A day on the plantation trail in Louisiana

Dernière mise à jour de cet article le 2 November 2025

After visiting New Orleans, we picked up our rental car and hit the road for a week. Our first stop on this Louisiana road trip was the plantation route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Louisiana’s Plantation Route takes in a number of historic plantations located on the same road along the Mississippi River.

But what is a plantation? Plantations are agricultural estates where sugarcane and cotton were grown, using slave labor. A visit to a plantation in Louisiana allows you to immerse yourself in an essential part of the history of the American South, tackling complex issues such as slavery and the agricultural culture of the time.

But which plantations to visit on the plantation route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge? In this article, we present the plantations we visited. At the end of the article, you’ll find the opinion of Kiki, the romantic, who fell in love with the alleys of oaks adorned with Spanish moss.

Where to stop on the Louisiana plantation trail?

Between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, you can visit the following plantations:

• Evergreen Plantation
• Whitney Plantation
• Laura Plantation
• Oak Alley
• The Houmas

If you’re coming from New Orleans, you’ll take the LA 18 W road. On this route, the first plantation will be Evergreen Plantation, then Whitney Plantation, Laura Plantation, Oak Alley and finally the Houmas (which isn’t exactly on LA 18 W).

Evergreen plantation

The first plantation on the road between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is Evergreen Plantation. It is located near the town of Edgard, along the Mississippi River, about 45 minutes from New Orleans.

Evergreen Plantation has been the location for several films, including Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, where its historic buildings were used as the backdrop for scenes set on a plantation. However, it is privately owned and currently closed to the public. You can only see the long avenue of oaks with Spanish moss if you park quickly in front of the gate.

It was our first contact with these majestic oaks and Spanish moss. If you’re wondering what Spanish moss is, you’re right! In fact, it’s a plant that grows on other plants without harming them, and is often found hanging from tree branches, particularly in hot, humid regions such as the southern USA, Central America and parts of Spain. It has no conventional roots and absorbs moisture and nutrients from the air. This adds an undeniable charm to oak trees. So, throughout our stay in Louisiana, we were seduced by the combination of oaks and Spanish moss.

As for Evergreen Plantation, it’s not an essential stop on the plantation route, since you can’t visit the plantation itself.

Laura Plantation: Louisiana’s Creole Heritage Site

Laura Plantation is located near Vacherie on the west bank of the Mississippi River. It’s a 10-minute drive from Evergreen Plantation.

The Laura Plantation story

The plantation tour is based on the story of Laura Locoul Gore, who wrote her memoirs, in a book of over 5,000 pages, “Memories of the Old Plantation Home”. Laura Locoul was born into an influential Creole family who owned the Duparc-Locoul plantation (later known as Plantation Laura). She grew up in an environment marked by French and Creole colonial heritage, where sugarcane cultivation played a central role.

In her memoir, Laura recounts life on the plantation, the complex relationships between family members and slaves, and the economic and social changes that accompanied the Civil War and Reconstruction. She also shows the contrast between the French Creole culture in which she grew up, and the growing American influence in the South after the war.

Laura Plantation Museum

While waiting for the guided tour, you can visit the souvenir store and a small museum with documents on the plantation.

A visit to Laura Plantation’s main house

The 75-minute guided tour (in theory) is led by an enthusiastic guide with a history of the house. She presents the 200-year history of the main house, including its construction.

We then listen religiously to the story of Laura’s family and the relationship between France and New Orleans, as we visit the various rooms in the house.

Then we head outside to discover the magnificent gardens.

We also listen to the story of the slaves and their complex relationships with the owners, while discovering their former homes. It’s easy to imagine the harsh living conditions they endured.

We didn’t even notice the 85 minutes of the guided tour, so captivated were we by our guide and the story she was telling us.

Practical information for visiting Laura Plantation

• The first guided tour is at 10 am and the last at 4 pm.
• There are guided tours in English every 40 minutes.
• There are also guided tours in French.
• It takes 2 hours to visit Plantation Laura.
• Address: 2247 highway 18, Vacherie.
• Official website

You can book your ticket to visit Laura Plantation now.

For the record, we were early for our guided tour. We were able to bring our tour forward without any problem. We can’t recommend this tour highly enough, as it’s so authentic and fascinating. You can book your tickets online.

Oak Alley Plantation

Oak Alley Plantation is one of Louisiana’s most famous plantations. It is located in Vacherie, also along the Mississippi River and about 5 minutes from Laura Plantation.

Oak Alley

The plantation’s most emblematic feature is its avenue of 28 oak trees, spanning some 400 meters between the house and the Mississippi River. They were planted in the 18th century, long before the house was built.

We were impressed by the beauty of this avenue, with its oaks adorned with Spanish moss.

The main house in Oak Alley

The Greek Revival main house was built between 1837 and 1839 by Jacques Roman, a sugarcane planter. It was therefore a prosperous sugarcane plantation at the time. Like many Southern plantations, Oak Alley used slaves to grow sugar cane.

The main house can be visited with a guide in less than 30 minutes. But it’s a bit of a factory and photos inside are not allowed. There’s a magnificent view of the gardens upstairs.

The only highlight of this guided tour is opening the door upstairs to see the avenue of oak trees. It’s very beautiful and impressive.

