HBO series True Detective is the TV phenomenon of the year. And while Carrie Bradshaw and her Sex and the City girls embraced New York City as an extra character in their show, detectives Rustin 'Rust' Cohle and Marty Hart have an imposing - if slightly dangerous - version of Louisiana as their backdrop. The southern American state is drenched in drama and history, and as the thrilling TV manhunt reveals a darker side to the sleepy Southern stretch travel fans are treated to a display of fascinating nature and architecture. The sweeping landscape shots including bayou banks, lush fields and sprawling trees play a huge part in adding to the show's cinematic style. So taking inspiration from the hot show and its brooding stars we look at five ways to enjoy Louisiana (that don't involve serial killers, corduroy suits or CID squads). Scroll down for video . TV talent: Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey star in True Detective, a crime series set in Louisiana . Drama: Matthew McConaughey plays 'Rust' Cohle and Woody Harrelson plays Marty Hart, two men trying to come to terms with themselves and each other . Drive the Creole country: There's a lot . of car chat between the two . detectives. There's also a lot of psychobabble from Cohle that we can't . really understand but the scenery is so pretty that we don't mind. In . their Drives of a Lifetime book the National Geographic recommends . taking a trip along the Cane River Road, a 70mile loop that starts and ends in Natchitoches . and is the perfect way to learn about the state's Creole culture, derived from . French settlers and African slaves. The 'Culinary Trails: Louisiana app' is also a brilliant way for foodies to explore the area by car, offering information on, and directions to, the best local restaurants from five-star eateries to mom-and-pop diners. Grand: Old plantations are dotted throughout the countryside and many are now serving as tourist sites . Take a cocktail tour: Booze and . bars feature heavily in the series and while we definitely wouldn't . condone turning to the bottle with quite as much enthusiasm as Detective . Cohle there's no denying that the people of Louisiana know how to enjoy . a drink. New Orleans is king when it comes to cocktails, holding the . honour of inventing the drink in the form of the Sazerac, when local . chemists mixed cognac with absinthe and bitters as a medicinal tonic. The Gray Line company . offers a cocktail-based walking tour of the city's pretty French Quarter . that acts as a history tour with a twist, including tipples such as . the Hurricane, the Mint Julep and the Gin Fizz. Old booze in New Orleans: The Sazerac, the world's first cocktail, was invented in the Louisiana city . Get woo'd with Voodoo: Dark magic is an underlying theme of the show, taking the form of twig people, . cult fiction and a exploration of Mardi Gras. Louisiana, and more . specifically New Orleans, is the home of Voodoo practice in the U.S and . 'psychics' and tarot readers line the streets of the city ready to swap . your money for their insight. A more comprehensive way of learning about . the African magic might be a visit to the quirky Voodoo Museum, whose . owner's great-great-grandmother claimed to have been brought up with . a Voodoo Queen (and if you can't make it all the way to Louisiana the . museum offers handy telephone readings for just $40). Bourbon Street: Voodoo, blues and booze rule in the French Quarter . The agents spend most of their time on location in the fields and swamps of the 'Pelican' state . Spooky: Abandoned houses and churches on the banks of the bayou feature throughout . Paddle the bayou: The . slow-moving water of Louisiana is the perfect way to explore the area's . distinctive landscape and some of the waterways of the state parks feature . protected wildlife areas that feature families of fierce-looking alligators. If . rowing or paddling around reptiles isn't your idea of a good holiday then there are yacht charters galore, or a trip on one . of the original Mississippi mud steamers is a more civilized way to . watch Louisiana go by. Request an . official travel guide from the Tourist Board at LouisianaTravel.com . which features information on all of these options. Wild waterways: Huge trees and alligator-infested rivers . Release your inner nature-lover at Pelican Island: . In the show the remote Pelican Island is the setting for a rather . terrifying cliff-hanger, in real life the island is just as remote, . buried at the very Southern tip of the state, but you don't need to . visit Pelican Island to see the birds in their natural habitat as they . are all over the place. Not . a bird fan? Why not go and see the 'other' Pelicans on the basketball . court at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans (see NBA.com for game . details). Green: An aerial view of grazing lands beside the Red River, near Shreveport, in Northern Louisiana .
HBO series is set entirely in the state of Louisiana .
Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson star as troubled detectives .
Over 26million people visited the state in 2012 .
True Blood and Treme TV shows also based there .
