With powerhouse venues like the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the Shreveport Convention Center and the massive Cajundome and Convention Center, you’d think Louisiana would have meeting facilities covered. But alongside the main course of major meeting real estate is the “special sauce” of smaller off-site venues representing the many flavors of Louisiana.

From thrill rides and arcade attractions at Pleasure Pier to historic Victorian mansions that somehow survived one of the nation’s biggest natural disasters, Galveston’s array of off-site venues provide a truly unique setting to get away from a day of meetings.

Meetings Today Senior Contributor Jeff Heilman highlights five Dallas-Fort Worth cultural off-site event venues that include NorthPark Center, Nasher Sculpture Center, Billy Bob's Texas, The Ranch at Las Colinas, DFW Heli-Tours and Southfork Ranch.

There is no shortage of unique off-site venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including a host of new options for groups.

The cities comprising the Inland Mississippi region impress attendees with everything from great food and music to unique off-site venues for receptions, sit-down meals and more. From the state capital of Jackson to Vicksburg, home of action-packed casinos, as well as the university towns of Oxford and Meridian, the interior of the Magnolia State provides a wealth of intriguing meetings options.

Meetings Today Chief Content Director Tyler Davidson shares his personal stories and fond memories of California's the Cow Palace—a quirky and sometimes smelly venue for conventions and other major events—that also serves long-running home of the Grand National Rodeo.

If your attendees are being sequestered within the four bland walls of a cookie-cutter hotel to suffer through endless PowerPoints punctuated by flavorless breaks and networking events that rival watching paint dry, you’re going to want to mix it up by using a special venue. Meetings Today teamed up with Chuck Salem to profile some of the top off-site options available in Indiana.

The trio of cities that make up the Triad region of North Carolina—Greensboro, High Point and Winston-Salem—welcome groups with a variety of after-hours attractions and activities, including everything from a pub crawl to an escape room to a great meal at a local restaurant.

In one corner of 10K Alley, the World’s Biggest Pac-Man arcade game tempts with its bleeping and flashing lights, while another section lures me in with its glow-in-the-dark mini-golf.