Shreveport and Bossier City are a stone's throw away from Texarkana, but what were once two separate communities have become a single, large recreation destination.
An hour away via Interstate 49, there are all sorts of free museums, festivals and nightlife to fill a weekend.
Photo Gallery
Dec. 16 sleet and ice
Travel was hazardous Tues. Dec. 16 after an overnight freezing rain and sleet storm.
Horse Racing
The area's earliest tourism draw was Harrah's Louisiana Downs in Bossier City. Harrah's purchased Louisiana Downs in the 1990s and continues to operate it. The thoroughbred racing season is underway with live racing on Saturdays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Post time is 3:15 p.m. on race days.
Harrah's Louisiana Downs is home of the Super Derby, one of the premier races in North America. Thoroughbred racing runs every May through September, and quarterhorse racing from January 2019 through March.
There are a variety of restaurants, including Fuddrucker's and Pepper Rose Too. But there is no better view than the Sky Club, which has gourmet food and prime seats at the finish line.
Address: 8000 E. Texas St., Bossier City, La. Phone: 318-742-5555.
Online: caesars.com/harrahs-louisiana-downs
Casino Gambling
Riverboat gambling is an institution in the area. Gamblers not only have a place to play all day, but luxury hotels and restaurants offer a host of activities.
Currently, there are Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Resort Casino, Eldorado Resort Casino, Boomtown Casino and the Horseshoe Casino. The thriving nightlife benefits the region by attracting concerts that play at the smaller venues in the Shreveport area. The casinos also boast clubs and lounges for live music.
Horseshoe Casino
A sister hotel to the famous Las Vegas casino, it's one of the glitziest casinos on the river with its gold towers. As part of the Caesar's Casino family, perks transfer to the Bossier City casino. It has spas and shopping nearby at the Bossier Boardwalk shopping center.
Restaurants include the upscale Four Winds and Jack Binion's Steak House. Casual dining includes the 8 oz. Burger Bar and Jasmine's Noodle Bar with its buffet, "The Spread."
Address: 711 Horseshoe Blvd., Bossier City, La. Phone: 800-895-0711.
Online: caesars.com/
horseshoe-bossier-city
Boomtown Casino
It refers to itself as an "unpretentious" place to play and stay with its modern rooms and tempting weekend packages.
Restaurants include 1800 Prime Steakhouse, Cattleman's Buffet, Sundance Cantina and Boomer's Café.
Address: 300 Riverside Drive, Bossier City, La. Phone: 318-746-0711
Online: boomtownbossier.com
Eldorado Casino
The Eldorado Casino is another one of the more elegant casinos on the Shreveport side of the Red River.
It has Tuesday blackjack tournaments, as well as the usual casino games.
It also has luxury rooms and suites and, like all the casinos, banquet and small convention rooms.
The restaurants include The Cinema Café, Sportsman's Paradise Café, The Noodle Bar and The Vintage steakhouse.
Address: 451 Clyde Fant Parkway, Shreveport, La. Phone: 877602-0711
Online:
eldoradoshreveport.com
Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Resort
Parrotheads will love the Jimmy Buffet vibe of this newest Shreveport casino.
This casino has been named the Best Overall Property by Southern Gaming Magazine multiple years in a row. It offers a relaxed luxury resort experience with nonstop gambling, electrifying entertainment and five top-rated restaurants.
The restaurants include the World Tour Buffet, Jimmy's Seafood and Steak, Riverview Restaurant and Brewhouse, The Busted Coconut, The Bamboo Asian Café, Banyn Tree Coffee Bar and It's 5' O'clock Somewhere Bar
Address: 451 Clyde Fant Parkway, Shreveport, La. Phone: 877602-0711
Online:
margaritavillebossiercity.com
THE ARTFUL SIDE
R.W. Norton Art Gallery
The R.W. Norton Art Gallery, which opened in 1966, is a large museum that contains the collection of the Norton family.
A diverse museum with more than 400 paintings by 100 artists, the building is quite substantial. Besides hosting a large collection of Fredric Remington sculptures, the museum has a research library of more than 15,000 books. The noncirculating collection includes rare books and folios, such as the very rare double elephant folio of John James Audubon's The Birds of America.
Two of its special exhibitions are "Art Goes to War," which features art of World War I, and "Inked," which explores the history of body art.
"Art Goes to War" runs through November, and "Bloom" runs through August.
The gardens are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. It is closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and federal holidays.
Address: 4747 Creswell Ave., Shreveport, La. Phone: 318-865-4201
Online: rwnaf.org
The Robinson Film Center
The RFC is a relatively new attraction in Shreveport. It's partly because of the movie boom that has hit Louisiana-namely Shreveport/Bossier City and south Louisiana. It is as much educational as it is entertainment.
The RFC showcases emerging independent film talent throughout the South.
Book Lover's Supper Club features films from books.
RFC has a bistro and a bar, so film lovers can eat and drink while they watch popular older films, rare films and cult classics. Oftentimes, RFC will get independent movies that mainstream movie theatres do not show.
In the past, it has also had clinics about movie making.
Much of RFC is geared toward children and cultivating a new generation of movie buffs.
Box office hours area 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays. However, the movie theater is closed on Mondays.
Abby Singer's Bistro 318-459-4125
Lunch: 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays
Dinner: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays
Bar: Opens at 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays
Address: 617 Texas St., Shreveport, La. Phone: 318-459-4122
Online:
robinsonfilmcenter.org
The Gardens of the American Rose Center
The Gardens of the American Rose Center is another popular spot for tourists, either during prime rose-blooming season or at Christmas, when the center transforms into a Christmas wonderland with thousands of lights.
The spectacular Gardens of the American Rose Center are on a 118-acre wooded tract near Greenwood, La., on the west side of Shreveport. The gardens are home to the national headquarters of the American Rose Society and boast the nation's largest park dedicated to roses.
The gardens were dedicated in 1974 when the American Rose Society headquarters moved to Shreveport from Columbus, Ohio.
Today, the American Rose Center features more than 65 individual rose gardens and 20,000 rosebushes, with a variety of companion plants, sculptures and fountains, including the beautiful Dudley Watkins Reflection Pool.
The Rose Center is a common site for parties and weddings.
It hosts green-thumb seminars for rose growers.
It has hosted photographic contests of its roses, and its website has a gallery of those photographs.
It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
Online: rose.org.
Address: 8877 Jefferson Paige Road. Phone: 800-637-6534.