Step back in time with Cajun Encounters to New Orleans’ most famous plantations: Oak Alley, Whitney, and Laura.
Choose between Oak Alley, with its breath-taking tunnel of 28 live Oak trees, and Laura, a Creole plantation. Take a combined tour of two plantations, or spend the day exploring Oak Alley. Hear the fascinating stories behind these historic landmarks. During the scenic drive out to the plantations, our certified tour guide will provide commentary on major landmarks and the changing Louisiana landscape, from downtown New Orleans, to the swamps and waterways, and through the vast crops and fields unique to this part of the country.
Oak Alley Plantation
DAY TOUR
Daily tours are 10:00AM, with 9:30AM pickup.
Take your time enjoying the Oak Alley tour and exploring the Big House, grounds, slave cabins, exhibits, and cafe.
Whitney Plantation
DAY TOUR
Pick-up starts at 12:30PM.
Paying homage to slaves of Whitney and across the South. Step back in time and explore the history of this famous plantation.
Oak Alley + Laura
COMBO TOUR
Daily tours are 10:00AM, with 9:30AM pickup.
Enjoy a tour of two very different plantations: Oak Alley: An Antebellum Plantation, and Laura: A Creole Plantation.
Complete Tour Packages
Savings
Whether you’re in town for two days or two weeks, we’ve put together the perfect New Orleans tour package for you. Discover the treasures of Louisiana!
- Swamp Tour
- City Bus Tour
- Plantations
Just up the river from Laura is the “Grande Dame” of the Louisiana River Road plantations, Oak Alley. Oak Alley plantation gets its name from the spectacular quarter mile tunnel of 28 oak trees that frame the driveway as you approach. Built in 1839 and facing the Mississippi River, the magnificent entrance to Oak Alley Plantation 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 oak trees leading to the mansion. Thanks to its classic appearance and beautiful restoration, Oak Alley Plantation has been featured in a number of movies and TV series, including the movie “Interview with a Vampire,” and Beyonce’s “Deja Vu” music video.
Read more about Oak Alley Plantation here.
This historic Houmas House estate boasts 38 acres of the South’s most beautiful gardens, three restaurants, a luxurious Inn and a historic mansion open daily for tours. The guided mansion tour leads guests through the architectural evolution of the mansion and details how a succession of owners and the Mississippi River grew this manor house to today’s grand estate. Period antiques, artwork and artifacts help the costumed guides tell the story of plantation life. Once sprawling over 300,000 acres, Houmas House has survived wars, floods, abandonment, and the test of time. Spend the day or night and experience the Antebellum South. Once you have explored the Houmas Estate, visit The Great River Road Steamboat Museum. This expansive museum educates about life on the Mississippi– exploring the culture, commerce, folklore and music. Once you’ve completed this attraction, save time to walk across the bridge located in the parking lot and enjoy sweeping views of the Mississippi River and the surrounding landscape.
The Whitney Plantation stands out from other attractions by truly paying homage to the slaves responsible for its rise. Take a tour of the home itself (“The Big House”), Slave Quarters, Wall of Honor memorial, Antioch Baptist Church, and other exhibits carefully built and preserved in the memory of those who sacrificed their lives for the plantation. The Whitney dates back to the early 1700’s, when a German immigrant moved to Louisiana with his family and established a small farm, boasting only one pig. Thanks to indispensable slave labor, the plantation eventually grew to become quite successful, and at its peak produced over 400,000 pounds of sugar in one season. The present-day plantation serves as a memorial to the slaves who lost their lives, and the brutal labor responsible for the plantation’s success. Visitors experience a more raw, realistic view of the Old South than many other plantations offer. We invite you to explore a plantation like none other in Louisiana.
Laura: Louisiana’s Creole Heritage Site has a rich and unique history, from the home itself to the stories of the women who ran it. As you walk through the house, banana grove, garden, and slave quarters, you’ll catch a glimpse of the plantation as it would have looked over 200 years ago, complete with furnishings of the period and photos of its original residents. Laura Plantation represents the many different cultural influences at play in Louisiana during this time period: initially the plantation was built and run by a French Creole family, and was later turned over to a German family who ran it for nearly 100 years. Stories told by a West African freedmen working on the plantation in the 1870’s, “Compair Lapin & Compair Bouki”, known in English as “Tales of Br’er Rabbit,” were recorded in the original 1840s slave cabins.
When you arrive, you can expect a 75-minute tour from a passionate, highly knowledgeable guide. Your tour will take you through the basement of Laura, and up to the living quarters as you hear about the family’s troubled past. As you walk through the house, your guide will take you on a journey through four generations of this Creole family, both free and enslaved.
After exploring the house, you’ll be guided through the mansion’s beautiful gardens and banana grove to the original slave quarters. Laura Plantation has taken great care in not only renovating the grounds, but also uncovering the true (and at times, devastating) history of the plantation’s family and slaves. You’ll hear all sides of the story, thoughtfully and respectfully recounted on this 200 year-old sugar farm.
