Baton Rouge is a state capital with an unusual amount of its best material free at the door: the 1850s Gothic castle that served as the old capitol, the governor's mansion nine governors actually lived in, the tallest state capitol building in the country, and the university's live tiger all cost nothing. What the published lists get wrong right now is the waterfront. The destroyer moored downtown is not there, it is away for overhaul, and the observation deck at the top of the Capitol is shut for renovations. Both are on the cards below rather than quietly left out.
The top 15, ranked
Ranked from official sources: the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, the Louisiana State Museum, Louisiana State University, the parish parks commission and each operator's own visit page, with the published adult price beside every pick and every free claim quoted from the operator.
- Top pick
#1Best for the best free hour in the city · #1 of 15Louisiana's Old State Capitol
History museumDowntownopen Tuesday through Friday from ten until four and Saturday from nine until three, closed on Sundays and MondaysFreeA Gothic Revival castle from the 1850s sits above the river and now works as a museum of state political history, with a stained glass dome over a cast iron spiral stair. Admission is free.
Local tipIt closes on Sundays and Mondays and shuts at three on Saturdays, which is earlier than the weekday four, so a weekend visit needs to be a Saturday morning.
- Top pick
2Best for the building, not the view, for now · #2 of 15
Louisiana State Capitol
State capitolDowntownthe welcome center inside the building opens daily through normal daytime hours, with the observation deck at the top currently closed for renovationsFreeHuey Long built the tallest state capitol in the country here in 1932, thirty four stories of limestone Art Deco, and the state's own welcome center inside it states free admission. The building and its grounds are the single most striking thing in the city.
Local tipThe observation deck at the top is closed for renovations with no reopening date published, so go for the building, the memorial hall and the gardens rather than the view. The welcome center is inside the building on the ground floor.
- Top pick
3Best for the museum, while the ship is gone · #3 of 15
USS KIDD Veterans Museum
Veterans museumRiverfrontthe museum building opens daily from half past nine until half past three, with the ship away for overhaul and group visits and overnight camping suspendedUnder $10The Louisiana Veterans Museum sits on the levee where the Fletcher class destroyer USS KIDD is normally moored. The museum building is open on a reduced ticket while the ship is away, and its collection stands on its own.
Local tipThe ship itself is off site for overhaul and cannot be boarded. The operator's own site says so in its navigation, group visits and overnight camping aboard are on hold, and no firm return date is published, so do not travel for a ship tour.
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4Best for an early start in summer · #4 of 15
LSU Rural Life Museum
Open air museumEssen Laneopen daily from eight in the morning with the visitor center and the historic structures closing at half past four, shut on five major holidays a year$10 to $25Thirty two historic Louisiana buildings stand on one university owned site alongside Windrush Gardens, and a single twelve dollar adult ticket covers the barn, every building and the gardens together. It is the fullest picture of pre industrial Louisiana anywhere in the state.
Local tipIt opens at eight in the morning, earlier than anything else on this list, which matters between June and September when the middle of the day outdoors is unpleasant.
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5Best for the state, not just the city · #5 of 15
Capitol Park Museum
State museumDowntownopen Tuesday through Saturday from nine until four with last ticket sales earlier than closing, and closed on Sundays and Mondays$10 to $25The Louisiana State Museum's Baton Rouge branch covers the whole state, from the Mississippi delta and Cajun and Creole culture through to Mardi Gras, in a purpose built hall beside the Capitol. Adults are thirteen dollars, Louisiana residents eleven, children six and under free.
Local tipLast tickets are sold well before the four o'clock close, and it shuts on Sundays and Mondays like the Old State Capitol, so plan both into the same Tuesday to Saturday window.
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6Best for a weekday, or the first Sunday · #6 of 15
Old Governor's Mansion
Historic houseDowntownopen on weekdays from nine until four and on the first Sunday of each month from midday, closed on all other weekend daysFreeNine governors lived in this Georgian Revival house between 1930 and 1963, Huey Long among them, and it is kept as a house museum with free admission.
Local tipIt opens on weekdays plus the first Sunday of each month and nothing else, so a normal weekend will find it shut unless your Sunday is the first of the month. It also publishes a winter maintenance closure, so check before an early January visit.
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7Best for a planetarium show with children · #7 of 15
Louisiana Art and Science Museum
Art and science museumRiverfrontclosed Mondays and Tuesdays to general visitors, open Wednesday through Friday from ten until three, Saturday from ten until five and Sunday afternoons from oneTicketedA converted railway station on the riverfront holds galleries, an Egyptian collection and a planetarium under one roof, which makes it the one stop here that works equally for adults and for children.
