Tour Southern Louisiana Plantation Homes

Travel along Southern Louisiana’s Great River Road along the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, graced by historic plantation palaces, Creole cottages, country churches, and whitewashed tombs. Take a grand architectural journey to a slower world still populated by ghosts, Creole aristocracy and colorful stories of sugar cane plantations and the Civil War. Day-trippers can relive Louisiana’s grand plantation life and history by visiting these magnificently restored treasures and touring the period homes and gardens. Spend the night in an authentic plantation manor and enjoy dining on mouthwatering Cajun cuisine.

Houma's House Plantation and Gardens. Embrace the jewel of Louisiana's River Road as you relive the magnificent plantation era with a visit to this Greek-Revival mansion built in 1840. A grand antebellum estate, Houmas House is home to wonderful stories of sugar cane farming on the grandest scale, Civil War history, furnishings of early Louisiana craftsmanship, significant movie settings and formal gardens beneath 200-year old moss-laden live oaks.

Experience the southern splendor of "The Sugar Palace" when you step into 16 rooms filled with period antiques and Louisiana artwork. Enjoy the breeze off the Mississippi as you stroll through 12 lush acres of gardens, ponds and the shadows of majestic live ancient oaks. Visit www.houmashouse.com

Oak Alley Plantation House. Located on 25 acres along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Oak Alley Plantation is the “Grande Dame of the Great River Road.” The quarter-mile canopy of 28 giant live oak trees, nearly 300 years old, forms an impressive avenue leading to the classic Greek-revival antebellum estate from the shore of the mighty river.

Oak Alley Plantation was named for the remarkable double row of live oaks, planted in the early 1700's by a French settler. The most stunning feature of this beautiful antebellum house made of pink-painted brick is the colonnade of 28 Doric columns - one for each oak tree - that support the hip roof.

Allegedly haunted by the ghosts of former residents, Oak Alley Plantation is open daily for tours. Allow for an extra hour to enjoy a delicious meal in the Oak Alley Restaurant and to browse the 2600 sq. ft. Oak Alley Gift Shop and blacksmith's shop.  [Top]

Nottoway Plantation. At the edge of sugar cane fields, Nottoway Plantation stands overlooking the Mississippi River. This enormous mansion, completed in 1859, reflects an unusual combination of Greek revival architectural elements, an irregular floor plan and many innovations that were rare in the mid-19th century, such as indoor plumbing and hot and cold running water.

Take a guided tour, stay overnight, have dinner, or get married in this magnificent plantation. Visit the plantation for the Christmas Champagne Candlelight Tour & Dinner. Visit www.nottoway.com.

Laura Plantation. Enter the world of Louisiana's Creole culture at Laura Plantation, a historic sugar plantation built in 1805. Named by Lonely Planet Travel as the "best history tour in the US,” the one-hour guided tour is based upon 5,000 pages of French documents and Laura's "Memories of the Old Plantation Home,” dramatically detailing 250 years of true-life stories of Creole women, slaves and children.

Surrounded by sugarcane fields, Laura boasts 11 historic buildings on the National Register, including slave cabins where the West-African folktales of Br'er Rabbit were recorded over 125 years ago. Laura Plantation Store offers gifts, books and souvenirs on Louisiana and Creole culture, slavery, music, arts and crafts and cuisine, including Laura's Memories and the original Br'er Rabbit folktales. Visit www.lauraplantation.com.

St. Joseph Plantation. Take a journey through time as you enjoy a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the interesting people who have called St. Joseph Plantation "home." Take a guided tour of this lovingly restored plantation that preservs the heritage of the land and the families who lived and died here.

The St. Joseph Plantation gift shop offers many one of a kind items, including paintings and unique gifts crafted by talented family members. St. Joseph Plantation is the birthplace of H. H. Richardson, one of America's most important architects of the 19th century.

Learn about the sugar cane industry in South Louisiana from 1795, when sugar was considered white gold. View the renovated slave cabins, Creole Cottages, detached kitchen, barns, chicken coops, and blacksmith and carpenter shops that were necessary to sustain life during these early years. Visit www.stjospehplantation.com.  [Top]