Day Trippin' › Louisiana › From New Orleans › Natchitoches
The drive from New Orleans to Natchitoches takes about 3 hr 58 min (northwest of New Orleans), by real roads from ZIP 70112. Along the way we found 35 stops within a short detour: 7 coffee shops, 4 ice cream and treats, 16 places to eat and 8 quick sights.
The list below is the best few of each kind, in driving order, with how far into the drive you reach each one (counted from New Orleans) and the detour it adds. Stops marked Our pick are chosen by us; the rest come from OpenStreetMap listings, so confirm hours before you count on them.
Photo: Wikilester1999, CC BY-SA 4.0
Small town
Louisiana's oldest town, founded in 1714, with brick Front Street on Cane River Lake, meat pies and the famous Christmas Festival of Lights.
Heads-up: The 100th Christmas Festival of Lights is coming; dates on the town calendar.
First third Middle third Last third Natchitoches
About 3 hr 58 min by road, heading northwest from the middle of ZIP 70112. Traffic and weather change that.
Good ones to start with: Parrain's Seafood Restaurant (Baton Rouge) and Louie's Cafe (Baton Rouge). The page lists 22 in all, in driving order.
Starbucks in Laplace, Starbucks in Gonzales, Pod Pack International in Hope Villa and Ruby Slipper Cafe in Baton Rouge. Check hours first; they come from OpenStreetMap listings.
Don's Seafood in Cornerview, Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux in Cornerview, City Pork Perkins in Saint George and General Tso's Chicken in Baton Rouge.
Conja' in Saint George, The Racers in Saint George, William A. Brookshire Military Museum in Beaulieu and Baton Rouge African American Museum in Baton Rouge.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP <class 'zip'> (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Stops come from our own picks and OpenStreetMap listings; hours and detours change, so check before you go. We do not store anyone's location.