Local tipIt is closed on Mondays and on Tuesdays, and Tuesdays are given over to booked school groups rather than walk in visitors. Tickets are sold through its booking system rather than posted as a flat price.
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8Best for the oldest thing here · #8 of 15
Magnolia Mound
Historic houseNicholson Driveopen Monday through Saturday from ten until four and Sunday afternoons from one until four$10 to $25A French Creole house from 1791 stands on a bluff above the river near the university, kept by the parish parks commission, at twelve dollars for adults. It is one of the oldest wooden buildings in the lower Mississippi valley.
Local tipThere is a cheaper grounds only ticket if you want to walk the property rather than take the house tour, and the site opens Monday to Saturday from ten with a short Sunday afternoon.
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9Best for a Wednesday afternoon with children · #9 of 15
BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo
ZooGreenwell Springsopen daily with gates from half past nine until four, closed on three holidays a year, with the giraffe chat and the running of the ducks currently suspended$10 to $25The parish zoo keeps tigers, giraffes, rhinos and alligators on a site north of the city, at ten dollars plus tax for adults and teenagers, with children aged one and under free. It opens every day of the year bar three.
Local tipThere is a discounted admission window on Wednesday afternoons. Two regular activities, the giraffe chat and the running of the ducks, are suspended indefinitely, so do not plan a visit around either.
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10Best for a first Sunday · #10 of 15
LSU Museum of Art
Art museumDowntownopen Tuesday through Saturday from ten until five and Sunday afternoons from one, closed on MondaysUnder $10The university's fine art museum occupies the fifth floor of the Shaw Center downtown, at five dollars for anyone thirteen and over and free for children twelve and under. Five dollars for a serious collection is the best value on this page after the free tier.
Local tipGeneral admission is free for everyone on the first Sunday of every month. The Shaw Center building around it keeps longer hours than the museum, so check the museum's own times rather than the building's.
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11Best for ten free minutes on campus · #11 of 15
Mike the Tiger's Habitat
University landmarkLSU campusviewable most days across a long daytime window, with the exact times varying and the tiger not guaranteed to be outsideFreeThe university keeps its live Bengal tiger in a landscaped habitat beside Tiger Stadium and states plainly that there is no fee to see him. It is the most Louisiana thing on this list and it costs nothing.
Local tipMike is not guaranteed to be outdoors at any given moment, so treat the sighting as a bonus rather than the plan, and combine it with a walk round the campus.
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12Best for swamp without a boat · #12 of 15
Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center
Nature preservePerkins Roadopen Tuesday through Saturday from nine until five and Sunday from midday until five, closed Mondays, with last trail admission at quarter past fourUnder $10A cypress and tupelo swamp with boardwalk trails and a nature center sits inside the city, and it is the cheapest ticket here: three dollars for adults, two for children three to seventeen, two fifty for over sixty fives and college students, free under three.
Local tipLast admission to the trails is at quarter past four and the gate is locked at five, so a late afternoon arrival will not get on the boardwalk. It closes on Mondays.
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13Best for the view while the deck is shut · #13 of 15
Riverfront Plaza and the levee path
RiverfrontDowntownan open public plaza and levee path with no gate and no published closing timeFreeA public plaza sits on top of the Mississippi levee between the museum, the destroyer museum and the arena, with a fountain, a mural and its own raised viewing deck. The levee path from it runs to the Capitol grounds on foot.
Local tipThis is the free walk that ties the downtown attractions together, and it is the substitute view while the Capitol observation deck is closed, since the plaza has a deck of its own.
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14Best for a Saturday or a Thursday morning · #14 of 15
Red Stick Farmers Market
Farmers marketDowntownSaturday mornings from eight until midday downtown and Thursday mornings from eight until midday at the biomedical campus, running through the year and not cancelled for rainFreeThe main market runs Saturday mornings at Fifth and Main downtown, with a second year round Thursday market at the Pennington Biomedical campus and two more weekday locations added in spring. It is run by a local agricultural nonprofit rather than a promoter.
Local tipRain does not cancel it, which is worth knowing in a Louisiana spring. Both regular markets finish at noon, so it is a start to the day rather than an addition to it.
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15Best for a night out without children · #15 of 15
Chelsea's Live
Music venueCatfish Townopen on show nights only, restricted to eighteen and over for every show, with prices set per event inside the booking systemTicketedThe city's main independent music room books touring and local acts downtown, and it is where Baton Rouge puts its evenings when the museums have shut.
Local tipEvery show is eighteen and over, without exception, so this is not an option on a family trip. Prices are set per show inside the booking system rather than as a standing cover.
