Grand Coteau, LA

This town sits on what was the west bank of the Mississippi River 2,000 years ago.  The town is one of the few rural districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has more than 70 structures that are designated architecturally significant.   Along the main route on your right,  you will see the St. Charles College, a Jesuit boarding school founded in 1837 and serves as a seminary today. 

If you take a right onto Church St., you will have a 1 mile journey to visit the Academy of the Sacred Heart which was established in 1821, and is the second oldest institution of learning west of the Mississippi.  This was the final destination of Cycle Zydeco up until 2011.  It is worth the extra pedaling to visit the grounds and see its oak trees.