Plantations, New Orleans

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There are different Plantation tours:
San Francisco (built in 1837, a steamboat gothic style, the only one authentically restored home on Old River Road)
Laura (built in 1805, it was first on our list but the main house was burnt some years before)
Oak Alley (built in 1837 with beautiful setting)

We preferred the Oak Alley Plantation. It was a nice tour through the history of the plantation, we saw the beautiful (and famous) oak alley of course, where the 28 gigantic oaks stand alive, believed to be at least 100 years older than the house itself! The tour inside the house lasted about 30’, I think It was short but it was informative with the lady that was our guide dressed in traditional costume but they don’t allow you to take pictures. Of course, you can take as many as you wish on the balcony with gorgeous views. It was really impressive when we were on upper floor, it was kind of dark and suddenly she opened the balcony door and all the light came in…

The plantation was a sugar plantation that era with the owners Jackques Telesphore and his wife Celina that were using the house to impress her guests with dances and expensive dinners. The house itself is impressive with high ceilings and large windows, there used to be marble floors but we saw wooden ones! They had many slaves, all of them were living in wooden structures out of the house of course, unfortunately you don’t hear much about their story during the tour.

The mansion has been used in many films so it may look familiar to some of you

Then we spent some time on the gardens and the general area, don’t go there only for the house tour, it’s a pity to loose the majestic grounds with all these live oaks. At the end we visited the café to relax for a while before we drove back to New Orleans with the tour van. The prices at the café were outrageous, $5 for a latte??!! Many people go crazy with the mind julep there.

The Oak Alley Tour was part of our compo tour with Swamp Tour but you can visit it on your own, the entrance fee is $18 (Oak Alley Foundation that owns and operates the plantation claims that it’s a non profit foundation…)

Dont miss the oportunity of see 18th - 19Th century wealthiest families. Make a River road plantation tour and enjoy this history of the south of Louisiana.
WE make a Parish Ascension Tourist guide Tour. Visited many Plantation, loke: Teezcuco Plantation, Rosewood Plantation and others

I dont hav idea how it its afetr Katrina Hurricane......

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If you are interested in seeing the plantation and prefer to avoid the tour bus crowds, consider staying the night. We arrived in the evening, spent the night and were able to wake up early and walk the beautiful grounds all by ourselves. The cost was no more than a typical hotel in New Orleans, and it gave us a chance to enjoy the drive and take in the sights on our own schedule.

The first photo shows the cottage we stayed in. Those that follow show some of the grounds in the morning light.

Where it once stood is now converted into a garage for vintage cars. The Creoles used to own about a hundred slaves to work on the plantation. Our tour guide mentioned that it was something that the Creoles were not very proud of.

We were told by our tour guide that the Creoles were smaller in size. This was evidenced by the low dining table with small chairs that sits 10 people. The Creoles had big families and the descendants either remain in America or return to France.

One of the things which I decided to do was to visit a plantation. When we lived in New Iberia, we visited a plantation with Oak in the name (Shadows on the Teche was not yet open to the public). Bob thought we visited Oak Alley, but I think it was Oak Lawn.

The various plantations each have their strengths and weaknesses. We went to Oak Alley because I wanted to combine a swamp tour with a plantation tour before it got too cold, and that was the one recommended by the hotel concierge.

Oak Alley has appeared in the movies, and there was a story about the filming on TV. The story goes that the movie crew wanteded the oaks hung thickly with Spanish Moss, so they hired cherry pickers and decked the oaks all out. Then Oak Alley had a wedding on the weekend, and the bride didn't want the moss, so they had to take it all down again.

The long alley of Oaks in front and in back of the house are the real stars of the site. The house didn't impress me.

Hours
November through February 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
(last tour begins at 5:00 p.m.)
March through October 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
(last tour begins at 5:30 p.m.)

Regular Admission
Adults (19 yrs.& over) $10.00
Students (13 to 18 yrs.) $ 5.00
Children (6 to 12 yrs.) $ 3.00

They offer AAA and Active Military Discounts - $1.00 off regular admission.

Personal checks and Credit Cards are not accepted for tour admission.

The website is a bit defensive about the amount they charge because the have the following chart comparing other plantation admissions.

Plantation Adult Student Child Miltary
Destrehan $10.00 $5.00 Free $9.00
Evergreen $20.00
Houmas House $20.00 $15.00 $10.00 Grounds Only $10
Laura Plantation $10.00 $5.00 Free $9.00
Nottoway $10.00 $4.00 Free
Oak Alley Plantation $10.00 $5.00 $4.00 $9.00
San Francisco $10.00 $5.00 Free $9.00
St. Joseph Plantation $8.00 $6.00 $4.00

Those several-hundred-year-old oaks make the place seem haunted and spooky. Sometime in the early 1700s, an unknown French settler planted 28 live oak trees in two evenly spaced rows, reaching from his small house to the Mississippi River. What happened to this house is unknown, but the trees were kept. In 1837-1839, a wealthy French sugar-cane planter, Juckes Telesphore Roman, built the Greek revival-style mansion for his bride. Take a tour of the plantation. The history of the place and the stories of slavery are worthwhile to hear. Relax and have a mint julep after you finish the tour. It's not my drink, but I had to try one since I'm in New Orleans, no?

Since we were in the South, we thought be great to visit a real plantation, so we booked a tour to go visit Laura, a Creole Plantation. This was built in 1805 and is one of the few Creole Plantation in Louisiana, an hour from New Orleans.

How do you distinguish it from a regular plantation? According to our tour guide, you can distinguish it by the color of the building. This particular Creole Plantation had a yellow building as its main home.

Cost of Admission:
$10 for Adult
$ 5 for child
Free for Under 6

Since it was a booked tour guide, we actually paid more