Oak Alley

I'm really surprised I didn't write about this place on my last visit to NOLA. Now granted, this was back in 2021, so it's been a while since my last visit, but still...I really enjoyed my experience learning more about Oak Alley while in NOLA. As their website states, this sugar plantation has over 200 years of history. It's a massive estate that has become a National Historic Landmark. I learned so much about sugar plantations from doing the tour and the history behind it. The grounds is well kept and the tour guides were very informative, keeping the experience engaging. If you're looking for an educational aspect while in NOLA, take the drive and learn about the history here at Oak Alley.

Very sad and depressing experience and heart breaking. They focus is on the slaves and the hardships they experienced. Most of the tour is on your own. You take a walking tour of the slave quarters. They have plaques in all the building telling you the tough lives the slaves had to endure.You can also take a tour of the big house. That also focused on the hardships of the slaves. They described how the slaves were workers while the plantation owners lived a lavish life. They told us about how the plantation owners and their guests were fanned by a slave child worked the fan. They had on display a bell ankle shackle that jingled so the plantation owners could keep track of them. They also had on display pictures of the plantation owners and their families. They do not allow pictures to be taken in the big house.When you walk out on the gallery there is a perfect photo op with the oak trees in the background.This was.a very eye opening experience. Be ready to be chilled.On-site is a restaurant and a store that sold sandwiches and other premade items. The restaurant had quick service. We were on a tour and still had time to grab a bite to sit down and have a bite to eat. I enjoyed the daily special of white beans, jambalaya, and fish sticks. I loved the white beans. I heard the cheesecake was to die for. We ran out of time for dessert. Bathrooms are ok. I belive they are lavish port a potties soon as you arrive and they have regular bathrooms in the restaurant/store area.They also have a nice gift shop where you get books with more details of the Planation. They also sell beautiful Christmas Ornaments that are gold encrusted with a picture of the big house on it. They also have postcards with pictures of the plantation and big house and the beautiful oak trees. You have to turn in your ticket when you enter the big house. On your way out you can stop by the ticket booth and get a copy of your ticket as a souvenir.

This is a very family friendly tour that displays the history of antebellum times. This tour focuses on how brutal slavery was and how much the plantation depended on them in every aspect of life to be successful. The mansion is beautiful but I wish we would have been allowed to take pictures inside.

DO NOT visit this place if you want to truly learn about the history of slavery. This plantation is disgustingly a salute to plantation owners. Slavery here is minimized on the tour as they really only talk about the lavish life, business dealings, and architecture of plantation owners and the property. I found the Whitney and the Laura tours to be 10x more educational.Having a picturesque walk to the slave owners graves is wild to me. Even the area where they showed the slave quarters had a terrible use of terminology. Replaced the terms slaves with workers which is insane! Also, talking about the "slave community" there was no damn community they were freaking enslaved!Personal opinion: I hated everything about this tour and plantation including the onsite bar as they offer you a cocktail to enjoy as they whitewash slavery and praise the plantation owners.The surplus of engagement and wedding photos is disturbing. For contrast I wonder how it would go over if people went to concentration camps and took engagement photos!Last but not least towards the end of the tour on the 2nd floor is the worst tour moment as they fling the doors open (with pizzazz) so that you can "gawk" in awe of the long walkway lined by big oak trees. Those are oaks that slaves had to carry there as they were imported when the trees were 50 years old.This place is truly messed up but hey they continue to make money off of slavery by slapping it the face and making this place a picturesque site to see.Do not visit if you want true American history and education. We did all 3 plantations in the same day and this by far is the worst.

Absolutely beautiful property! There is a lot of history in this house. back in the day it wasnt as serene as it all seems to us. Lots of back breaking work took place here.

The beauty of this place is indescribable. They even went to significant lengths to make it wheelchair accessible. Even though I couldn't see the second floor because of the stairs, there was an audio/video presentation. The frustrating thing is that they charge the same price for a slideshow as a full tour.It was a little sad to hear so little about the history of the people who worked in the plantation and their lives. The focus of the tour was more related to the wealth and how it was built/ developed from owner to owner. With all of that said, this place was actually one of the highlights of visiting New Orleans. Our biggest regret is not staying on the grounds to get the full experience. Make time to stay here for a night, eat breakfast and lunch or dinner, and see everything.The staff here were the most hospitable of all the places we visited in the state of LA.

The grounds and property have been immaculately looked after. The wait for the tour was short, and the tour itself was informative. BUT This tour needs to drag itself into the 21st Century, they focus solely on the wealth of the family, the grandeur, the accomplishments, but gloss over the reality that all the wealth came from slavery. They mention the slaves briefly, but mainly on the house slaves. You do not get a guided tour of the slaves homes, you have to do your own research into their lives. Our guide actually said "we aren't sure how the slaves felt about building this beautiful home" ..... erm .... I can't imagine being shackled, underfed, psychically and mentally abused and then being force to build an ostentatious house was a barrel of laughs. Maybe add 30 minutes focused on the abhorrent conditions the slaves lived in because they were sold and treated worse than cattle.

Beautiful architecture and landscaping. Guided tour was short but informative and there are areas of the plantation that you can tour unguided that have placards to read information about whatever you're looking at. Pictures are not allowed inside the big house but are allowed outside. At the end of the guided tour they give you a paper showing all the movies, tv shows, and music videos filmed there so if you're a movie buff that is neat information to have. There is a cafe and a gift shop on site - food was good. If you're looking for a company to book through we booked through legendary tours and they were excellent - picked us up at our hotel in NOLA and dropped us back off afterwards.

House and trees are worth seeing. Our tour guide talked in monotone voice while looking at my wife's chest the entire time. Very disturbing multiple people noticed. We went on a cold day and would not allow us to stand inside until exact tour time. House needs repairs and slave quarters are recreations. The Houmas House was exceptionally better in every aspect!

Amazing place. Takes about 3 hours. The tour of the hose was really well done. Grounds are taken care of. Very cool place. Respects the history.