LARC's Acadian Village

We visited here from 2:00 to closing at 4:00 in the afternoon in early January and the light was just beautiful. The Christmas decorations were still up so things looked a little bit different than they would normally but the whole place would be absolutely fabulous at any time of the year! So many artifacts and such attention to detail in a magnificent green, rural setting. Signs placed with the artifacts and a brochure gave background information.

We find ourselves going every year to see the Christmas lights. The line of cars to get in (along with parking itself) is pretty rough. Once we got to our parking spot there were a just a few people scrambling and rushing to stack are in there like tetris. After waiting quite a while for the line just to park you are met with another rather large line to get into the gate. I would definitely suggest getting there sooner than later. It was nice that the local fire department had their fire truck next to the line for the kids (and some adults lol) to check out. I feel that their real short coming was their ticket line, pretty much choas. There were people everywhere trying to go through with no guidance on where one should go. Some people had purchased online (likeus) and some were there to purchase on sight. Turns out there were three lines that took either. There were no signs or not even at least a person to tell people that there were three lines because it basically became a heard of cattle funneling through three shoots (there was a fourth booth that wasn't open at the time). It wasn't pleasant. People were confused, talking loudly and kids were crying all over. We spent around 30 minutes in the ticket line. ALL that being said, it was a nice place once we were able to get in. The lights were beautiful as always. As large as this place is it did get pretty congested . People were stopping to take photos here and there and at some points you sort of get trapped behind a huge line to make the loops to see everything. There were some new displays and some of their classics with music playing almost everywhere but not in an obnoxious way. ALOT of effort went into this place and it shows. We really did enjoy it once we got in. Highly recommend getting there early so you can enjoy all the sights and sounds.

100% worth the drive! We loved the convenience of being able to use our phones for an audio guided tour. Be sure to pack ear buds so you won’t miss a thing. You will enjoy learning about the history of each house along with browsing the gift shop.

I love visiting Acadian Village at Christmas time. The lights are pretty, entertainment good, food is good as well. Tickets in advance are only $10. I loved the light up flowers they added this year. So pretty. I want them all for my yard.

Great place to enjoy the holidays and get a little Louisiana culture

Super cool experience.! Definitely could be fun for a couple or the family. The coolest part of the place is the history behind it and the phone guide that gives you pretty much all the info you want to know about the buildings on site. Not only do they have houses of the time period but artifacts for that time as well. My favorite building was definitely the church. It is a replica, but it's gives you an insight into what it looked and felt like back then. Very cool experience. I will definitely bring the faimly back.

We enjoyed walking around Acadian Village. It was our first visit there. I am originally from Louisiana and the old, historic Cajun homes on a bayou reminded me of my childhood. We definitely want to return there in December when they have Christmas lights in the evenings.

Very fun day visiting here. Nice location. Nice set up. Well manicured grounds. The ponds are in need of some cleaning. The displays are nice, but need to be cleaned and revived. It appears they have been there for a long time and not really any upkeep. The person working the counter, while all questions were answered, was not rude, but not friendly at all. Not inviting or welcoming. No personality.

I came on a Saturday in June since I thought there wouldn't be too many people since it was especially warm. I would not really recommend that unless you are wearing comfortable shoes and drinking lots of water. This was reasonably priced and a great amount of stuff to look at that is historical. This was just amazing. I highly recommend this for humans and gnomes alike.

We adored our time at the Acadian Village. However, we visited at night during their Noel Acadien Au Village Christmas event, not during regular hours when they offer their history tour. I fondly remember visiting as a child and having the wonderful opportunity to learn how the early Acadian settlers homesteaded in their quaint Acadian cottages. Everything from making soap with lard, to spinning linen from cotton. They even used indigo flowers to make blue dye. Our visit for Christmas, although absent of a history tour, included a beautiful stroll through an illuminated Acadian Village. There was a beautiful manger set up, as well as the village chapel decorated with thousands of lights. Definitely worth a very inexpensive entry fee to meander through the village and experience some holiday cheer. They also had an amusement park decorated in lights, but we didn't get a chance to check out any rides, as the lines were pretty long for most of them, and we arrived late. Our visit definitely put me in the holiday spirit though! I plan to come back after the holidays for a history tour. It's such a nice place rich in history and culture.

