Travel America: Shreveport: discover culture, casinos, and beautiful blooms in northwestern Louisian

There is, perhaps, no better place on earth to stop and smell the roses than in Shreveport, where the American Rose Society's Gardens of the American Rose Center presents the country's largest collection of roses. Take in the heady scent of a thousand flowering bushes as you stroll through the fragrant, 118-acre garden.

Then head for another of the city's showplace gardens, the Barnwell Garden & Art Center, adjacent to Riverfront Park. Here, art and nature co-exist in a domed conservatory dominated by tropical plants and seasonal plantings accented by changing exhibitions of art in a long gallery with views of the Red River and a waterfall.

Another distinctive pairing of art and nature is the R.W. North Art Gallery, a collection specializing in the work of such renowned Western artists as Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell. Here, you also can view European masterpieces by such heavyweights as Sir Joshua Reynolds and Auguste Rodin as well as Flemish tapestries and a large exhibit of Wedgwood porcelain. The gallery's surrounding 40 acres, meanwhile, blaze each spring with the fiery blossoms of more than 10,000 azaleas.

A stroller's mecca, the city's river-front area is filled with quaint cafes and shops guaranteed to lull you into the river's lazy rhythm. But come night fall, the riverfront hums with an electric energy generated by the neon-and-laser-lighted Texas Street Bridge that spans the Red, symbiotically joining Shreveport to Bossier City and its riverboat casinos. (Riverfront gambling also can be found in Shreveport, most notably at Harrah's three-level gaming complex and the newer Hollywood Casino with its 404-room, all-suite hotel.)

If your luck turns more to the ponies, head to Bossier City's Louisiana Downs during its horse-racing season from April through October. (Off-track betting and simulcasts are featured throughout the year.) Then parlay your winnings into shopping opportunities along Line Avenue--a five-mile corridor of antique stores, boutiques, and restaurants that runs from downtown Shreveport to the inner loop expressway.

For a look at some of Shreveport's most notable architectural gems, visit the Fairfield-Highland Historic District--a primarily residential area reflecting some of the Shreveport's best examples of Victorian treasures. While in the neighborhood, be sure to stop by the Meadows Museum of Art at the 1825 Centenary College.

Families might want to try their hands at the 200 exhibits housed in the Sci-Port Discovery Center, catch their breath by taking in a show at the center's IMAX, or star-gaze at the nearby SPAR Planetarium before heading to Bayou Pierre Alligator Park for an up-close-and-personal look at the local wildlife.

Two noteworthy attractions geared toward aficionados of both civilian and military modes of transportation--the Ark-La-Tex Antique & Classic Vehicle Museum and 8th Air Force Museum--round out a day of sightseeing. For a slower-paced look at the city, catch a Red River Cruise and drift the afternoon away.

Unwind from your tour by sampling some of the region's culinary offerings at one of Shreveport's favorite eateries, like the Pete Harris Cafe, where turnip greens, cornbread, and other Southern delicacies rule; Ernest's Orleans Restaurant, where locals sit down to platters stacked with mounds of mouthwatering, marinated crab claws; or Savoie's, the No. 1 Cajun restaurant in northern Louisiana, according to recent media polls.

Let the good times roll!

Contact: Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau, (800) 551-8682; www.shreveport-bossier.org.