Tips for visiting fan to Baton Rouge

Let us begin.




1. Fly into New Orleans. It's a quick drive from BR and likely cheaper.

2.Refer to the above answer. Taking in the vibe of New Orleans would be a very cool experience for some out of staters.

3. If you can afford a car, I would. But that's just personal preference because I'd rather be able to drive myself and not wait on uber's and such.

4.Plenty of nice places to stay in BR depending on what you want to pay. You also can stay in New Orleans and drive back after the game. Loads of places to stay in NOLA.

5. If you like ribs, go to TJ Ribs. It's one of my favorite places in the state. I love it. As for the stadium food, I'd eat before. You'll get better food for cheaper outside of the stadium.

6. I use stub hub. Always had good luck.

7. The tailgating is sort of being de-balled by the LSU administration, but basically anywhere near the stadium is going to have a ton of tailgating. Lots of food and booze.

8. The march down victory hill by the team is cool. The band playing hold that Tiger as they March to the stadium is awesome. The pregame is pretty awesome as well. I don't mean to be vague, but Saturday in Baton Rouge is a tradition in itself. If you come for a big game, you'll see what I mean. You also can see shaq's statue on campus and Billy Cannon's Heisman is at TJ Ribs as well. Mike the Tiger is really cool to see but I've loved tigers since I was a kid. He's usually moving around his exhibit a good bit on GameDay.

9. The BR zoo is pretty decent. Also you could do the aquarium or Audubon zoo in NOLA. The WWII museum is absolutely fantastic.

10. Nothing outside of general precautions. Avoiding dark alleys, etc. There are cops everywhere so it's pretty safe.

11.I haven't made it to any other SEC stadiums but I encourage you to come for a big time night SEC conference game. The feel in the air is electric. You can feel the pulse as soon as you leave the car. The food, booze, stadium, pretty girls. It all makes the experience unforgettable. And then if it's a good game at night, Death Valley is astounding. Hope you have good luck.

I'll give it a shot, but I know others will have much more info.

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TRAVEL 1. What’s the most convenient/cheapest airport to fly into? Is there a specific airline that is best/cheapest to fly on? 2. Suppose some travelers are a little more adventurous and don’t mind flying into an airport that’s a 3-4 hour drive away from the game if it would make for a cool drive or takes them by some cool sites/attractions – anything like that people should know about when they’re booking flights? 3. Is a rental car necessary? How is the public transportation system/Uber in Baton Rouge?

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1. Cheapest airport to fly into will likely be New Orleans. This is convenient especially if you've never been to Nola.
2. See above. Fly into Nola on a Thursday and spend Thursday night a Friday enjoying Nola. It's only an hour drive up I-10 to Baton Rouge. However, I would try to get a hotel in Baton Rouge for Friday night just because you are going to want to get out to campus as early as you can on Saturday.
3. As far as public transportation, if you are staying downtown then you should be able to get an uber easy enough to and from campus for the game. Obviously if you are flying in and out of Nola you will need to rent a car.

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HOTEL 4. What’s the hotel situation like over the weekend of a game? How good is airbnb, vrbo, etc. in Baton Rouge? Are there any great resort towns nearby to stay at for a day?

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I would go the hotel route here, but I've never really looked at Airbnb in Baton Rouge. The hotels close to campus and downtown are likely already booked for the bigger games, but you can find hotels out near college for decent prices, you will just be out of the way of everything. If you can find a room and swing it, stay downtown.

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FOOD 5. What are your favorite places to eat around Baton Rouge during the college football season? How is the food in the stadium (anything a one-time visitor can’t leave the stadium without eating)?

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Go to Chimes. It's right off the north side of campus. It's the best place to eat on Friday night before a game. Has a great bar as well. As far as food in the stadium, there's really nothing special, just typical stadium food. If it's your first time tailgating and you are not shy you may not want to even think about food by the time you get into the game. The best food you are going to eat on game day will be walking around to different tailgates.