I was very disappointed with the guided tour, which didn’t offer much in the end and seemed like a tourist factory. Perhaps we were unlucky with our guide, who wasn’t the most enthusiastic. Fortunately, the oak alley was there!

Slave cabins

Before or after your visit to Oak Alley Plantation’s main house, you can take a self-guided tour of an exhibition on the slaves’ harsh living conditions by visiting six cabins. Learn about their daily lives and the crucial role they played in the plantation’s economy.

Practical information for visiting Oak Alley Plantation

Oak Alley Plantation is very touristy. In fact, this is where we saw the most people on our trip to Louisiana, with many busloads of tourists in the parking lots. We advise you to book your tickets in advance. Please note that you can’t just visit the oak alley and the slave cabins; you have to buy a ticket with the guided tour of the house.

When you buy your ticket, you’ll be asked to arrive no later than 30 minutes before your guided tour time. Even if there’s absolutely no point, take the opportunity to explore the alley and the slave exhibition.

There’s also a restaurant and souvenir store. You can buy a pecan cookie that will be made and baked in front of you.

It takes 1h30 to visit Oak Alley Plantation. I must admit I was disappointed by Oak Alley Plantation. I found it far too touristy and was disappointed by the guided tour. However, the oak alley is truly magnificent.

The Houmas Plantation

The third plantation we visited was The Houmas. It’s about 30 minutes from Oak Alley Plantation and 30 minutes from Baton Rouge.

A visit to the gardens of Houmas Plantation

We were only able to visit the gardens of Houmas Plantation. We arrived too late for the guided tour of the house.

The gardens are magnificent, with tropical plants, bridges and fountains.

But also with majestic oaks adorned with Spanish moss. A true haven of peace.

You may even come across swans, ducks, a turtle and turkeys. In short, it’s a must-see even if there’s no history of slavery in these gardens.

Practical information for visiting The Houmas Plantation

The price is $20 to visit the gardens, otherwise it’s $30 with a tour of the house. There’s also a wonderful souvenir store and museum next door, which we didn’t have time to visit. The gardens are open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. Tickets can be purchased online.

Address: 40136 Highway 942 Darrow

Which plantations to visit on the Louisiana Plantation Trail?

Do you only have time to visit one plantation between New Orleans and Baton Rouge? But which one to choose?

If I had to choose just one, I’d go for Laura Plantation: Louisiana’s Creole Heritage Site for its fascinating history, with both indoor and outdoor guided tours. It was really the most authentic tour and we were able to discover the history of the owners but also of the slaves and their relationships.

For the gardens, I’d choose Houmas Plantation. They were magnificent and the walk at the end of the day is so pleasant. Finally, for the avenue of oak trees, I’d choose Oak Valley. Although I didn’t like the guided tour of the house, I was impressed by this majestic avenue of oaks lined with Spanish moss.

How many visits to Louisiana’s plantation route?

We visited three plantations in one day: Oak Alley, Laura Plantation and the gardens of Houmas Plantation. We also made a photo stop at Evergreen Plantation.

I’m sure you’re thinking, my God, 3 plantations in one day is too much! I’d say no! The plantations in Louisiana are all different, and I’d even go so far as to say they complement each other in terms of discovering the history of the southern United States and Louisiana. So don’t be afraid to spend a day visiting the plantations between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

In addition, you can find our article on our trip in Louisiana with other plantations we visited.

In what order should you visit the plantations in Louisiana?

If you have a day to visit plantations but need to return to New Orleans at the end of the day, we recommend Evergreen, Laura Plantation and Oak Alley. If, like us, you’re traveling from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, we recommend Evergreen, Laura Plantation Oak Alley and The Houmas.

In fact, we invite you to read our articles on things to do in New Orleans and on Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana.

If you don’t have a car, you can visit Oak Alley Plantation from New Orleans.

Alternatively, between Laura Plantation and Oak Alley Plantation, you can go to B&C Seafood Riverside & Cajun Restaurant. It’s not the best food, but it does the trick!

Where to stay on Louisiana’s Plantation Trail?

To visit the plantations in Louisiana, you can sleep either in New Orleans or Baton Rouge.

We recommend the Best Western Plus St. Christopher Hotel in New Orleans and the Courtyard Baton Rouge Siegen Lane in Baton Rouge.

Kiki’s opinion of her plantation visits in Louisiana

After reading this article, you may have thought that Sophie and Kiki had nothing better to discover than three plantations in one day? It may sound incredible, but Kiki would have loved to have stopped at every plantation in Louisiana. Not only are they all very different from one another, they’re also just incredibly beautiful.

But despite all this euphoria, we have to curb Kiki’s enthusiasm a little here. We must never forget that all this wealth is linked to slave labor. Although it may seem a long way from home, the pioneers in the United States were mainly Europeans – our ancestors – who made this dark chapter in human history possible.

Of course, Kiki also succumbed to the magic of Spanish moss. If you’re wondering what it is, just read the article! These mysteriously suspended plants give the Southern states their unique atmosphere. The name “Spanish moss” actually comes from the French, to whom the sight of these plants reminded them of the beards of the Spanish conquistadors. A strange name, perhaps, but the sight of old oaks invaded by this moss is simply magical. Kiki gets sentimental every time he thinks about it.

But the journey through Louisiana is far from over. In the next article, Kiki has another fascinating history lesson in store for you. Louisiana has so many French influences that we simply can’t ignore them. Enjoy!