HBO series True Detective is the TV phenomenon of the year. And while Carrie Bradshaw and her Sex and the City girls embraced New York City as an extra character in their show, detectives Rustin 'Rust' Cohle and Marty Hart have an imposing - if slightly dangerous - version of Louisiana as their backdrop. The southern American state is drenched in drama and history, and as the thrilling TV manhunt reveals a darker side to the sleepy Southern stretch travel fans are treated to a display of fascinating nature and architecture. The sweeping landscape shots including bayou banks, lush fields and sprawling trees play a huge part in adding to the show's cinematic style. So taking inspiration from the hot show and its brooding stars we look at five ways to enjoy Louisiana (that don't involve serial killers, corduroy suits or CID squads). Scroll down for video . TV talent: Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey star in True Detective, a crime series set in Louisiana . Drama: Matthew McConaughey plays 'Rust' Cohle and Woody Harrelson plays Marty Hart, two men trying to come to terms with themselves and each other . Drive the Creole country: There's a lot . of car chat between the two . detectives. There's also a lot of psychobabble from Cohle that we can't . really understand but the scenery is so pretty that we don't mind. In . their Drives of a Lifetime book the National Geographic recommends . taking a trip along the Cane River Road, a 70mile loop that starts and ends in Natchitoches . and is the perfect way to learn about the state's Creole culture, derived from . French settlers and African slaves. The 'Culinary Trails: Louisiana app' is also a brilliant way for foodies to explore the area by car, offering information on, and directions to, the best local restaurants from five-star eateries to mom-and-pop diners. Grand: Old plantations are dotted throughout the countryside and many are now serving as tourist sites . Take a cocktail tour: Booze and . bars feature heavily in the series and while we definitely wouldn't . condone turning to the bottle with quite as much enthusiasm as Detective . Cohle there's no denying that the people of Louisiana know how to enjoy . a drink. New Orleans is king when it comes to cocktails, holding the . honour of inventing the drink in the form of the Sazerac, when local . chemists mixed cognac with absinthe and bitters as a medicinal tonic. The Gray Line company . offers a cocktail-based walking tour of the city's pretty French Quarter . that acts as a history tour with a twist, including tipples such as . the Hurricane, the Mint Julep and the Gin Fizz. Old booze in New Orleans: The Sazerac, the world's first cocktail, was invented in the Louisiana city . Get woo'd with Voodoo: Dark magic is an underlying theme of the show, taking the form of twig people, . cult fiction and a exploration of Mardi Gras. Louisiana, and more . specifically New Orleans, is the home of Voodoo practice in the U.S and . 'psychics' and tarot readers line the streets of the city ready to swap . your money for their insight. A more comprehensive way of learning about . the African magic might be a visit to the quirky Voodoo Museum, whose . owner's great-great-grandmother claimed to have been brought up with . a Voodoo Queen (and if you can't make it all the way to Louisiana the . museum offers handy telephone readings for just $40). Bourbon Street: Voodoo, blues and booze rule in the French Quarter . The agents spend most of their time on location in the fields and swamps of the 'Pelican' state . Spooky: Abandoned houses and churches on the banks of the bayou feature throughout . Paddle the bayou: The . slow-moving water of Louisiana is the perfect way to explore the area's . distinctive landscape and some of the waterways of the state parks feature . protected wildlife areas that feature families of fierce-looking alligators. If . rowing or paddling around reptiles isn't your idea of a good holiday then there are yacht charters galore, or a trip on one . of the original Mississippi mud steamers is a more civilized way to . watch Louisiana go by. Request an . official travel guide from the Tourist Board at LouisianaTravel.com . which features information on all of these options. Wild waterways: Huge trees and alligator-infested rivers . Release your inner nature-lover at Pelican Island: . In the show the remote Pelican Island is the setting for a rather . terrifying cliff-hanger, in real life the island is just as remote, . buried at the very Southern tip of the state, but you don't need to . visit Pelican Island to see the birds in their natural habitat as they . are all over the place. Not . a bird fan? Why not go and see the 'other' Pelicans on the basketball . court at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans (see NBA.com for game . details). Green: An aerial view of grazing lands beside the Red River, near Shreveport, in Northern Louisiana .
HBO series True Detective is the TV phenomenon of slightly dangerous - version of Louisiana as Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey star in True of the state parks feature . protected wildlife