Baton Rouge SITES AND EVENTS

The Belle of Baton Rouge will be the site of CAMWS sessions, meetings, and events, and of course has its own casino. More events are being planned!

And a number of attractions within easy walking distance of the meeting:

When you walk straight out the front of the Belle, continue straight along the short stub of a block that is St. James. Now you are at Government Street, which extends to your right. To your left, the road curves to become River Road, which runs along the Mississippi River.

  • Straight in front of you is the River Center, a complex which includes convention facilities, an arena and a theater.
    • The musical version of The Color Purple will be at the River Center on Wednesday March 28.
    • The United States Bowling Championships will be ongoing, so you might see and hear bowling inside the Center (and all over town). Watch for your favorite bowling stars.
  • Look to your left and you will see a huge ship towering above a building on the edge of the Mississippi River. The building is a Veterans Museum and the ship is a WWII Fletcher-class destroyer, the USS Kidd. Both are open for visitors.

Now continue walking up River Road:
On the side on the Mississippi River:

  • Immediately after the USS Kidd is an open park where you can relax on the levee and enjoy the view of the majestic Mississippi.
  • Immediately after the park is the Louisiana Art and Science Museum, including the Pennington Planetarium and an IMAX theater.

On the opposite side of River Road:

  • The building on the hill that looks like a castle is the Old State Capitol, newly restored and featuring astonishing exhibits on the building itself and Louisiana's colorful political history, highlighted by a section devoted to the dynamic and controversial Huey Long. The exhibits are open and free to the public. Politics involves ghosts, of course, and a ghost can tour you through the history of the building for $3.00 (it's better to pay ghosts a fee than the let them exact their own payment). The new state capitol (the tallest in the nation, as per Huey Long's wishes) is at the north end of downtown.

The Old State Capitol stands at the corner of River Road and North Blvd.
Go up North Blvd and you are at the Shaw Center for the Arts which includes:

  • The LSU Museum of Art is generously offering FREE admission to CAMWS attendees! Be sure to visit their exhibits, including "Tearing Granite: The Sculpture of Jesús Moroles."
  • Housed in the Shaw Center is the Manship Theatre. Stay tuned to find out what events will be taking place during CAMWS.
  • There are several restaurants in the complex, so be sure to check out the Dining Guide, too.

 

All these sites lie within a few blocks! Baton Rouge is undergoing a great renaissance, and has always had a colorful history, so there is much more to see and do. A series of guides and maps for the whole area are available at http://www.visitbatonrouge.com/resourcestools/visitorsguide.

We'll soon be posting a guide for the LSU campus (just under two miles from the meeting site), as well. But a few highlights in advance:

  • Visit Mike the Tiger! The official mascot of LSU, Mike VI is a live Bengal tiger who resides in a 15,000 square foot habitat on campus.
  • See Tiger Stadium! aka "Death Valley" where the LSU Tigers feast on opposing teams. And yes, it looks a lot like the Colosseum.
  • LSU Opera is putting on Rossini's La Cenerentola (Cinderella), March 29-31, 7:30, at the Shaver Theater in LSU's Music and Dramatic Arts building. Ph: (225) 578-5128. General admission: $30. Tickets have been set aside for CAMWS members for the Saturday (March 31st) performance; just let them know that you are a member. Tickets for the production can also be purchased online at https://www.choicesecure03.net/mainapp/eventschedule.aspx?clientid=Lsu&prod=SOM

Food, of course, is a highlight of southern Louisiana, so be sure to check out the Dining Guide.

We'll be adding more sites, events and information, but you can always visit http://www.visitbatonrouge.com for more (look for the list of 225 things to do in BR!).

Baton Rouge DINING

Louisianans perhaps take nothing more seriously than they do FOOD. Come hungry. Eat a lot. Plan another trip to come eat again, because there is so much more you need to eat yet.

This dining guide is going to expand a lot as people post their additional favorites, but for right now, here are some options right near the meeting site.

The Belle of Baton Rouge itself hosts a CC's Coffee shop, Sunrise Sunset (breakfast), Atrium Café (moderate to higher-priced dinner), The Butler's Pantry (quick meals in the casino), Bar 102 (bar and grill for lunch and dinner) and Shucks on the Levee (finer dining with a view over the Mississippi River).

More dining stands within easy walking distance of the meeting:

When you walk straight out the front of the Belle, continue straight along the short stub of a block that is St. James. Now you are at Government Street, which extends to your right. To your left, the road curves to become River Road, which runs along the Mississippi River. Straight in front of you is the River Center, which includes convention facilities, an arena and a theater (see the Site and Events guide for more information).

If you turn and walk up River Road, on the other side of the River Center, at the end of the block, you will see building on the hill that looks like a castle. This is the Old State Capitol (see the Site and Events guide for more information).

Turn right at the Old State Capitol and walk one block up North Blvd, you will come to Lafayette St. and see the Shaw Center for the Arts (see the Site and Events guide for more information), where you will find:

If you continue down Lafayette St. another couple of blocks, you will find Poor Boy Lloyd's: local po' boys for breakfast and lunch.

Head West one block to 3rd St. and you will find a number of dining options:

  • 130 3rd Street: Downtown Seafood and Grill
  • 136 3rd Street: Happy's Irish Pub
  • 151 3rd Street: Lucy's (midrange seafood)
  • 214 3rd Street: Boudreax and Thibodeaux (bar with live music)
  • 301 3rd Street: Schlitz and Giggles (grease made to look like pizzas and calzones; and beer)
  • 336 3rd Street: Riverside Patty (local hamburger joint)
  • Continue up 3rd Street to Laurel St., hang a left, and you will find the Red Star, a popular local bar.

Or, when you are at the Shaw Center, you can continue East on North Street to find some quick dining options:

  • 315 North Street: Jobe's Café
  • 321 North Street: Sadaf Café (Greek and Mediterranean)
  • CC's Coffee House
  • Subway (yeah, but if you come to southern Louisiana and eat Subway, your taste buds will never, ever forgive you).

Or, when you exit the Belle, if you turn right (East), you can walk to:

  • Christina's Restaurant, 320 St. Charles St. (breakfast and lunch only. May take some time, since everything is cooked from scratch)
  • Beauregard Gallery Bistro, 715 Europe St. (lunch only; soups, sandwiches and salads).

All these options lie nearby in downtown. Baton Rouge is undergoing a great renaissance, and has always had a colorful history, so there is much more to see and do. A series of guides and maps for the whole area are available at http://www.visitbatonrouge.com/resourcestools/visitorsguide, including a Dining Guide.

If you have a car, ride or taxi, here are some recommendations from the local host committee (and there are lots more recommendations to come):

We'll soon be posting a guide for the LSU campus (just under two miles from the meeting site), as well.

We'll be adding more sites, events and information, but you can always visit http://www.visitbatonrouge.com, for more (look for the list of 225 things to do in BR!).