There's no place like St. Martinville!

Start your day in St. Martinville with a visit to Evangeline Oak Park.

The Tourist Information Center is ready to help you at any point during your visit. Across the street, the Evangeline Oak marks the spot where legend has it that two Acadian lovers were reunited. In the shade of its branches, tap your feet to Cajun tune or catch up on the local news with the Mr. Ophé Roméro.

Next door is the St. Martinville Cultural Heritage Center, where we remember two groups who came to Louisiana after being forced to leave their homeland: Africans and Acadians. In the Center, the African American Museum tells of people of African and Creole descent in this region during the 1700 and 1800’s. The Museum of the Acadian Memorial shows who the Acadians were and why they came to Louisiana.

From the Heritage Center, follow the Bayou Teche boardwalk to the Acadian Memorial next door. Join us in remembering Louisiana’s Acadian pioneers in a beautiful space dedicated to their memory.

Now that you’ve met our 18th century settlers, you can appreciate this "Petit Paris" or "Little Paris" of the 19th century, still visible today in the architecture that surrounds you. Stroll along Evangeline Boulevard and cross Main Street to the Duchamp Opera House, which has reprised its roll as a theater and made its debut in gifts and antiques.

After your visit to Evangeline Oak Park, two centuries of Catholic tradition await you in St. Martin Square, while eight blocks of classic Louisiana architecture are yours to discover in the historic district.

You'll be tempted to savor the authentic Cajun and Creole fare at our restaurants, then spend an evening on the front porch before you call it a night at one of our sumptuous bed and breakfasts.

Don’t miss the Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site, located one mile north on Main Street. Here you can have a glimpse into the lives of the first Acadians and Creole planters in our region.

Evangeline Oak Park

To honor St. Martinville's ties to the Acadian experience, in fact and in legend, historic city properties surrounding the Evangeline Oak were officially drawn together and designated as Evangeline Oak Park. The park now includes the Evangeline Oak and surrounding grounds, the Bayou Teche boardwalk, the St. Martinville Cultural Heritage Center, the Acadian Memorial, the Tourist Information Center, Evangeline Boulevard, and the Duchamp Opera House.

St. Martinville Cultural Heritage Center
Open daily 10 to 4

The St. Martinville Cultural Heritage Center houses two museums with a common theme - the story of people uprooted from their homeland who started new lives in Louisiana. These two museums are the African American Museum and the Museum of the Acadian Memorial. Admission: $2 for adults – 13 years ; $1 for children under 12.

African American Museum

The African American Museum tells the story of the arrival of Africans in Southwest Louisiana in the mid 1700s, the experience of slavery, the emergence of free people of color, and the Reconstruction period following the Civil War. It features a 32 foot mural by noted local artist Dennis Williams.

Contact: Danielle Fontenette, Curator/Director, stmchc@bellsouth.net, P.O. Box 646, St. Martinville, LA 70582, (337) 394-2250 phone, (337) 394-2265 fax

Museum of the Acadian Memorial

Start your visit to the Acadian Memorial here. See and hear the story of Acadie, the exile and the arrival of Acadians in Louisiana. Discover how Acadians became Cajuns, the story of Evangeline, and why the Acadian Memorial came to be.

Contact: Brenda Comeaux -Trahan, Curator/Director, info@acadianmemorial.org, Acadian Memorial, P.O. Box 379, Dept. AM, St. Martinville, LA 70582, (337) 394-2258 phone, (337) 394-2260 fax

Mr. Ophé Roméro
Monday through Saturday in Evangeline Oak Park when the weather is good

Be sure to stop by and say bonjour to Monsieur Ophé Roméro. You can find him under the Evangeline Oak with accordion in hand, ready to swap news with the locals and entertain passers-by.

Duchamp Opera House
Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 to 5

St. Martinville revives its 19th century role as "Petit Paris"-- a local center for literary and performing arts, with renovation of the Duchamp Opera House. Plays, concerts and cultural activities will take place on the second floor, in the home of St. Martinville's own local theater, the Evangeline Players. An antique mall and art gallery is on the first floor.

Contact: Hillery Peltier, www.duchamp-operahouse.com, 201 South Main St., St. Martinville, LA 70582, (337) 394-6604 phone, (334) 394-3282 fax, stmchc@bellsouth.net

St. Martinville Tourist Information Center
Open daily 10 to 4

Need help or information for your visit to St. Martinville? Looking for a guided tour of Evangeline Oak Park and St. Martin Square for your group? Looking for St. Martinville souvenirs? Contact the St. Martinville Tourist Information Center.

Contact : Carrol Russo st_martinville@hotmail.com, P.O. Box 379, St. Martinville, LA 70582 or 215 Evangeline Blvd, St. Martinville, LA 70582, (337) 394-2233 phone, (337) 394-2244 fax

St. Martinville Chamber of Commerce
Open Monday through Friday, 8 to 4:30

Moving your home or business to St. Martinville? Contact the St. Martinville Chamber of Commerce

stmcoc@bellsouth.net, P.O. Box 436, St. Martinville, LA 70582, (337) 394-7578, (337) 394-2265 fax

St. Martin Square - over 200 years of Catholic tradition

St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church
Open daily except Friday morning

St. Martin de Tours is the oldest church parish in southwest Louisiana. It is known as the Mother Church of the Acadians because it was founded in 1765 upon the arrival of Acadians in this area. The current building has served as a center for religious activities in this predominantly Catholic community for over one hundred fifty years. Behind the church, on the site of the original cemetery, monuments mark the participation of Acadians and others in the American Revolution.

Evangeline Statue

This statue was donated by Dolores del Rio after she starred in the motion picture adaptation of Longfellow's Evangeline, filmed in this area in 1929. Sculptor Marcelle Rebecchini used del Rio as his model. Daprato Studios in Chicago, Illinois cast the statue. Del Rio herself inaugurated the work at a gala ceremony in St. Martinville in April, 1931.

Le Petit Paris Museum and Gift Shop
Open daily from 9:30 to 4:30

See the work of noted St. Martinville artist Nolan Braud in an exhibit of mardi gras costumes he designed for the Rotary Ball. The costumes are based on the legend of the Durand family wedding. Several of Braud's paintings are also on display, as are chariots, or little floats, made by children in keeping with a longstanding local custom. The historic building that houses Petit Paris was once the Attakapas College.

Contact: Petit Paris Museum, 103 South Main St., St. Martinville, LA 70582, (337) 394-7334 phone

Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site
Located one mile north of St. Martin Square on North Main / LA 31 Open 9 to 5 daily

Here's a rare opportunity to see how Louisiana's first Acadians lived and to visit an early Creole plantation home. Visit the Longfellow-Evangeline State Historic Site web site at www.crt.state.la.us/crt/parks/longfell/longfell.htm (See photo above, second from right. Photo by Louisiana Office of State Parks.)

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