8 Surprising Things to Do in Monroe, Louisiana—Plus the Hotel I’d Book Again

I went for a weekend in northeast Louisiana expecting a quiet little river city and a good hotel. What I found was a Coca-Cola heiress’s walled English garden, a boardwalk full of alligators five minutes from downtown, an antique district that has been going strong since 1987 and a Saturday night with live music that felt like it belonged in a much bigger town.

Quick Look: Why Monroe, Louisiana Surprised Me

• It is walkable. I parked once downtown and did dinner, drinks and shopping on foot.
• The history is better than you expect. The man who first bottled Coca-Cola built his family’s life here. And Delta Air Lines, which got its name here in 1928, was headquartered in Monroe until 1941.
• Nature is five minutes away. A 5,300-acre wildlife refuge sits inside the city limits.
• The shopping is genuinely good. Antique Alley plus a downtown full of boutiques.
• It is affordable. Monroe is one of the better values I have found in the South.
• And the food is worth visiting for. More on that below, but Monroe is one of the easiest cities in the South for anyone who eats gluten-free thanks to The Hotel Monroe.

Editor’s note: The writer was hosted.

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8 Things to Do in Monroe, Louisiana

Monroe sits on the Ouachita River, about halfway between Shreveport and Jackson, Mississippi. West Monroe is right across the bridge. Together they are compact, affordable and easy to do in two days. I’ve driven through Monroe on my way from Texas to Florida many times. I had no idea it was a weekend getaway destination.

Here is everything I did, plus where to eat and the one hotel I would send you to.

1. Biedenharn Museum & Gardens

Joseph Biedenharn was the first person to bottle Coca-Cola. He built his family’s life in Monroe and what he left behind is now three attractions on one property at 2000 Riverside Drive: his 1914 home, a Coca-Cola museum and a Bible museum, all wrapped around a walled garden.

The Coke museum opened in 2008 and has the vintage signage, a Model T delivery truck and a replica soda fountain that walks you through how the original bottling worked. The Bible museum holds an original 1611 King James Bible and a page from the Gutenberg Bible printed in the 1450s.

I spent longer in this room than anywhere else on the property. The collection of rare Bibles and religious art is far bigger than I expected to find in a house museum in northeast Louisiana.

Then there is ELsong Gardens, built by Joseph’s daughter Emy-Lou Biedenharn, a classically trained opera singer and an heir to Biedenharn’s estate. It is a walled English garden with themed sections, an Oriental garden and a Wagnerian fountain. It is small and completely charming.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Check bmuseum.org for current hours and admission before you go

2. Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge is 5,300 acres sitting inside Monroe’s city limits. It is built around a 1,600-acre lake. There is a boardwalk that winds through bottomland hardwood forest and cypress, a wildlife pier that runs out over the water and more than seven miles of trails if you want to keep going.

We did the boardwalk, which is flat, easy and about as much hiking as I want before brunch. The refuge is home to American alligators, great blue herons, anhingas and prothonotary warblers, so watch the water and keep your kids on the boardwalk.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Go early. It was August in Louisiana and by 9 a.m. the humidity had opinions. Details at fws.gov

3. Antique Alley in West Monroe

Cross the bridge into West Monroe and you land on Trenton Street, which is the heart of Antique Alley.

The district started in 1987 when six antique dealers organized to bring the area back, and it worked. Today it is antiques plus art galleries, boutiques, housewares, gourmet spices, custom jewelry and restaurants. The stretch of storefronts goes back to the 1880s when this was a railroad town shipping cotton and livestock. Even if you are not buying anything, the buildings are worth the walk.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Current shop list at antiquealleyshops.org.

4. Shop Downtown Monroe

Downtown Monroe has its own boutique scene and you can do it entirely on foot. This is where I did most of my actual shopping, partly because I could walk back to drop bags off and keep going.

SheBuysTravel Tip: Plan an afternoon shopping and combine it with Antique Alley

5. Butter: A Louisiana Bakery

About 10 minutes from downtown at 2001 Tower Drive, Butter is a fully dedicated gluten-free bakery. Their tagline is “have your cake, and eat it too.”

