Donaldsonville sits where Bayou Lafourche meets the Mississippi, and that confluence has shaped its fortunes ever since the French and Spanish colonial period. It is one of the oldest towns on the river, laid out in the early nineteenth century by a man named Donaldson, and for a short time, in 1830 and 1831, it served as the capital of Louisiana. Today it is a quiet town of about eight thousand people with a historic district of wooden and brick buildings, iron balconies and live oaks, and a slightly faded, thoughtful atmosphere.
The town stands on the edge of Cajun country, where the Mississippi plantation world meets the bayou communities to the south, and you can feel the shift in the music, the food and the accents. Bayou Lafourche, which once carried a share of the Mississippi's water south to the Gulf, still runs through the town, lined with houses, and old steamboat landings and wharves recall the days when the river was the main highway. A fort stood here during the Civil War, and the town saw fighting in 1863. The levee, as everywhere on this road, hides the Mississippi from view until you climb up, and then it appears suddenly, huge and brown and slow.
The riding is easy and slow-paced. The River Road along the levee is flat and mostly smooth, with long straight runs, low speed limits through settlements and little traffic outside harvest time, when sugar cane trucks roll through. A bridge crosses the river nearby, and ferries operate in places. Heat and humidity are heavy from May to September, with sudden storms, and the cooler months are much more pleasant. Watch for loose gravel on the shoulders and for slow farm machinery.
Donaldsonville is a good place for a proper stop. It has petrol stations, groceries, small restaurants and cafés, and some local places serve classic Louisiana dishes such as gumbo, red beans and rice, fried catfish and smothered pork chops. Boudin, a spicy sausage of rice and pork, is sold in shops and eaten with crackers, and you will find it everywhere.
Take a stroll in the historic quarter, where the buildings and gardens have a calm that comes with age. The best time is late afternoon, when the light is low and gold.