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TICKETS 6. What is the best option for visiting fans to buy game tickets? School Ticket office? StubHub? Local Classifieds?

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This is going to depend on the game. If it's an OOC game then you should have no problem buying them outside the stadium for face value. If it's the Bama game then get on stub hub now and be prepared to pay a lot.

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TAILGATING 7. Any general tailgating advice for a first-timer at a LSU game? Specific areas for visiting fans?

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As a first timer I would definitely recommend walking through the parade grounds. Really, you can't go wrong here. All of campus will be full of tailgaters. Touchdown village is something to see with all the RVs as well. It's just south of campus.

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TRADITIONS 8. Some schools have unique game day traditions – do you guys do anything that’d be worth a visitor planning their schedule around? Are there any buildings or sites near campus or the stadium that visitors should check out?

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There are two main things here. First, make sure to check out Mike's habitat. It is just north of the stadium. If you're lucky you'll catch him out and roaming around. Second, catch the band and team walking down victory hill. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the band usually comes down the hill around 2.5 hours before the game.

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OTHER ATTRACTIONS 9. If fans decide to make this more of a family vacation, are there any local sites/attractions that they would need to make room for on their schedule? Any can’t-miss Historical/Educational or Fun/Entertainment sites?

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I don't really have much to add here.

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SAFETY 10. Are there any general safety issues fans should be aware of? Any areas visitors should avoid for parking, walking, etc? I know every fan base has its share of bad apples, but would you classify your general fan base as hospitable/neutral/in-hospitable?

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Avoid going too far north of campus. Once you start hitting streets named after presidents you've gone too far. It's okay to drive through during the day, but I wouldn't park there and I wouldn't walk around that area at night. Other than that there really aren't too many safety concerns.

The answers you've gotten so far are spot on, but nobody has touched on 11. I've been to most SEC stadiums to watch LSU play and had a good experience everywhere as a visiting fan except Florida (awful fans but cool stadium) and the Arkansas games in Little Rock (the Fayetteville crowd is much better). My favorites are UGA and A&M.

1. BTR is the most convenient as it's literally 15 minutes from LSU, but MSY will have by far the best prices and it's less than an hour and a half away.

2. Lafayette will give you the scenic drive accross the Basin Bridge. New Orleans gives you the scenic drive across the Bonnet Carre Spillway. They're both great. Another beautiful drive (albeit out of your way) is the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway from New Orleans to Covington (or vice versa).

3. A rental car is recommended though not required. Baton Rouge has a decent uber scene but mass transit is basically shitty beyond utility. If you stay within walking distance of the stadium (Staybridge Suites or Lod Cook) or downtown you won't need a car. Anywhere else and you likely do.

4. Trust me, you don't want to have to drive anywhere before or after an LSU game. Don't plan on spending the night before or after anywhere but Baton Rouge unless you want to drive in early many many many hours before the game. I recommend Lod Cook, Staybridge, or one of the new downtown hotels since they have shuttles. The farthest out i'd stay would be LaBerge since they have a shuttle as well, but it takes forever to get back from the game due to contra-flow. As far as resorts, if you want to take this route, try Houma's House, The Myrtles, Oak Alley, or somewhere nice in New Orleans. I don't recommend AirBnB in BR.

5. Food is easy. Baton Rouge has great food. Near campus, hit up The Chimes for gumbo, po'boys, and blackened alligator. For breakfast, go to Louie's. Downtown's best offerings are Jolie Pearl Oyster Bar, The Little Village, and Stroube's. If you have a car, some other great restaurants include Bousoleil, Parains, Ruffino's, Juban's, Mansur's, ect. However, on game day, just walk around campus. People will tiger bair you. If you're a good sport, they'll invite you to join their tailgate for food and beer.

5. Stadium food sucks. Don't eat in there if you can afford not to.

6. Stubhub is a sure bet. Unless it's the bama game, though, you can easily find cheap tickets walking around the stadium.

