Le Vieux Village and the Venus House

Le Vieux Village Heritage Park was created in 1988 by the Opelousas Tourism and Activities Committee, and local families donated many of its pieces. The grounds hold an old schoolhouse, a Methodist church, a doctor's office and the home of Marie Francois Venus, along with the city's visitor center and the Louisiana Orphan Train Museum.

The Venus House dates from about 1791 and stood first in the community of Grand Prairie. Venus, a free Creole woman of color, was the house's owner and occupant. The house is built of bousillage, a mud-and-moss or mud-and-animal-hair infill held by wooden bars between posts, with mortise and tenon joinery, and Explore Louisiana calls it the oldest Creole home of its kind west of the Mississippi. It joined the National Register of Historic Places on April 22, 1991.

Inside the visitor center, in the building known as the Jarrell House, a zydeco music exhibit of seven panels runs from early la-la through the musicians who influenced zydeco, and it names Clifton Chenier among the legends tied to Opelousas. The center also holds a Jim Bowie display. The park is at 828 E. Landry Street at the eastern entrance of town, on US 190, and the visitor center offers free admission.