Baton Rouge

Hemmed in as it is by endless industrial plants, Baton Rouge doesn't look like much from the road. Yet government-history enthusiasts will want to stop here on their way through the south Louisiana countryside. Baton Rouge, the state capital, has several interesting and readily accessible sights, including the attractive capitol grounds and an educational planetarium. This is the city from which the colorful, cunning, and often corrupt Huey P. Long ruled the state; it is also the site of his assassination. Even today, more than 80 years after Long's death, legends about the controversial governor and U.S. senator abound.