Oak Alley Plantation, Vacherie

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.

The oak trees are of course the main reason to come, and they are absolutely beautiful. The house is likewise gorgeous. The house tour itself was informative but felt a little thin on detail. In addition to the house tour there was a short "tree tour" (mostly just a talk) about the trees, but if it's being offered you should definitely do it. It doesn't go around the grounds, just talks about the oaks, but definitely a fascinating story. The rest of the plantation is similar to what you would expect from any other historic house in the South. There was a self-guided tour of the slave quarters. My friend and I bought some homemade pralines at the gift shop (delicious!) and had lunch in the restaurant. The lunch definitely exceeded my expectations. To be honest, I usually assume the food at tourist attractions will be mediocre, but it was homemade and tasty. I recommend the house dressing on the salad.