River Road Plantations - Louisiana
 

My husband and I will be driving from New Orleans to Baton Rouge and since we have most of a day to do it, we would like to take the river road and visit a couple plantations along the way. We visited Laura and Oak Alley with a tour on a previous trip to New Orleans.

I've done some research into the different plantations, but I'd like to know which ones people particularly enjoyed visiting.

Lunch recommendations are also welcome :) as well as any cool little towns to stop in and check out.

Thanks :)

We visited Nottway and loved it. The tour doesn't have as much factual history as Laura, but it was much more beautiful and well preserved than Oak Alley.
Also DO NOT eat at the Cabin Restaurant - we ate there our last night and got very sick... :(

We have been to Nottoway and enjoyed it though some have said it has become a little run down. I have never been to Houmas House but have heard it is beautiful.

By all means, Oak Alley

Nottaway looks amazing - absolutely huge. We might have to go just because it is so large - LOL.

Has anyone been to Destrehan? Looks interesting since it is so old.

I really enjoyed St. Joseph Plantation. It opened for tours only a couple of years ago and was restored by the heirs. They also have some slave cabins that you are allowed to go into.
Destrehan was also interesting since they had an indigo crop first. The current house is not the original one, but it is the oldest plantation.
Nottoway has a very impressive main house and is worth a visit.
Houmas House is beautiful, but I didn't enjoy the tour.

uptowngirl2418 We were thinking of taking a tour of Houmas House. Can you tell me what you did not like about the tour?

Personally, I enjoy the history and stories of the past when visiting plantations.
The guide at Houmas House had many more stories about the current owner and his random purchases at auction which are displayed in the house.
Considering the admission is $20, which is twice the price of the other plantations, I expected a little more. I felt I got a little less in comparision to what the others offer.

uptowngirl - thanks for the comments on Houmas House. I was checking them out on the web and the house looks beautiful, but I too enjoy history and stories from the past, so if the tour is short on that, then I would be disappointed too - esspecially given the high admission fee. That's one of the things I really enjoyed while visiting Laura plantation - all the great stories the guide had to share.

I will look up St. Josephs as well. I'm glad that they have saved some of the slave cabins and that people can tour them as well. It is important.

You really should see Nottoway if you haven't been there. It's closer to Baton Rouge on the west side of the river between Plaquemine and Donaldsonville. Also consider LSU's Rural Life Museum in Baton Rouge (I-10 at Essen Lane exit as you approach Baton Rouge). It's a must see and will give you a different perspective as to how the average person lived. Lots of slave quarters are included as well as an old church.

John Folse has a restaurant in Donaldsonville..check out his Bittersweet Plantation restaurant on line. I think it's still open.

I've heard of the Rural Life museum in Baton Rouge, and it definitely looks good. I am also interested in the Acadian Village in Lafayette, which I have heard is also good. Any thoughts on which one gives a better representation of the history of the area? I think we would be too rushed if we tried to see both and besides, both might be overkill anyway.

The day after we drive up the river road, our tentitive plan is to go to Alligator Bayou (that part is definite as requested by my husband) in the morning, drive over to Lafayette for lunch, and go to the Acadian Village in the afternoon. Our lodging that night and the next 2 is in Breaux Bridge, so we could just as easily hang out around Baton Rouge that day after visiting Aligator Bayou and check out the Rural Life Museum in the afternoon before heading to Breaux Bridge.

The next two days we have the Tabasco plant and Avery Island on the itererary we well as checking out the town of New Iberia, possibly Lake Fausse Pointe or Cypremort Point state parks.

I want to see a variety of things and get a real feel for the area but still make sure we have some time for relaxation.

ttt

I'll respond later. I want to make a few phone calls.

ttt

This is supposed to be really cool and I know people who stayed over and thought it was a really interesting experience. You have to be "up for it" though, otherwise I'd imagine it might be too frightening!

http://www.myrtlesplantation.com/

J Correa,

One question before I make a few phone calls for you, when are you coming this way?

On Dec. 26, we visited Laura and Oak Alley . Both are recommendable, both are very different and make a good combination.

Laura is unique because it is one of the oldest, because it is Creole (colorful building) and not Anglo (white building), because Lady Laura had written a book about life on the plantation (available in the bookshop) and because the guided tour is very informed and full of history about antebellum creole society.

Oak Alley is simply magnificent with oaks & building. Some very interesting features inside. Tour was also good (costumed guide), but more conventional.

We would have missed something if we had skipped one of the two.

Definitely recommend Nottoway, Laura, Oak Alley and Houmas House (all for varied reasons since they have different appeals). Also remember that you can stay at many of them. We stayed at Nottoway several years ago - got a suite on the first floor which had it's own private, walled-in outdoor pool (pool was small but very romantic!)

We will be there the first week of June - so it is still a ways away. Of course, I am planning ahead so I can read up on everywhere we are going before we get there :)

Myrtles Plantation looks really cool. I love haunted stuff and the paranormal.

We loved Laura plantation when we visited 5 years ago - I bought that book and read it on the plane on the way home :) How has it faired since the fire they had?

Oak Alley was fun too - I am an Anne Rice fan, and it was the inspiration for a house in The Witching Hour as well as the filming location for the plantation in the Interview with a Vampire movie, so that was an extra bit of fun to go see it.

Good. Now I have more time for my phone calls!

An old friend owns the Myrtles so I've attended several receptions and parties there over the years. It's just a nice old house which is supposedly haunted because someone was murdered there. St. Francisville where the house is located is a lovely southern town about 40 minutes north of Baton Rouge. It's loaded with beautiful old homes, some which are open to the public. Rosedale and Oakley come to mind.

Are you locked into 3 nights in Breaux Bridge? Not much there but I'll check that out with a friend who lives there. Where are you staying in Breaux Bridge?

You're planning a very interesting trip where you'll see both the creole and cajun influences which make Louisiana so unique.

I read an article on Laura Plantation recently in our Baton Rouge paper. It has recovered from the fire and remains open.

In Breaux Bridge, we are staying at the Cajun Country Cottages which is a small B&B made up of individual cottages on a lake. We chose this place because it is out of the thick of things and looks perfect for some relaxation, but not too far away from things that we can't go sightseeing and out to dinner. There is a porch on our cottage and each cottage has its own dock. I am picturing myself sitting out on that porch with a glass of wine and my book :)

We also want to do some outdoorsy things on this portion of the trip, so it seems like a good location. My husband's hobby is photography and when we were in New Orleans before, we took a swamp tour south of New Orleans in Bayou Barataria. He got some tremendous pictures and has been itching to get more pictures of the southern Louisiana countryside. We want to check out Point Fausse state park, I think it is called, Avery Island, and a couple other places around there - New Iberia and so on.

I think that the Myrtles might be a little too far north on this trip.