This was a pretty plantation and that's about all I can say about it. You can tell that the tour guides are given a stock tour and they don't stray from it. I overheard two guides say exactly the same thing our tour guide told us. The plantation inside tour only included 5 small rooms: a seating room, 2 bedrooms, a nursery, a dining room, and artifact room. The whole thing seemed very glossed over and didn't really address actual enslavement. You can tell this place is a tourist attraction and they very much cater to that idea. The family history of the original family was very brief and abbreviated. There was a little about the last owner of the house and that was the end. It seemed very gimmicky. They are doing some work to the out door area and some of the outdoor areas are closed off. The tour ends in the house so much of the slave and outdoor exhibits are self guided which I thought was a bit lazy and should have been included in a guided tour. There are refreshments available and there are two full service restaurant and bars available. Beautiful Grounds and pretty well kept but if you are looking for a fascinating history you will leave sorely disappointed.

I had always wanted to visit Oak Alley Plantation. From seeing it on paranormal TV shows to seeing it in Interview with a Vampire and various other movies, it really held an air of mystique to me. I finally got the chance during my trip to New Orleans and the surrounding areas. This is well worth the hour and a half drive from New Orleans. The grounds are beautifully manicured and kept up. The slave quarters are a sobering look at life on a southern plantation. And of course, the Alley of Oaks is... breathtaking. They were planted long before air conditioning to created a wind tunnel effect to cool the plantation house during the hot Louisiana summers. Our tour of the mansion itself was highly interesting and detailed, due to our excellent tour guide. You can almost feel the spirits of the past when wandering the mansion and the grounds. The history and culture is really alive at Oak Alley Plantation, and I'm glad to say I've experienced it.