Highlights

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Itinerary

Day 1 – Two Nights Nottoway Plantation – Plantation Tour – Gourmet Dinner

Arrive today at Nottoway Plantation, a magnificent 1850’s sugarcane estate, a AAA Four-Diamond property, and a member of Historic Hotels of America. The home is of the South’s largest existing antebellum mansion, now stunningly restored to her days of glory.

Located between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana, the massive white columns and grand balconies of this enormous Mansion stand guard over the Mississippi River and its famed River Road, while on the north side, the spectacular three-story Rotunda overlooks sweeping, oak-draped lawns.

After check-in for a two-night stay, meet your period guides for a walking tour of the Grand House and grounds of Nottoway.  Your guide will lead you through the Mansion’s spectacular rooms as they share details of Nottoway’s lavish construction and the stories of her fascinating history, including her survival through the Civil War.

Completed in 1859, Nottoway’s 53,000 square foot palatial mansion awes thousands of visitors a year who come to see such extravagant features as soaring 15 1/2′ ceilings, enormous 11-foot doors, 22 massive exterior columns, hand-carved Italian marble fireplaces, exquisitely detailed plaster frieze moldings, and a pure white oval ballroom.

Tonight, there will be period entertainment and a gourmet dinner in the Nottoway Mansions White Ballroom. (D)

Day 2 – Destrehan Plantation – Gumbo Cooking Demo – Unheard Voices of the German Coast Tour – Swamp Tour – Frenier Landing Restaurant and Oyster Bar

This morning, tour Destrehan Plantation, a majestic antebellum home that overlooks the banks of the Mississippi River.  Established in 1787 and listed on the National register of Historic Places, Destrehan Plantation remains the oldest documented plantation home in the lower Mississippi Valley.

Costumed interpreters will intrigue you with the legacy of the Destrehan family, historic events that occurred at this site, and the unique architectural features of the plantation. Here, visitors can gaze upon an original document signed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.  The Plantation also offers daily demonstrations based on life on the plantation.

While at Destrehan Plantation, enjoy the Unheard Voices Tour. It’s a multi-faceted, multi-sensory, interactive historical interpretation created by Dianne “Gumbo Marie” Honore. It presents the lives of the marginalized people such as German farmers, Acadians, enslaved  Africans and native Americans who cultivated Louisiana’s Heritage.

Walk the grounds where hospitals run by enslaved women, a cooper shop, a blacksmith shop, a dry-goods store and brutal sugar cane fields once stood.  See the wash shed where enslaved prisoners were kept.  Walk under the old oaks and learn the history of the enslaved gardens and religious acts in the region and learn the French Creole system of slavery.  A Gumbo Cooking Demonstration is also included with this tour.

The afternoon features a Swamp Tour. As your boat drifts through the waterways, you will learn about the Louisiana Wetlands, the inhabitants of the swamp, particularly the life and habits of the American Alligator, as well as the unique history of the Cajun town of Frenier within the Manchac Swamp.

Dinner this evening is included at Frenier Landing Restaurant and Oyster Bar.  On the western shore of Lake Pontchartrain, this restaurant offers a tempting variety of seafood dishes, as well as great salads, steaks and po-boy sandwiches.  Staffed by culinary experts selecting the finest and freshest ingredients to make your dining experience one to remember.  Return to Nottoway Plantation after dinner. (B,D)

Day 3 – Depart for home

After a Plantation breakfast, depart for home. (B)

Tour Map