7. Parade ground is all the greek organizations. Check out the Enchanted Forest (on dalrymple between the Pentagon Barracks and the Greek Theatre) as well as around the Indian Mounds.

8. Watch the drumline warm up in the Enchanted forest about 2.5 hours before the game. Watch the trumpets warm up in the greek theatre. Watch the band come down the hill in front of the pmac.

9. Tour the old and new state capitols, Louisiana State Museum, Live After 5, LASM has a planetarium and I-MAX in their museum, USS Kidd, Andonne Museum with all the LSU trophies, City Park Lakes are good for a bikeride, Blue Bayou water park is kinda gross but the slides are legit. The best family activities are in New Orleans. Down their you can take them to the zoo (BR Zoo is a joke), the aquarium, ride the streetcar, go to the french market, world war ii museum, mardi gras world, congo square, ect.

10. Don't go north of campus past the wienerschnitzel or, when downtown, south of the I-10 bridge. Don't go north of the state capitol. Don't go to Gardere. Avoid any street named after a president, state, or indian tribe. Don't go to Tigerland.

11. I've been to Arkansas, Ole Miss, Auburn, Florida, and Tennessee. Florida had the most intimidating atmosphere, but complete dick-hole fans. Tennessee had the nicest fans, but the stadium was quiet as a funeral. Auburn was the best overall gameday experience with great tailgating, nice fans, and a hostile raucus atmosphere. Ole Miss was really dissapointing as the stadium is lame, the fans are stupid and uninviting, and the tailgating is deplorable. Arkansas was dead, but it was Thanksgiving weekend, so I can't really judge it for that.

I have not yet been to College Station, Columbia (either one), Starkvegas, Athens, Nashville, or Lexington.

Do not stay at any hotels on the east side of Airline Highway. The HI on the west side is fine.

Parrain's on Perkins Road, Ruffino's on Higland, Mike Anderson's on West Lee, Acme Oyster House on Perkins, T.J's Ribs and Mestizo on Acadian, Sammy's on Highland (or Airline) and The Chimes on Highland are solid choices for food around the area.

Check prices on airfare. BTR can be rather pricey, so MSY may be your best bet and it's only an hour away from Baton Rouge. There's a small restaurant next to the Harbor Seafood Market that has awesome food; it's just across the interstate from the airport on Williams Boulevard. You can also check out Middendorf's off I-55 at Manchac. The drive on the elevated part of that road is very nice at sunset.

Tiger fans are very hospitable and gladly welcome fans from opposing teams to share food and drink. We like good-natured bantering, but don't be a dick and don't have thin skin.

The area is full of interesting history, so you may want to check out the attached link: LINK. If you plan to stay for several days, you may considered hiring a guide to do some fishing (or duck hunting) in the marshes in the southern part of the state.

Hope this helps. BTW, where are you from?

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OTHER SEC SCHOOLS 11. Lastly, since I'm trying to do this for all the teams in the SEC, I thought I'd ask if you have any experience traveling to other schools in the conference? Favorite/Least Favorite SEC school to visit for games? Any horror or success stories or general advice you'd give from your experiences? As mentioned, feel free to answer any/all/none of the questions, and throw on any extra info that I may have overlooked. I’ll be sure to report back when our blog is posted so that you can see the finished product!

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I have been to a majority of other SEC stadiums for games. I will say it depends on what is going on. For example, I have been at UF when they were elite and I have been at UF when they were bad and it is too completely different situations.

If I were to pick 5 SEC schools to see at game at:

Tennesse- The VOL Navy is awesome, and so is Neyland
Ole Miss- VH is a weak stadium, but the Grove is cool
UF- The Swamp is a pretty cool stadium, Gainsville is ok
Auburn- A beautiful campus, and the Eagle that flies is awesome to see
UGA- Athens does it right. Tailgating and stadium atmopshere. Watch the bus come down the main strip.


Runner Ups:

Bama- Bama is a nice stadium and the atmosphere is decentwhen LSU is in town, but I do not know what it is like for other stuff.

