Ragin Cajun Combo Tours
CLOSEST AIRBOAT TOUR TO THE PLANTATIONS !
Check out our combo tours!
Oak Alley & Laura Plantation Combo
Oak Alley Plantation is one of the most sought-after plantation tours in the South. For the true Antebellum plantation experience, you simply can’t miss out on the mansion that has been dubbed the “Crown Jewel” of the River Road Plantations. Thanks to its pristine setting and photogenic line of live Oaks leading to the entrance, Oak Alley plantation is frequently featured in movies and TV series. From the moment you set foot on the grounds, you’ll see why: the home itself has been beautifully renovated, and furnished with period furniture and decorations. The original trees, older even than the structure itself, still grace the property. And recreated slave cabins house photographs, informational guides, and memorials to the many slaves who worked the plantation. When you experience the house, slave cabin exhibits, and grounds, you’ll get a firsthand experience of a traditional Antebellum plantation.
history of oak alley plantation
Originally named Bon Sejour, Oak Alley was built in 1837-39 by George Swainey for Jacques Telesphore Roman, brother of Andre Roman who was twice governor of Louisiana. Joseph Pilie, Jacques Telesphore Roman’s father-in-law, was an architect and is thought to have provided the design of Oak Alley. Square in plan, the interior has a central hall from front to rear on both floors. Rooms at the first floor rear were partitioned and adapted to modern uses at the time of restoration in the 1920s. Equally significant is the impressive double row of giant live oak trees which form the oak alley, about 800 feet long, from which the property derived its present name. Planted before the house was constructed in 1837, this formal planting is a historic landscape design long recognized for its beauty.
VISITING THE PLANTATION
While visiting Oak Alley, be sure to enjoy the cafe and restaurant, which offer refreshing drinks, made to order meals, and traditional Southern fare like pralines and gumbo. Oak Alley tour guides will be dressed in traditional period garb to complete the immersive experience. And after you tour the house and snap shots of the famous Oak trees, take a walk through the many exhibits and slave cabins surrounding the house, which offer a more in-depth look at plantation life and the Antebellum era. You can easily spend a few hours or a full day exploring one of Louisiana’s most sought-out attractions. Before you leave, pick up a cookbook or souvenir from the expansive gift shop. Our tours fill up fast! Call 504-436-8000
Laura Plantation Tour
Laura: Louisiana’s Creole Heritage Site has a rich and unique history, from the home itself to the stories of the women who ran it. As you walk through the house, banana grove, garden, and slave quarters, you’ll catch a glimpse of the plantation as it would have looked over 200 years ago, complete with furnishings of the period and photos of its original residents. Laura Plantation represents the many different cultural influences at play in Louisiana during this time period: initially the plantation was built and run by a French Creole family, and was later turned over to a German family who ran it for nearly 100 years. Stories told by a West African freedmen working on the plantation in the 1870’s, “Compair Lapin & Compair Bouki”, known in English as “Tales of Br’er Rabbit,” were recorded in the original 1840s slave cabins.
History of Laura plantation
The land on which Laura plantation stands was originally owned by André Neau, who obtained it through a French royal land grant in 1755. In the early 1800s, the plantation became the property of the Duparc family and was divided between two family members in 1876. The house continued in the hands of Duparc-Locoul heirs until 1891, when Duparc-Locoul descendant Laura Locoul sold the property to A. Florian Waguespack. A condition of the sale was that the plantation and house continue to be called “Laura”. Constructed c.1805, the main house at Laura has a raised brick basement story and a briquette-entre-poteaux (brick between posts) upper floor. The house is special because of its Federal style interior woodwork and Norman roof truss. In Louisiana, far more Creole houses with Greek Revival woodwork have survived than have those showing Federal influence.
VISITING THE PLANTATION
When you arrive, you can expect a 75-minute tour from a passionate, highly knowledgeable guide. Your tour will take you through the basement of Laura, and up to the living quarters as you hear about the family’s troubled past. As you walk through the house, your guide will take you on a journey through four generations of this Creole family, both free and enslaved. After exploring the house, you’ll be guided through the mansion’s beautiful gardens and banana grove to the original slave quarters. Laura Plantation has taken great care in not only renovating the grounds, but also uncovering the true (and at times, devastating) history of the plantation’s family and slaves. You’ll hear all sides of the story, thoughtfully and respectfully recounted on this 200 year-old sugar farm.
PICK UP TIME STARTS : 8:00 AM * PLEASE BE OUTSIDE AND READY AT THE START OF PICK UP TIME ( 30 MINUTE PICK UP WINDOW ) This tour returns to downtown at approx. 3:30 pm
PRICES: Adults: $120.00 Juniors : ( 6 to 12 ) $ 92.00
For Reservations & Information
Call 504-436-8000
Oak Alley or Laura Plantation
& Air boat Tour Combo
This tour includes roundtrip transportation and admission to the house and grounds of the plantation. Pickup time for this starts at 8:00 am. (Please allow 30 minutes for pickup). Once we have all our pickups made you will head out to Plantation Country ,where you will spend approximately 2 hours. After you tour the plantation of your choice you will get time to explore the grounds including one of the blacksmith’s shop, several different exhibits and the souvenir shop.
Oak Alley Plantation is one of the magnificent plantation tour around because of its 300 year old, evenly spaced, massive live oak trees. Originally named Bon Sejor, Oak Alley was constructed in 1837-39 by George Swainey for Jacques Telesphore Roman, brother of Andre Roman who was twice governor of Louisiana. Joseh Pilie, Jacques Telesphore Roman’s father-in-law, was an architect and is thought to have provided the design of Oak Alley
LAURA PLANTATION
The land on which Laura plantation stands was originally owned by André Neau, who obtained it through a French royal land grant in 1755. In the early 1800s, the plantation became the property of the Duparc family and was divided between two family members in 1876. The house continued in the hands of Duparc-Locoul heirs until 1891, when Duparc-Locoul descendant Laura Locoul sold the property to A. Florian Waguespack. A condition of the sale was that the plantation and house continue to be called “Laura”. Constructed c.1805, the main house at Laura has a raised brick basement story and a briquette-entre-poteaux (brick between posts) upper floor. The house is special because of its Federal style interior woodwork and Norman roof truss. In Louisiana, far more Creole houses with Greek Revival woodwork have survived than have those showing Federal influence.
From there you will go to the Air boat Tour where you will experience the best of both, an informative swamp tour, and a little high speed thrill ride. Your Captain will give you a tour of a lifetime explaining the culture, animals and the swamps. On this tour you will be on one of our small air boats which only holds up to 9 passengers giving you a more personalized tour. This tour returns back to the French Quarter approximately 4:45 pm depending on traffic.
PRICES: $ 152.00 PER PERSON
( 6 – 9 PASSENGER AIR BOAT )