Louisiana sights plentiful outside of New Orleans

Celebrate this year's bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase with a visit to Louisiana, where you can stroll the grounds of plantation mansions, dance at a Cajun fais-do-do and stuff yourself with all kinds of food.

"Laissez les bon temps rouler!" -- Let the good times roll.

Go beyond New Orleans and explore parish by parish with help from the Louisiana Page Locale -- www.lapage.com/page/ -- which lets you click around a state map or pick a parish by name. Not all of the Web sites you'll be taken to are set up for tourists, but you can find spots such as Ouachita Parish, where the Monroe/West Monroe Convention & Visitors Bureau will fill you in on local attractions such as Antique Alley, or the Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Take a photo tour of some of Louisiana's best plantations at Louisiana Images -- http://laimages.com/ -- including stately mansions such as Arlington or the less formal The Cottage. And many plantations have their own Web sites; a Web site called See Louisiana -- http://seelouis- iana.com/planti.htm -- has a directory of links.

The state's Louisiana Travel -- www.louisianatravel.com/ -- doesn't tell you much on its own, but if you click on the box about the Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial you'll run into a long list of Web links for attractions.

In central Louisiana, the visitors' guide for Alexandria-Pineville -- www.louisinafromhere.com/ -- suggests a visit to the Dogwood Festival in April, or the Louisiana Pecan Festival in November. They also provide tips for day trips.

And don't ignore the state capital of Baton Rouge. The local Convention & Visitors Bureau site at www.bracvb.com/ -- calls the city a blend of Southern beauty, Creole culture and Cajun zest. Learn about Cajun culture at www.gum- bopages.com/acadiana/.