Plantation Tours

Información

We chose only the most unique plantations to visit. On this tour, guests will see the grandeur and diversity of New Orleans by visiting not one but two sites - Oak Alley and Laura Plantation. Each home is a historic landmark in itself. By visiting two sugar cane plantations which survived the civil war, guests will step back in time to get a glimpse of privileged southern living in the 1800's.

Spend the day along the old Mississippi River Road, visiting Louisiana’s most famous plantations. With Cajun Encounters you will journey down the historic River Road Region as you make your way to these historic landmarks. On this tour, you will see the grandeur and diversity of New Orleans by visiting Oak Alley Plantation and Laura: A Creole Plantation.

Laura: A Creole Plantation, has a rich and unique history, from the home itself to the stories of the four women that ran it, one of which it was named for. Tour this 200+ year old sugarcane plantation. Tour includes a walkthrough of the “Big House” as well as slave quarters. Initially the Plantation was built and run by a French Creole family, the DuParcs, and later turned over to a German family, the Waguespacks, who ran it for nearly 95 years. The West African influences however highlight the history of this plantation. The “Tales of Br’er Rabbit” were based on stories told by the West African freedmen working on the plantation around 1870, to Alcée Fortier, a friend and neighbor of the family. These stories were variations of traditional stories told in their homeland, Senegal, and interpreted by the African slaves and freedmen of the plantation to their children.

Oak Alley Plantation gets its name from the spectacular quarter mile tunnel of 28 oak trees that frame the plantation as you approach. Built in 1839 and facing the Mississippi River, Oak Alley’s magnificent appearance makes it a MUST SEE destination on everyone’s list of historic Louisiana sites. This plantation was originally named Bon Séjour (pleasant sojourn), but became known as Oak Alley when riverboat passengers floating by marveled at the double row of giant live oak trees leading to the plantation. The plantation is a Greek revival style mansion with the striking feature of free standing Doric columns surrounding the entire mansion.

Meeting/pick-up point: Downtown New Orleans hotels.
Drop-off location: Downtown New Orleans hotels.
Pick-up time: At 8:30am and 11:45am. Please allow 30 minutes for pick-up.
Opening days/period: Tours depart twice each day. The schedule varies depending on season.
Duration: Approximately 6.5 hours.
Languages: English.
Others: Guests should contact the supplier for current times. Remember to bring the voucher and valid photo ID with you. Tours run rain or shine.