive are Baton Rouge, the Great River Road Museum and the Whitney Plantation.

Finding the best things to do between Lafayette and New Orleans

The Lafayette to New Orleans drive takes you from a city with a strong Cajun heritage to Louisiana’s most exciting city.

Lafayette’s top attractions include Acadian Village, a recreated 19th-century Cajun village, which plays host to artisans and craftspeople among the historic homes.

Vermilionville is similar, but the living history museum here looks at the cultures of Native American and Creole people as well as the Acadians.

Elsewhere, the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist is famed for its stained glass windows.

Top Lafayette experiences include Cajun food tours.

For Lafayette accommodation, the SpringHill Suites and Home2 Suites tend to get the best reviews.

New Orleans resolutely refuses to feel like any other American city. From the raucous hedonism of Bourbon Street to the European-influenced charm of the French Quarter, New Orleans is mesmerizingly unusual to hang out in.

Top New Orleans experiences include French Quarter food tours, haunted pub crawls, jazz cruises aboard the steamboat Natchez and cemetery walking tours.

For other attractions, try the National WWII Museum, the Vue Orleans observation deck and the urban enslavement tours at Hermann Grima House.

If looking for New Orleans accommodation, the pool and jazz bar-equipped Royal Sonesta in the French Quarter is a great option. The Virgin Hotel downtown has a huge sense of fun, too.

Lafayette to New Orleans distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Lafayette to New Orleans is 135 miles. That makes for a driving time of around two hours and 10 minutes. The quickest route is along the I-10.

The best stops to add to a Lafayette to New Orleans road trip itinerary are Baton Rouge, the Great River Road Museum and the Whitney Plantation.

For more suggestions, see the guide to the Baton Rouge to New Orleans drive.

Best stops between Lafayette and New Orleans: Baton Rouge

The obvious attraction in Baton Rouge is the Louisiana Capitol Building, but the castle-like Old Capitol Building is more attractive. It’s also now a museum, with interactive exhibits on democracy and the colourful characters who have walked the corridors over the decades. The colourful stained glass dome is spectacular, too.

As a museum, the Capitol Park Museum is better, telling multiple strands of Louisiana’s story. Other Baton Rouge attractions include the Magnolia Mound Plantation, built in 1791, and the environmentally educational Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center.

Great places to stay in Baton Rouge include the affordable Hampton Inn & Suites Baton Rouge Downtown and the historic Watermark.

Lafayette to New Orleans drive: Great River Road Museum

The Great River Road Museum in Darrow LA focuses on historic life on the Mississippi River. It covers the sugar industry, commerce and slavery, but also looks at the cultural side. There are sections on the folklore that developed here, and the musical innovations that the people of the Mississippi River gave to the world.

Lafayette to New Orleans road trip attractions: Whitney Plantation

Of the Louisiana plantations, the Whitney Plantation puts arguably the strongest emphasis on the role of slavery. The former sugar, rice and indigo plantation is open to visitors, with a dozen historic structures still in place. The tours focus largely on the enslaved African-Americans who did the work, rather than the lives and luxuries of the owners.

Alternatively, visit the Whitney Plantation on a tour from New Orleans.