Ediee

We are heading to New Orleans for a conference and have 1 and 1/2 days before it starts to do some exploring someplace other than the city. We arrive in NO on a Friday, at 12:30 p.m. and do not have a place to stay that evening. Where would you go outside of NO if you had never been in any of the southern states before? I am thinking we would like to see places either in Louisiana or Mississippi. We are great history buffs and also would possibly like to see some old southern plantations. Ideas please, on what to see and what city/town would be a good place to spend the night. Thank you!!

Wayne

On Highway 90 along the Mississippi gulf coast you could visit Jefferson's home. That's about an hour and a half from New Orleans proper, but at least two hours from the airport. The Miss gulf coast is also the place to stop and gamble at a casino if you are so inclined.

If you head south from the airport area on Interstate spur 110 to US highway 49, then south on 49 to Raceland, then northwest on La Highway 1 to Donaldsonville, then back east to New Orleans, you'll have a nice taste of Cajun country. On the route, Thibodaux is probably the best place to stop overnight if you want to. Otherwise, there are lots of typical small Cajun towns on that route where you can just stop, wander around, and gather in a little of the ambience. It's not a Disney World, but a real life area with good and bad spots, but overall it will leave you with a good idea of what the Cajun country is all about.

Then of course you can also just drive the river road along the river south of New Orleans and visit some of the famous old plantation homes. A drive and a stop at a plantation will take about 3 hours.

You can also drive north across the longest highway bridge in the U.S. to the north side of Lake Pontchartrain and visit the towns on that side of the lake -- Mandeville, Covington, Madisonville, to name a few. Madisonville still has a lot of the feel of the old riverfront villages of the past.

Of course, there's always Baton Rouge and the old state capitol where Huey P. Long was assassinated. The bullet holes are still in the wall. And there are other sights in Baton Rouge, but it's a sorta high-traffic, cluttered city where you won't see a lot unless you know the area.

I'm sure others will have more suggestions. Good luck.

neworleanslady

Ediee,
I've posted some info on previous threads about Thibodaux/Hwy 1 area as well as Hwy 90/49 to Lafayette. You can click on my name to check that out - I think the titles both include Cajun Country in some variation. You might get some ideas from that.

Ediee

Thanks for the great ideas! As you suggested, Wayne, we are planning to drive River Road and see 2-3 plantations on Friday afternoon. I booked a Priceline hotel in Baton Rouge, where we will spend the night. Saturday morning we will drive to Natchez and tour that area. I still need to make a reservation for Saturday night. Ideas? I am not familiar with River Road, is that Highway 1? We will be coming from the New Orleans airport, which roads would you recommend we take to get to River Road; and which road (scenic) to take to Natchez? Then when driving back to New Orleans, is there a different scenic route we could take? Thanks!

rkkwan

If you're arriving in MSY at 12:30pm, you will only have time to visit one or at most two plantation homes. One of the better ones is Nottoway. www.nottoway.com on LA1 on the west side of the Mississippi. Their website has directions from NO and the airport.

There are other plantation homes nearby on either side of the river. In my opinion, it's really not important to drive along the river because of the high levees. You don't get to see the river from the roadway.

From Baton Rouge to Natchez, just drive straight up US61. You can stay at Natchez, or go a little further north to Vicksburg. There's a national military park there, as well as several riverboat casinos.

Then just drive straight down I-55 back to NO on Saturday. Maybe go east on I-12 and then take the Lake Pontchatrain Causeway, as suggested by Wayne, instead of staying on I-55. A little detour, but worth it.

benj

I think St Francisville is charming. It has several lesser known plantation homes there & it is not far from Baton Rouge. There is a plantation there where JJ Audubon painted many of his nature paintings. If you flew in to NO & rented a car you could head there from the airport.

We stayed at the Butler Greenwood Plantation in the Gazebo building. It was really nice- stained glass windows & the room is shaped like a gazebo. The owner has an interesting history- she is a writer & her husband was a warden at the prison until he tried to kill her. The Myrtles is a nearby plantation that is supposed to be haunted.

For more info to help you decide you can check out www.stfrancisville.net/town_new/index.html

bigtyke

I would go visit Oak Alley plantation and also take a swamp tour. I also made a very interesting drive thru some real interesting couptry just outside NO. Just do a search on my name and you will find it