DeQuincy · Calcasieu Parish
Tue to Sat, 10 AM to 5 PM; closed city holidays
Free · Free; donations welcomed
Railroad artifacts in the 1923 Kansas City Southern depot, with the original waiting room benches and ticket window, the agent's office and baggage room. Outside are a 1913 steam switch engine, a 1947 Pullman coach and two cabooses, next to a park and playground.
Lake Charles · Calcasieu Parish
Tue to Sat, 10 AM to 6 PM
Free · Admission to all exhibitions is free
The restored 1911 city hall is the City of Lake Charles' public art gallery, with three floors of gallery space for traveling and regional exhibitions, a clock tower and a brick courtyard. The Black Heritage Gallery and Gallery by the Lake exhibit here.
Lake Charles · Calcasieu Parish
Tue, 10 AM to 2 PM; Wed to Fri, 10 AM to 3 PM; Sat, 10 AM to 2 PM
Adults $5, seniors 60+ $2, children 17 and under $3, military with ID $3, McNeese and Sowela students free, uniformed military and first responders free, members free. Downtown walking tours: adults $20; seniors 65+, military, first responders, teachers and children 11 and under $15 (includes museum admission that day)
Regional history galleries on the old Imperial Calcasieu region, from Native American pottery and relics of the Great Fire of 1910 to a military Hall of Heroes, plus rotating art shows in the Gibson-Barham Gallery. The 375-year-old Sallier Oak and steel sculptures by Lynda Benglis are on the grounds.
Lake Charles · Calcasieu Parish
Tue to Sat, 10 AM to 5 PM (last entry 4 PM); closed national holidays and Mardi Gras day
Adults $15, seniors 65+ $12, military $12, students grades 9 to 12 $10, grades K to 8 $8. Groups of 10+ with 24 hours' notice: adults $12, grades 9 to 12 $8, grades K to 8 $5; teachers with school groups free
Costumes of past Mardi Gras royalty, costume sketches, king cake history and a parade float visitors can climb aboard, covering Southwest Louisiana's krewes and the rural Courir de Mardi Gras. It moved from Central School to a new building on Enterprise Boulevard in April 2026.
Lake Charles · Calcasieu Parish
Children's Museum: Mon to Sat, 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Sun 1 to 4 PM. Nature and Science Center: Tue to Sat, 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Separate tickets: Children's Museum $16 per child or adult; Nature and Science Center $6 per person
A 32,000 square foot lakefront building off I-10 with two separately ticketed wings: the Children's Museum of Southwest Louisiana and the LDWF Nature and Science Center. Outside are a covered fishing pier and walking trails to the Cypress Alligator Pond and the lakefront boardwalk.
Jennings · Jefferson Davis Parish
Mon to Sat, 10 AM to 4 PM
Free
Louisiana and American art from the 1800s to today, including works by John James Audubon, Clementine Hunter, Helen Turner and a large William Tolliver collection, shown in rotation alongside visiting exhibitions. Since 2015 it has been inside the renovated Jennings City Hall.
Lake Charles · Calcasieu Parish
Mon to Fri, 9 AM to 4 PM
Free
Two university galleries in McNeese's Shearman Fine Arts Center that rotate exhibitions by visiting artists, faculty and students, from painting and sculpture to installation and video. All exhibitions are free.
DeRidder · Beauregard Parish
Tue to Fri, 10 AM to 4 PM; Sat, 9 AM to 3 PM; closed Sun, Mon and federal holidays
Free
Parish history in DeRidder's 1926 Kansas City Southern depot: timber industry artifacts, handmade tools, old photographs, Native American arrowheads and pottery, military memorabilia and musical instruments, with a stainless-steel caboose in the courtyard.
Lake Charles · Calcasieu Parish · in Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center
Tue to Sat, 10 AM to 6 PM (Historic City Hall hours)
Free
A gallery for African American artists inside Historic City Hall, with six exhibitions a year that each run about seven weeks, opening on the first Friday of February, April, June, August, October and December. Opening receptions are free and open to the public.
DeQuincy · Calcasieu Parish
Mon to Thu, 9 AM to noon and 1 to 4 PM
A small museum in DeQuincy's old town hall on Fourth Street covering the town's turpentine and timber industries, with Newport Industries memorabilia and a Wall of Honor for local veterans.
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