I have eaten a lot of gluten-free baked goods that were fine and this was very impressive. I went right for the chocolate chip cookies, which were a recommendation from the Mayor’s wife, who I met during a lovely brunch at the Heirloom.

6. Catch Live Music Downtown

This is the thing that made Monroe feel like a real weekend and not just a checklist. Both nights I was there, downtown had live music going on.

7. Visit the Star Bar

On the rooftop of The Hotel Monroe is the Star Bar, a rooftop with custom cocktails, fresh-squeezed juices and a view over downtown and the river. It is named for the Star Hotel that operated in this building in the 1920s.

I visited both nights. Friday was quiet and conversational. Saturday, it filled up with locals. A hotel bar that only draws hotel guests isn’t the same as one that combines hotel guests and locals, who you learn the most about a destination from.

8. Eat at Heirloom, Monroe’s 100% Gluten-Free Restaurant

You should not skip it if you are just passing through.

Heirloom is the restaurant inside The Hotel Monroe downtown, and its whole idea is “fresh, local cuisine inspired by the memories, flavors and objects we hold close.” The menu leans hard into Louisiana ingredients, from catfish to wild game and it reads like a Southern restaurant first.

Here is the part that makes it unusual. It is 100% gluten-free. Not “gluten-free options.” The whole operation. I tried a variety of different dishes and it was outstanding. This was easily the best gluten-free restaurant I’ve ever visited.

What to order:

• Bacon-Wrapped Alligator
• Quail Wings
• Monte Cristo
• 12-oz Ribeye
• FOR BRUNCH: Beignets, Fried Green Tomato & Bacon Benny, Quail & Waffles.

Good to know: reservations go through Resy and I would make them, especially on nights with live music.

Where to Stay in Monroe: The Hotel Monroe

I stayed at The Hotel Monroe, and it is the reason this weekend worked as well as it did. Everything downtown was walkable from the front door and everything else was a short drive. Let me start off by saying the staff was the most hospitable staff I’ve ever encountered at a hotel and I travel frequently.

It opened in the summer of 2025 in two buildings that date back to 1891. One was the Sugar Brothers Opera House and grocery. The other was Southern Hardware. In the 1920s, part of the building operated as the Star Hotel, which is where the rooftop bar gets its name.

Owners Michael and Christie Echols restored both buildings into a 69-room boutique hotel under Hilton‘s Tapestry Collection. It is the first full-service hotel Monroe has had in more than 20 years, and locals mentioned that to me more than once. There is real pride here.

The design does the thing I love in a restoration, which is refusing to hide the bones. Original beams and brick from the hardware store are still exposed. Public spaces are full of local artwork and every guest room has a digitized cypress swamp painting by Louisiana artist Jay Davis. Each of the 69 rooms takes inspiration from a small town in northeast Louisiana, which is a lovely touch for a region that does not usually get the spotlight.

Why The Hotel Monroe is Different

On September 9, 2025, The Hotel Monroe became the first full-service hotel in the United States certified 100% gluten-free by the Gluten-Free Food Program, with endorsement from the National Celiac Association. That covers Heirloom, the Star Bar and the hotel’s event spaces.

The reason is personal. Christie Echols, who owns the hotel with her husband, has celiac disease.

I do not have celiac and I do not eat gluten-free at home, so I cannot tell you what this feels like from the inside. What I can tell you is that if you or someone you travel with has celiac disease, this is the rare hotel where the research is already done for you before you arrive.

Book it: The Hotel Monroe: Hilton Honors points work here, which is the whole appeal of the Tapestry Collection.

Follow along: Instagram and Facebook for the music calendar and seasonal menus.

Is Monroe, Louisiana Worth a Weekend?

Yes, and I say that as someone who went in with no expectations at all.

Monroe is not trying to be Nashville or New Orleans. It is a river city with an 1891 opera house somebody refused to let fall down, a garden an opera singer built, a cypress swamp five minutes from downtown and a Saturday night where the locals show up.

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