By Stephanie Miller

Natchitoches is the perfect place to experience Louisiana’s natural beauty, historic homes, famous cuisine and legendary hospitality close to home.

A sister city of Nacogdoches, Texas, Natchitoches (pronounced Nack a tish) is Louisiana’s oldest town, settled in 1714. It blends history with the fun and excitement of a sophisticated city that hosts festivals and arts events.

Captured in art and movies such as “Steel Magnolias,” Natchitoches is picturesque – brick streets on the downtown riverfront are lit with gas lanterns in the evening and flowers always in bloom by day. It has several notable plantation homes and significant architecture in the historic district. Its restaurants offer both Cajun and Creole cuisine along with Natchitoches’ signature meat pies and crawfish pies, and it boasts nearly 40 bed and breakfast inns, which invite you to experience the city like a local.

But what you will notice most about this city in the heart of Louisiana, is the friendliness of the people. Small enough for many of the residents to know each other, Natchitoches is welcoming to visitors, and always glad you came.

It also offers a peaceful escape. “Whatever the reason you come to Natchitoches, there’s one thing that you’re guaranteed to find when you get here: PEACE,” says Latisha McDaniel, of the Natchitoches Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. “There’s a peace that covers Natchitoches Parish. It’s in the people that you meet and the trees and flowers that line the streets.”

Notable Plantations

Natchitoches’ grand plantation homes let you experience Louisiana architecture and see how the wealthy planters, who helped settle the area, lived.

At Oakland Plantation, we met one of the family members who grew up on the plantation. Mr. Ken Prudhomme, whose family owned the plantation until it became part of the National Parks Service in recent years, shared his memories of growing up at Oakland.

Oakland is a raised Creole Cottage built in 1821. It is remarkable as one of the most intact plantation homes, with the original outbuildings, and an incredible array of artifacts and papers. “My great, great, great grandfather built the place, and no one ever moved out. All my grandfathers died here,” Mr. Prudhomme explains.

Born in 1929, he grew up during the Great Depression and recalls that, even in this majestic, stately ho me, life was modest by today’s standards.

“It was laid back but never quiet,” said Mr. Prudhomme, recalling that there were always lots of extended family members around. “We didn’t really feel privileged. I never realized I had grown up in a museum until we got with the National Park System.”

Melrose Plantation, built circa 1796, is another of Louisiana’s legendary plantations, and a repository of many paintings of the late folk artist Clementine Hunter. Her primitives capture the essence of plantation life. Clementine Hunter worked as a housekeeper at Melrose, where the lady of the house, Cammie Henry, surrounded herself with artists and writers. Clementine picked up a discarded tube of paint in 1939 and taught herself to paint. Her work is now a colorful window into what life was like on a Louisiana plantation.

“She was a memory painter, painting scenes of work, church, death, baptism, recreation,” says Curator Scott Norton. “She sold her paintings for 25 cents.” In addition to her paintings, a quilt by Clementine Hunter is also on display. Also of interest is a weaving house. Honoring Mrs. Henry’s tradition of encouraging the arts, Melrose hosts an annual Arts Festival the second full weekend in June.

Steel Magnolias

For fans of “Steel Magnolias,” a visit to Natchitoches is a sentimental journey. There is a driving tour of significant sites from the movie. If you call in advance, you may be able to book one of the rooms at the well-known Steel Magnolia House Bed and Breakfast, where you can tour and stay in the home in which the movie is set.

Owned by Dr. and Mrs. Richard Landry, the Steel Magnolia House is a classic Southern beauty with grand rooms, abundant azaleas and fond memories of the filming of the movie in 1988. Based on the play Natchitoches native Robert Harling wrote about his sister, Susan, “Steel Magnolias” is the true story of a group of women who help each other cope with life’s ups and downs, and ultimately with the loss of one of their own. This story continues to inspire.

Christina Landry, a thoughtful and gracious hostess, leads the house tour for guests, after a fabulous gourmet breakfast of local favorites. A DVD of the movie is on hand for guests who want to see it again and notice all the Natchitoches landmarks in the film.

A Stroll along the Bricks.

Downtown is quaint and scenic, overlooking the Cane River Lake and historic homes. Front Street shopping offers art, antiques, unique gifts and gourmet food. Highlights include The Natchitoches Guild and Gallery, showcasing the best local artists and regional subjects; The Book Merchant, with a wonderful collection of Southern literature as well as antiques and gardening; Dickens & Co., with gifts, antiques, and the new Flaunt line of handbags; Kaffie-Frederick General Mercantile, which has been here 148 years; Cane Brake Café, where you can get a cupcake and a cup of tea, Skippity Doo Da, a children’s boutique where you can find the perfect hat for a little girl’s tea; Cane River Kitchenware, which offers cooking demonstrations, The Louisiana Purchase, which offers classic Louisiana gifts and the best homemade fudge and pralines and Plantation Treasures gift shop.

If you want to try something representative for lunch, Lasyone’s is famous for their meat pies. The Landing offers Cajun cuisine on Front Street, and Merci Beaucoup has light fare along with local favorites. Antoon’s on Front Street offers outdoor dining and fabulous seafood. For a romantic dinner, Mariner’s, which is on the lake and the perfect place to catch the sunset, is a classic with steaks and seafood on the menu. Many of the restaurants serve Louisiana’s famous bread pudding for dessert.

History fans will not want to miss the Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic site, which includes a full-scale replica of the fort, which was established in 1716. The tour begins with an educational video summarizing the history of Colonial era in Natchitoches. Guests then explore the re-created fort, built in the 1970s. Costumed tour guides show guests around the buildings, and demonstrate the firing of a musket.

If you visit in September you can experience the Meat Pie Festival, on the first weekend in October, you can catch the Classic Car Show downtown with music and food. The second weekend in October there is a fall tour of homes, and starting in late November, Christmas festivities include a festival, holiday trail of lights. March features Art on the Bricks and Bloomin’ on the Bricks, a festival of art and flowers.