Arky- I loved Arky in Fayetteville, but it was a clam relaxed Friday game. Nothing intense.

aTm- Texas A&M is a weird one. The stadium is nice, and a specatle of it's own watching all the chants. The tailgating is flat out weird, and the fans are way way way too nice. Also, do not walk on the grass, and go to midnight yell.

Vandy/UK are nothing worth seeing.

I have not been to Mizzou/SC.

Don't be this guy:

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TRAVEL
1. What everyone else said. New Orleans is probably cheapest. Baton Rouge is close. Lafayette may be cheap as well but an hour away. Randomly Shreveport and New Orleans have an airline called GLO and it has cheap flights back and forth between those two cities. If you can’t get a cheap flight into the first three cities maybe check a flight into Shreveport and fly GLO to NOLA

2. Also like everyone else said if you want to drive then New Orleans is your place.


3. Rental car is only necessary if you are flying into another city. UBER on game day is a joke. The upcharge is usually 2 to 3 times the normal rate. But I guess when you look at the cost compared to a DUI its cheap. If you do rent a car there are several parking options. Get to campus early enough several lots are free. A normal game lots are 20 bucks. Bama game lots are 40 bucks.

HOTEL
4. Not sure about airbnb or vrbo. L’Auberge and the hotels downtown offer shuttles to and from the game so that is a plus. If you stay downtown there are a ton of places to go out or eat. The Marriott on Hilton Ave may have a shuttle as well. Opposing teams usually stay at the Marriott or the Crowne Plaza if you want to experience that. Last Bama game friends stayed at the Marriott and Bama was there. They were stuck in the elevator with Saban and several o-line members.

FOOD
5. Eat before you walk into the stadium. Food in the stadium is nothing special. As said before the Chimes is a great place to eat. George’s and Sammy’s too. Watch out for drink prices at Walk On’s. Tons of people there but drinks are expensive.

TICKETS
6. STUBHUB for sure. Sometimes depending on the team lsusports.net will have tickets but they are probably in the uppers. Also tigerdroppings and dandydon have a ticket exchange. Just be careful of the fakes.

TAILGATING
7. Grab a drink and some alligator at the Chimes. Walk around the parade grounds. If you are from a non-SEC school wear that school’s gear. People will tigerbait you then feed you and give you booze. The tailgates down the hill are fun. Go see Shaq at the back of the PMAC.

TRADITIONS
8. The RVs start showing up on Thursday. Go see Mike early on gameday or the day before. The vet school usually pulls him out of his habitat when the most people are around because he gets anxious. We would have better luck getting Tony the Truck Stop Tiger in Mike’s road trailer on gameday. This Mike is moody. See the band and team go down the hill. Get in the stadium for team warm ups.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS
9. The Lafayette area is pretty cool. You can go to Avery Island where Tabasco is made. The WWII museum is a favorite of mine. Book a game the same weekend the Saints are playing and see both.

SAFETY
10. If you are in NOLA don’t wander down the side streets by yourself.

OTHER SEC SCHOOLS
11. I have been to A&M, State, Ole Miss, Bama, Auburn and Georgia.
Favorite: Hands Down Georgia. Athens is just a cool city. The people were nice. The cops are a little pissy when Florida and LSU come to town but they aren’t too bad.
Least Favorite: Starkville. It is the worst! I saw 11 LSU fans get escorted out of the stadium in cuffs a few years ago. Nothing to do. The cowbells are absolutely obnoxious!


• Tsunami has a really cool rooftop bar
• Roux House has live music for cheap
• The Varsity may have a big name band the Friday before a game. The casino may have the same.
• Walk On’s will have a tent band on the Saturday of the game.
• Ivar’s and The Merchant are also cool bars
• The University of Texas was a cool road trip for a nonSEC school
• UW in Seattle was the best LSU road trip I took.

Fly into NO and just stay there, BR is a silly place