Table of contents:
Plantation Tours From New Orleans – Ready to see where ancient oak trees, grand castles, and fascinating history await? Oak Alley Plantation is located 70 miles or approximately 1 hour 10 minutes from the French Quarter. Pickup begins at 8:15 am. We use our sister company “Alert Transportation” for ground transportation services. The driver goes from hotel to hotel for the pick-up service. We ask that you allow us up to 30 minutes for the pick-up service. Pickup will be at your hotel curbside. You will spend about 2 hours in the plantation. The guided tour of the house will be approximately 35 minutes in length. The rest of your time will be spent exploring the grounds. If you use your time wisely, you can grab a sandwich from the gift shop for lunch and still have time to walk the grounds.
Step back in time among the oaks of the majestic Oak Alley Plantation before diving into the breathtaking depths of the Louisiana marshes, where alligators and Spanish moss create a truly unforgettable combo travel experience. Book online today!
Plantation Tours From New Orleans
Join our Oak Alley Plantation and 3-hour City & Katrina Tour for a fascinating journey through New Orleans, where the elegance of the plantation and the resilience of the city spirit combine for an unforgettable adventure! Book online now! Welcome to Lost and Luis! I blog about my travels, adventures and thoughts. Come get lost with me!
Louisiana History And Plantation Half Day Tour
March 9 Get Lost in New Orleans: Explore Whitney Plantation & Oak Alley Plantation with Grayline’s Double Plantation Tour
I grew up in the beautiful sunshine state of Florida and American History was one of my favorite subjects when I was younger. When I moved to Canada, I continued to immerse myself in America’s rich history by taking some courses in high school. What fascinated me most about American history was the history of slavery and the civil rights movement. Coming from the Dominican Republic (where African slaves were first transported to the Americas) I have always been curious about the history of my ancestors.
When I booked a trip to New Orleans, I knew I had to set aside some time to get out into the lively city streets filled with jazz, beignets and gumbo, to delve into the history that surrounds it. Through a little research, I found the perfect tour with Grayline’s double plantation tour.
A long stretch of road runs along the Mississippi River, leading to several antebellum homes, surrounded by tall oak trees covered with Spanish moss and endless fields of plantations. Plantation houses grew and were emblematic of southern opulence. You can close your eyes and almost imagine a time of horse-drawn carriages, corsets and hoop skirts, and a scene straight out of Gone with the Wind. But beneath this facade is a dark story; A story involving slavery. The slaves who built these houses and worked the fields around them.
Things To Do In New Orleans: Oak Alley Plantation Tour
With sugar and plantations surrounding the city, New Orleans developed a thriving market for African slaves and was considered the largest slave market in the deep south. One of the tour guides, Ali, mentioned that the conditions would be harsher than the plantation living conditions in the Northern states due to the extreme working conditions involved in harvesting sugar cane (as opposed to cotton fields in the North). Northern slave owners are said to have threatened misbehaving slaves by telling them they would be ‘sold down the river’, referring to the Mississippi River that leads to both plantations I visited on my trip .
Oak Alley Plantation Named after the beautifully manicured grounds of larger-than-life oak trees that line a path leading to a plantation, Oak Alley Plantation is breathtaking. The plantation is located near the Mississippi River. The large oak trees date back to the 18th century and create a beautiful canopy, almost like towering skyscrapers on the path.
The house tour that I did was mainly focused on the house and the family that lived in the house until it became open to the public. The tour highlights what life was like in the plantation house.
While the Oak Alley Plantation tour was very informative and I would highly recommend it, it was definitely a brief half hour overview touching on the experiences of the house slaves and the lives of the original plantation owners, Jacques and Celina Roman. The difficulties faced by the slaves are definitely mentioned, but more in relation to the family that owned the plantation.
Best Plantations To Visit Near New Orleans [beautiful!]
Without a doubt, the grounds are incredibly beautiful, although in a bittersweet way, considering what happened here more than 150 years ago. I sipped a refreshing Mint Julip as I sat on the wraparound porch admiring the grounds and although part of me almost felt a little guilty for seizing the moment to tell the hard story, I reminding myself how amazing it is to see how far things have come. watching people of all ethnicities taking everything. In the words of a medical student (who visited Whitney Plantation with his classmates):
Medical students and some direct descendants of slaves pose in front of the slave headquarters at Whitney Plantation which is the next plantation I write about below.
Whitney Plantation is a museum that really draws attention to slavery from a different perspective…from the slaves themselves.
They have collected hundreds of artifacts including actual interviews from former slaves who were children at the time on the plantation. It really takes you far beyond the life of the plantation owner and into a real and raw experience.
New Orleans Plantation Country, Louisiana: Bygone Culture And Estates
Statues of enslaved African children (created by artist Woodrow Nash) surround the museum grounds, each lifeless. The eyes are intentionally hollow as the artist’s way of expressing that each and every one of these children is the epitome of despair. It’s incredibly impactful and nauseating at the same time.
Upon entry, each guest is given a code that includes a card with a child slave on it. The girl’s name on my card was Ellen Broomfield. He was one of 19 children in his family, and was put to work plowing the fields as soon as he was old enough.
No matter how long it has been, one cannot help but feel for these people. I could write a whole book about what I saw and heard but it is better you make your way out here one day to experience it for yourself.
Overall, I highly recommend exploring the plantations outside of New Orleans. They are filled with so much history and really give you a taste of the South in another era. Grayline was a fantastic way to experience not just one, but two of these plantations and I can’t recommend it enough.
What You Need To Know About Inside Oak Alley Plantation In Louisiana
A big thank you to Grayline Nola for welcoming me as a guest on this tour. Our driver and tour guide, Gerald, was very knowledgeable and had the charm of warm, southern hospitality. All opinions are my own.
March 19 Lost in New Orleans: My Top 5 Things to Do in The Big Easy February 27 Lost with Luis: Five Research Tips for Planning the Perfect TripAdventure outside the city in the comfort of a private car at a historic New Orleans Plantation . Tour. This tour is an excellent way to see the rural Mississippi River Delta, learn about the economics and architecture of a sugar cane plantation, and see the experiences of thousands of enslaved people in the area.
On the New Orleans Plantation tour. The Sole Creole Plantation offers a 70-minute tour based on 5,000 pages of documents from the French National Archives relating to the free and slave families who lived there. You will learn the compelling, real-life stories of 7 generations of Laura Plantation Creole people. With 11 structures on the National Register, Laura Plantation offers guests the chance to explore its newly restored Manor House, formal gardens and garden kitchen, Banana-Land Grove, and authentic Creole cottages and slave cabins.
In addition to being one of the most visually stunning and well-preserved in the area, Oak Alley has both an excellent slavery exhibit and an amazing collection of historic live oak trees. The Oak Alley Slavery Exhibit consists of 6 cabins built with a different exhibit inside, showing the living quarters, medical facilities, inventories and values of enslaved people, and more. In addition, the oak grove itself consists of twenty-eight live oak trees dating back nearly 250 years.
Notable Southern Plantation Tours In The…
TheHoumas HouseEstate cultivates sugar cane on tens of thousands of acres, and has become the largest sugar producer in the country, called “The Sugar Palace”. The mansion has been restored to the antebellum era, reflecting the opulence and wealth that this sugar cane farm boasted in the 1880s. Inside, guests will find history reflected in the many antique furnishings and works of art that line the home’s 16 glorious rooms. Outside, visitors can stroll through 38 acres of breathtaking, lush gardens, which are replanted throughout the year to reflect the seasons.
And finally, Destrehan Plantation, established in 1787 and listed
