Louisiana’s Most Charming Small Town Has Something Fun for Everyone

Start your morning with delectable pockets of fried dough at the Covington outpost of Café Du Monde. For heartier fare, head to Coffee Rani for shrimp and grits and diced ham and egg sandwiches.

Dip your toes into Lake Pontchartrain at Fontainebleau State Park, which is also a haven for waterfowl. More adventurous folk can go gator-spotting on an open-air pontoon with Dr. Wagner's Honey Island Swamp Tours.

At Abita Mystery House, John Preble has turned an old filling station into a folk art museum that celebrates the magic of the mundane. Inside: an ever-evolving assortment of everything from hot sauce bottles to pinball machines.

Collectors of curios and all things vintage will enjoy perusing the booths at On a Whim and Copper Rooster Antiques and Gifts.

Fans of Purple Haze beer should try The Boot, an only-in-Louisiana brew, at Abita Brewing Company's in-town taproom. Out in the sticks, farm-to-glass Wild Bush Farm + Vineyard infuses their Pinot blends (pictured) with unexpected flavors like bacon and strawberries.

First built in 1895, Mandeville's Dew Drop Jazz & Social Hall was a destination for jazz aficionados in the 1920s and '30s. (Louis Armstrong even graced the stage!) Today, a nonprofit keeps the spirit of the simple wood structure alive with monthly performances.

Each April, the outdoor Spring for Art festival sees the town streets come alive with musical performances and a juried art market.

With a lobby affectionately dubbed “Covington’s living room,” the 116-year-old Southern Hotel is as inviting as they come. In nearby Abita Springs, guests are known to spend long afternoons relaxing on the wraparound porch at the Abita Springs Hotel.

At Niche Modern Home, gilded crane figurines and other decor pieces celebrate local surroundings. Catering to party planners (and goers!) of every sort, Ashley Culicchia Cash's The Graceful Host shop (pictured) offers theme dinnerware and high-design gift wrap.

Along former railroad tracks, the 31-mile Tammany Trace is best explored on bikes. (Rent them at Brooks' Bike Shop.) At the Covington Trailhead, you'll also find a bandstand, amphitheater, and visitor's center that features rotating art exhibits.

After a childhood spanning several continents and a career in fashion design in NYC, artist Marianne Angeli Rodriguez settled into a quieter life on Louisiana's Northshore in 2016. "You feel part of something special and sort of hidden here," she says. When she's not painting color-drenched abstracts at her eponymous pink-doored studio and gallery, Marianne seeks inspiration in nearby Bogue Chitto State Park and at Columbia Street Landing.

In business since 1876, family-run general store H.J. Smith & Sons operates on the motto, "If we don't have it, you don't need it." Part museum, the shop is also home to relics of bygone eras, such as a stage-coach and a dugout cypress canoe.

The catfish po-boys at Vasquez Seafood are not to be missed. For a fancier feast, Lola serves up Southern specialities in a converted railcar train caboose, while Marcello’s is known for Sicilian fare.