Covington

Covington, a small Southern town with tree-lined streets and charming cottages, is located across the river from New Orleans. This quieter town is culturally rich, with high tea, James Beard-nominated chefs, and Louisiana staples like carriage tours and its own Café du Monde. Downtown, the walkable district, has many shops, galleries, museums, and restaurants, making the nearly 24-mile journey from New Orleans across Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (the world's largest continuous bridge over water) worthwhile. Covington's history can be traced back to the humble bovine. In 1813, the town was laid out in a grid pattern with free parking areas known as ox lots where schooners came down the Bogue Falaya River to trade goods from Covington to New Orleans.

The small town's location at the confluence of three rivers (including the Abita and the Tchefuncte) made it a desirable location for merchants to hawk their wares while parking their oxen in the squares. While there are no oxen in sight today, it still pays homage to its humble heritage, being listed on the National Register of Historic Places and hosting annual festivals such as the Covington Three Rivers Art Festival every fall. The family-owned Southern Hotel, with a lobby known as "Covington's living room", is the city's largest and will make you feel right at home.

The boutique property, located in the city's historic district in a 1907 building, was restored into a hotel in 2014 and now has 40 guest rooms and two suites, as well as a restaurant and bar. The Garden House, located next to the main hotel, has five rooms in the renovated former Covington Post Office. If you want to feel like a local, Covington has several bed and breakfasts within a few minutes' walk of downtown. Blue Willow B&B has five suites (one of which has a full kitchen) and lovely gardens.