Hotels in Baton Rouge

Beneath live oaks draped with Spanish moss, the Old State Capitol's Gothic revival turrets rise like a fairytale castle with a political past. The observation deck atop the art deco State Capitol rewards climbers with Mississippi River panoramas worth every step. At LSU, Mike the Tiger lounges in his habitat before football games that transform the campus into a purple-and-gold celebration. The USS Kidd Veterans Memorial lets you explore a WWII destroyer frozen in time. Capitol Park Museum showcases everything from Mardi Gras floats to civil rights history. After dark, follow locals to dive bars where future blues legends perform for tips, or sample crawfish étouffée that makes fancy restaurants seem irrelevant.