Where things cluster
Downtown holds most of the free history within a few blocks, and the university, the swamp and the zoo are each a short drive out in a different direction.
- Downtown and the riverfrontThe two capitols, the governor's mansion, the state museum, the art and science museum and the levee plaza all sit within a walk of each other.
- Capitol ParkThe 1932 tower, its gardens and the Capitol Park Museum sit together at the north end of downtown.
- The LSU campusThe tiger habitat, the museum of art's parent university and Magnolia Mound are all clustered at the south end of the city.
- Perkins Road and Essen LaneThe swamp preserve and the rural life museum sit inland from the river, ten to fifteen minutes from downtown.
- North Baton RougeThe zoo sits out on the Greenwell Springs side, about twenty minutes from the middle of town.
Make it a day
Two capitols and the levee
Start at the Old State Capitol when it opens at ten, because it is free and it is the best hour in the city. Walk up to the new Capitol for the building and the grounds, knowing the observation deck is shut, then across to the Capitol Park Museum for the state as a whole. Take the levee path down to Riverfront Plaza in the afternoon and into the USS KIDD museum, which is open even though the ship is away. Finish on the riverfront at the art and science museum if it is a Wednesday through Sunday. Avoid a Monday, when most of this is closed.
Downtown, then the university side
Give the first day to downtown: the Old State Capitol, the Capitol tower, the state museum and the levee, with the governor's mansion added if it is a weekday or a first Sunday. On the second day take the south of the city, with the LSU Rural Life Museum early before the heat, Magnolia Mound on the bluff and ten free minutes at the tiger habitat, then the swamp boardwalk at Bluebonnet in the late afternoon before its quarter past four last admission. Put the Saturday morning market at the very start if your weekend includes one.
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Spring and late fall are the season here, because a Louisiana summer is genuinely hot and humid and a good deal of this list is walked outdoors, from the levee path to the rural life museum and the swamp boardwalk. March, April, October and November give comfortable days. In high summer the Rural Life Museum's eight o'clock opening becomes the useful fact on this page. Everything indoors runs year round, but the closed days matter more than the months: most of downtown shuts on Mondays and several sites shut on Sundays too.
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Baton Rouge things to do FAQ
What is away, what is shut at the top of the Capitol, and how much of this is free, answered before you go.
Can you go aboard the USS KIDD in Baton Rouge?
Not at the moment. The ship is away for overhaul and the operator says so in its own site navigation, which reads that the visit is museum only while the ship is away. Group visits and the overnight camping program aboard are both on hold, and no firm return date is published, so do not travel for a ship tour. The shoreside Louisiana Veterans Museum is open daily from half past nine until half past three on a reduced ticket.
Is the Louisiana State Capitol observation deck open?
No. The state's own tourism page for the Capitol welcome center states that the observation deck is closed for renovations, and gives no reopening date. Admission to the building is still free and the building itself is the tallest state capitol in the country, so it remains worth the stop. For a raised view of the river in the meantime, Riverfront Plaza on the levee has its own observation deck and costs nothing.
What can you do in Baton Rouge for free?
An unusual amount. Louisiana's Old State Capitol states free admission, the Old Governor's Mansion states free admission, and the state welcome center inside the Capitol states free admission. LSU states plainly that there is no fee to see Mike the Tiger. Riverfront Plaza and the levee path cost nothing, and the Red Stick Farmers Market is free to browse. The LSU Museum of Art is free to everyone on the first Sunday of each month.
Which days are things closed in Baton Rouge?
Monday is the worst day to arrive. The Old State Capitol, the Capitol Park Museum, the LSU Museum of Art, the Louisiana Art and Science Museum and Bluebonnet Swamp are all closed on Mondays, and the art and science museum is closed on Tuesdays as well. The Old State Capitol and the Capitol Park Museum also close on Sundays, and the Old Governor's Mansion opens at weekends only on the first Sunday of the month.
How long do you need in Baton Rouge?
One full day covers the two capitols, the state museum and the riverfront, which is the core of the city and most of the free tier. Two days lets you add the university side properly, meaning the Rural Life Museum, Magnolia Mound, the tiger habitat and the swamp boardwalk, without rushing any of them.
Is Baton Rouge walkable?
Downtown is. The Old State Capitol, the new Capitol, the governor's mansion, the state museum, the art and science museum, the USS KIDD museum and Riverfront Plaza sit within about a mile of each other, connected by the levee path. Everything else, including the university sites, the swamp and the zoo, needs a car.
Keep planning
Use these nearby guides to extend a Baton Rouge trip across south Louisiana.
Image credits. Hero: Niagara / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. 1 Louisiana's Old State Capitol: saintpo2007 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.