1. Laura Plantation
City: Vacherie, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (225) 265-7690, (888) 799-7690
Address: 2247 Louisiana Hwy. 18 River Rd.
Description: Perhaps the most important legacy of this Creole plantation is not its opulence but rather the fact that inside its six historic 150-year-old slave cabins were first told the West African folktales of “Compair Lapin,” better known in English as the legendary “Br’er Rabbit,” by Senegalese slaves. This two-story restoration-in-process, built in 1805, is surrounded by sugarcane fields and is home to the largest collection of artifacts—more than 5,000 pieces—belonging to a single Louisiana plantation family. Objects include clothing, toiletries, business and slave records, Carnival and mourning heirlooms, and the retold stories of Laura Locoul, the 1805 owner-manager. All of which enables visitors to glimpse the daily workings of 18th- and 19th-century plantation life, as well as a detailed look at one extended Creole family. Laura’s weathered walls add an authentic air of untouched history to the 45-minute guided tours conducted daily 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $15 adults; $5 children age six to 17.
2. Oak Alley Plantation
City: Vacherie, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (225) 265-2151, (800) 442-5539
Address: 3645 Louisiana Hwy. 18
Description: To stand at the wrought-iron gates to the entrance of this River Road plantation near the levee and gaze down its quarter-mile alley of 28 evenly spaced, 300-year-old live oak trees, believed to be at least 100 years older than the great house, is to experience firsthand perhaps the most spectacular antebellum setting in the entire Mississippi Valley. If nothing else, it’s probably the most photographed plantation house in Louisiana.Fluted Doric columns surround the two-story Greek Revival house originally named Bon Sejour and built in 1837 by Jacques T. Roman III, reportedly because he was so enamored of the oaks. The traditional interior floor plan leads visitors to a second-floor gallery overlooking the alley of oaks. Jefferson Hardin bought the deteriorating house in 1914 and sold it in 1925 to Andrew Stewart, whose restoration gained for Oak Alley its designation as a National Historic Landmark. The house is furnished as it was during Stewart’s ownership. Oak Alley is open for tours Mon through Fri 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sat and Sun 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults (age 19 and older), $7.50 (age 13 to 18), and $4.50 (age six to 12). Take I–10 west to the Gramercy exit 194 and take LA 18 (River Road) to Vacherie. Oak Alley is located between St. James and Vacherie, 60 miles from downtown New Orleans.