Stop by the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Center, 1400 NW Evangeline Thruway (tel. 800/346-1958 in the U.S., 800/543-5340 in Canada, or 337/232-3808; www.lafayettetravel.com). The helpful staff will tell you everything you could possibly want to know about the region and will send you out loaded with informative materials. Turn off I-10 at exit 103A, go south for about a mile, and you'll find the office in the center of the median. It's open weekdays from 8:30am to 5pm and weekends from 9am to 5pm. Near the intersection of Willow Street and the thruway, the attractive offices are in Cajun-style homes set on landscaped grounds that hold a pond and benches. It is a restful spot to sit and plan your Cajun Country excursion.
We also highly recommend the Festival International de Louisiane, a 6-day music-and-art festival that many find to be a good alternative to New Orleans's increasingly crowded Jazz Fest. Although the scope of the bands, naturally, is nothing like the big deal in New Orleans, there's an interesting lineup each year, with an emphasis on music from other French-speaking lands. The festival takes place in the center of town with streets blocked off to allow easy movement from one stage to another. In contrast to Jazz Fest, it's low-key and a manageable size. Best of all, it's free! Festival International is held at the end of April; for dates, call or write the Festival International de Louisiane, 735 Jefferson St., Lafayette, LA 70501 (tel. 337/232-8086; www.festivalinternational.com).
Music can be found year-round at the Blue Moon Saloon (215 E. Convent St.; tel. 337/234-2422), which is filled pretty much every night with cool people who know a good hangout when they see one. Some of the best local bands, Cajun and otherwise, play here (look for members of the talented and critically celebrated Savoys in various band incarnations) weekly. It also operates cheap (but likeable) hostel-style lodgings. More fancy is the newly reopened Grant Street Dancehall, 113 W. Grant St., off Cypress Street in downtown Lafayette (tel. 337/237-8513; www.grantstreetdancehall.com). This warehouse-type building features the best in local music, from Cajun to brass bands, and is where out-of-towners are most likely to play. In addition to their classic dance hall, they now also have a smaller, more intimate room. The zydeco hot spot is El Sido's, 1523 N. Martin Luther King St. (tel. 337/235-0647), where combos like Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas hold sway. Both joints jump most any night.
