Abbeville, LA Summary

Located in the heart of Vermilion’s regional wetlands is the historic town of Abbeville, founded by a Catholic priest in 1843. Though only a small city of approximately 11,000 people, it offers quite a few attractions for visitors, and all are accessible on foot.

With its downtown district focused around St Mary Magdalen Square, it is not uncommon to see a festivity in the making under a canopy of shaded oak. The square is often home to local fairs as well as the natural stage for the Abbey Players, a local theater group. The Abbey Theater, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, serves as their residence.

From the center of the square, the steeple of St Mary Magdalen Church, together with the Vermilion Parish Courthouse, acts as the city’s celestial skyscraper.

A stroll across Main Street leads to the Steen’s Syrup Mill, the state’s largest open-kettle syrup plant. The pungent smell of the boiling sugarcane is most prevalent from October to December. Several blocks down is the Riviana Rice Mill, Louisiana’s oldest: It dates back to the nineteenth century.

The Abbeville Culture and Alliance Center is worth a glance, if only to get an insight into the swampland culture. Just 6 miles east of town is the drowsy village of Erath, home to the Acadian Museum and its excellent exhibits of the Prairie Bayou Acadians, which recount the history of their expulsion from Nova Scotia.

Though the town is mostly French-speaking, the museum has English interpreters on staff.

In October, Abbeville plays host to the Louisiana Cattle Show, with an added touch of Cajun barbecue.

The following month the town showcases the Giant Omelet Festival, where omelet-tossing contestants end up either with egg on their faces or being duly knighted into the Worldwide Fraternity of the Omelet. Abbeville also has some of the region’s best oyster and shrimp eateries, including Dupuy’s Oyster Shop.

Abbeville is located west of New Iberia along Hwy 14. It is serviced by Lafayette Regional Airport, 22 miles northeast of town.