A cute half-day trip for families. They charge a few bucks per person for entry but it goes to a good cause. Each house is set up with artifacts (clothes, furniture, tools) and gives a really good idea of how life was lived back then. My toddler got a kick out of the pond full of turtles but overall it's not exactly a destination for such little kids. The gift shop had some memorable souvenirs too.

Lafayette Acadian Village was a great learninexperience.Everyone enjoyed the experience. Would recommend it to anyone.

It's a nice little park price is ok I really enjoyed walking around it please check it out at first we could not find the entrance but whent around it and found it

The Acadian Village looks to give visitors a glimpse of Cajun life in the 1800s. Seven homes donated by families to the Lafayette Association of Retarded Citizens show how people lived back then. The homes include fascinating mud walls, cypress timbers cut by hand and fastened by wood pegs and high-peaked roofs. I'm surprised by the poor reviews from people who maybe were expecting an amusement park experience. That's not what this place is. But for those interested in learning about the past, the Acadian Village does a good job of providing that.

If you love history, this little out of the way place is a great place to visit. It doesn't take much time, the admission is reasonable, and you'll learn a little about the history of the Acadians while you are there. We started off in the gift shop where you pay for your admission. They have a telephone number where you can call in to listen to the "guided" tour. You can stop and start it as you need to. You are allowed to go as fast or as slowly as you would like. There are quite a few things to see so we took our time. If you are looking for an amusement park, this is not it, but if you want to learn about some history of the area, pay an admission that is reasonable, and that goes for a really great organization, this is the place! I highly recommend!

When I was learning the history of Louisiana. I heard the people from the North. They were Acadians. I found their outdoor museum here in Lafayette.I visited the village on Wednesday, October 21st. It was empty. I was the only visitor. I walked around the village. The buildings were well-preserved. I took a lot of pictures. The villages were very Instagramable! It took one hour to return to the entrance. I wanted to learn about the history of Louisiana more!

The Acadian Village is a great way to spend a couple hours during the holidays. The old buildings are festively decorated for Christmas and will have you leaving with Christmas fever. Carnival rides can be a fun lagniappe if you bring extra money for the tickets (it's averaging about 4 tickets per ride). The food looked good but seemed a little pricey, I'd suggest hitting up a meal before you go. The price to get in is $10/person unless you go to a Shop Rite before and buy your tickets for $8/person. Trust me on this one, it is worth it to buy your tickets in advance because the line to get in can be long if you get there before 7 pm. Parking is free but congested due to so many people there. Overall it is great holiday fun for the whole family. Go out and enjoy the lights and get your picture taken with Santa. December 23 is the last day from 5:30-9 pm.

Great place to see Christmas lights! Supporting a great cause. Only complaint would be that you only get about 1-2 minutes to ride the rides. Other that we love this place!

I wasn't impressed by this village. It's hard to find first off. The sign is so small and it looks like you are going into a farm. Once inside there are lots of little cabins made to look like a village. In the middle is a little lake. You can walk in the houses and see what they look like. Nothing too special. In the back of the village, you basically just walk around a grass walking path. Nothing to see. The church was pretty next to the bridge. And at Christmas time they light up the village with lights. You do have the option of doing your tour in French or English. It was an ok place to visit. It's not one I would want to visit again though.

One of Lafayette's two "historic" villages, the Acadian Village reconstructed what the 1800s Cajun housing community appears. The first sight of this venue is certainly impressive: a lovely tree-covered marsh with its banks lined with authentic old cabins that were moved to create what the history appears. You can even walk into all the houses and see the furniture! However, past the few houses, the deceptively small village becomes an untamed grass field. Even if you were to read every single thing in every house, you will run out of things to see after an hour tops. The admission is for a good cause and the facts about the development of the Cajun people and Lafayette itself are interesting. But given this village's small size and significant distance from anything else, I don't think Acadian Village is worth going out of your way to see unless you are already in or passing through the area. --- tl;dr version: 1) Cool reconstructed 1800s Cajun village 2) Admission is for good cause and includes good info 3) Small size not worth going unless you're already nearby

We toured the Acadian Village and enjoyed the insight into the history of this area. We were able to walk around and tour the buildings and read the history at our leisure. I have contacted a friend who loves Williamsburg, VA and told him about this place. We offered to come back to see it again with him! Frankly any place I would visit twice has to be worth it. There is so much to see and learn!

Great place to see Christmas lights and bring the kids out for hot coco. This is a authentic Cajun village with a church and small bridges. During Christmas they decorate the homes and have rides for the kids. It's a great way to experience the Christmas cheer Cajun style. They had performances by local organizations. There was a vocal school with many talented students singing Christmas songs.

We visited this museum about 5 months ago. It has very interesting history. It is not expensive at all and has a pamphlet with all the history on each house on the property. It is very cute it's a small village. We took alot of pictures, the scenery is great for pictures (my favorite area for pictures was definitely the bridge). They also have a couple of areas that can be rented out for venues. The souvenir store is very well stocked. The restrooms are very clean. The ladies/guides are so friendly and full of fun facts about this village, they are so informative and they definitely enjoy sharing the history of this village.

I'm a bit surprised to be the first review on here for Acadian Village, but we'll roll with it. While visiting my sister in Lafayette, I decided to try and learn about Acadia and Cajun culture since I was a) a little weirded out, and b) wanted to keep an open mind and stay curious. So, a trip to Acadian Village ensued. For starters, it's on the south side of town off a road near a roundabout. There's an entrance fee of $8.50, and you have the option of a guide map in either English or French. The Louisiana Cajuns are of French descent... turns out it's actually a long, sad story of fleeing Canada after the British took over the land they were in, being rejected by other French Canadians, and ending up in Louisiana. So I'm not a historian, but that was the gist of what I gathered. Anyways, Acadian Village is a cluster of houses organized to resemble what a village would have looked like over a hundred years ago. There are houses in varying states of restoration, including an old church, blacksmith's workshop, and a hospital. It was interesting to see what life was like during the represented time periods (1800s and 1900s), and there was a blacksmith on premise talking with a family that was touring. Brick walkways lead you through the village around a small lake where a gaggle of geese (and ducks) reside. There are plenty of trees for shade, as well as restrooms, a gift shop, and concession stand. Did I learn about Acadiana? Yes, so my mission was accomplished, but I left wishing that I'd visited the Acadian Cultural Center instead. While the artifacts were interesting and I like the idea, my main goal was to learn about the culture and history of the place, which I could have done in a museum setting. There's a village very similar in style to this in Christmas, Florida, that I've visited several times, so I think that's where my sentiment comes from. The LRAC works with intellectually disabled people in Lafayette to provide jobs, training, and dignity, so I'm glad my money went to a great cause.

This is a nice place if you want to hold a party with a band and want something secluded and private. During the Christmas season (yes, Christmas and not holiday season) there are many of the little Cajun homes that are decorated with lights and it's a nice place to visit and to take a walk at. Other than that, the restrooms are pretty rough but are better than outhouses. So, stop by at Christmas time or spring and check out the place.

Interesting houses, but the self guided tour system is pitiful. You call a number on your cell phone and match the "exhibit" to the number on a pamphlet and punch it into the keypad. Even then, the info is sparse and only lasts for a minute or two. Everything they say over the phone, you can read in the pamphlet or on the walls of the homes. Then, they tell you to just "look at the exhibits" inside, so you wind up reading a ton anyway. The worst part is that it encourages you to hang up and call back for the next house to "conserve airtime," and will repeat this message over and over in order to annoy you enough that you do it. Very odd. Paid $8.75 for one adult to get in on a weekday, which seems steep considering what comes with it and how small the grounds are.