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. read more

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Wanted to love it but they close early, it's very expensive compared to others and we only did the grounds it was $60 and though the walkway is grand with the oak lined trees it is no better inside the grounds than it is from the road. Save the fee and snap a pic while driving through. read more

Oak Alley - The main house - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Marrero, Louisiana

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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. read more

Oak Alley - Lunch special. The white beans were my favorite. The fish sticks were nothing special. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Marrero, Louisiana

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Oak Alley Plantation: A Beautiful, Heavy Slice of History The grounds? Stunning. The gift shop? A total delight--those ladies working there were an absolute riot and made browsing feel like a party. But once the tour began, the mood shifted. Walking through the slave quarters and seeing the manacles and restraints used on human beings was gut-wrenching. I had to step away--it was just too much. And then stepping into the grand mansion where only four people lived? Overwhelming in a whole different way. I'm not saying these things shouldn't be shown--history must be remembered, even when it's painful. But for me personally, it was emotionally intense. That said, our guide Marcus was fantastic: engaging, knowledgeable, and respectful of the gravity of the site. Rating: (4 stars) -- Docked one star only because the experience, while important, wasn't something I could fully absorb. read more

Oak Alley - My husband walking up to the plantation house through Oak Alley - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Marrero, Louisiana

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. read more

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. read more

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. read more

We joined the Cajun Encounter tour with the Laura & Oak Alley combo and got here after visiting Laura. They are only about 5 mins away from each other. The other tour members who only signed up for the Oak Alley portion had about 4 hours here and us about 2. It was enough time to walk around the ground with some self-guided tour reading about the slave history, then join the timed Big House tour (our slot was 1:45pm and it lasted about half an hour) and lastly grab quick late lunch from the on-site restaurant. The food turned out to be very good. I had the cheese cake based on the driver's recommendation. Compared to Laura, the guided tour at Oak Alley wasn't as good but it was still somewhat informative. read more

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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. read more

Oak Alley - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Marrero, Louisiana

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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! read more

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. read more

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. read more

This plantation is so beautiful!! It's a National Historic Landmark. A definite must see during your visit to New Orleans. So many exhibits to see (6) and we didn't have enough time to see it all. The best exhibit is of course the guided tour of the house. You are allowed to purchase and bring with you during the tour your mint julep which comes in a commemorative plastic cup. On the top floor, you can take a beautiful picture of the 28 oak trees. You can take a walk which is about 1/4 mile from the mansion to the Mississippi River. Such an iconic site! The exhibit regarding the slave quarters is very interesting. You really should take a look at it and read all the fascinating facts. Also on the plantation you can see a Blacksmith shop and a Civil War tent. We didn't have a chance to eat anything in their restaurant. So disappointed. read more

We came here on a "tour" and the only real tour portion was when we got to see the big house which was a relatively short tour. There were also multiple tours going on at the same time which made the house even more crowded. Otherwise, we walked around the outside (the plantation portion) and read some of the signs which was interesting, but better if someone else actually gave a walking tour. The grounds itself was gorgeous with their perfectly manicured lawn and lined oak trees. It's a great place to take pictures but I wish there was more to it. read more

While in NOLA, I had to go tour a plantation and figured Oak Alley's too beautiful not to visit. I'm from the West Coast so it's completely different history there. Unfortunately, it started to rain on us and I did a combined swamp tour (outside company) so I didn't have enough time to explore the grounds. They have a gift shop and across from it you can order small bites and a few drinks. I ordered a Mint Julep, very sweet. There was a line to get into the house and the tour is informative and quick. I wish they would've given a full tour of the entire property and gone more into detail about what everyday was like at the plantation, inside and outside. The tour mostly spoke of the owners family and what it was like inside the main "Big House". read more

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After just coming from the Whitney Plantation, we went to check out Oak Alley just to get a different perspective from the plantation owner's life in comparison to the life of the enslaved. I rated this 3 stars though because it was honestly only worth checking out for the alley itself (at least for me). The views are absolutely gorgeous & it is where Beyoncé's music video "Deja Vu" was shot. The tour of the house (which runs every 15 min), however, was kind of boring to me. Not sure if it was my tour guide or the stories itself, but it wasn't for me. If it wasn't for my group getting a car rental for the day & having time to check out multiple plantations, I would've been kind of disappointed if I paid for a tour here. I would suggest Whitney Plantations (only one dedicated to telling the story of slavery) or even checking out one of the other houses such as Evergreen or St Joseph if it is an option that day. Those houses were used for Django, Skeleton Key, & 12 Years A Slave. read more

My husband and I went to both Oak Alley and the Whitney plantation on our recent trip to Louisiana. I was tempted to buy a tour package for multiple plantations on TripAdvisor, but none that I could find included those two in particular. My husband did his research and found out that you can just show up independently and sign up for tours as well. So we hopped in the rental car and made the drive from Nola, which is about an hour away. It was easy to join a tour at both sites. The tour was informative, though the focus was split fairly equally on both the family who lived there, as well as the slaves who worked and lived there. In my opinion the Whitney plantation's emphasis on the lives of the slaves was more of a thought provoking and moving experience. I learned something new at each though, and was glad we went to both. The main house at Oak Alley was beautiful, and it was interesting to be able to compare it to the main house on the Whitney plantation as they were so different. The Oak Alley mansion is definitely more grandiose. The grounds are undeniabley beautiful, and the history is so rich, it is definitely worth the visit. They have a restaraunt, gift shop, and even a bar with drinks. We had a mint julep and a hurricane. Use the restroom before your tour! There is no opportunity once you're in the main house. read more

Oak Alley - Oak trees - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Marrero, Louisiana

I never found it! ‍ We drove all over according to directions but did not see anything resembling the house or oak trees that are pictured on Yelp. read more

Beautiful plantation and grounds. Interesting museum. The rating would be higher if the guy leading the tour wasn't so dry and boring. Even our bus driver was apologizing before the tour started that we got him as a tour guide because he knew it was going to be bland and boring. read more

enjoyed our time here, the slave quarters exhibits were great. the main house was interesting too. don't forget to take pictures from the north side of the main house, you'll thank me later. wanted to grab lunch here but we were short on time so we had to bounce right after our house tour and pictures. drive was about 1 hour from bourbon street to here. read more

The 15 minute off-tour presentation about the life of the 200+ enslaved people from the property was given by a woman asking the audience who we thought had the worst job. It was tasteless, brief, and gut-wrenching that she would present in such a way. When I entered the "memorial" of the enslaved people I was honestly shocked at how carelessly the exhibit was written and designed. Oak Alley used the goofiest type face font for "respectful recognition". They have a bed and breakfast and sell tasteless junk in their gift shop. If you want to go to the amusement park of human torturer to take selfies in front of their home then go to Oak Alley. You'll have the most boring tour of your life because Oak Alley doesn't seem to be concerned with deeper dive history but with imagery. read more

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I had not been here for years and came back while my 16 year old cousin was visiting. He loves history and had been wanting to check out a plantation. The tour went by much faster than the previous one. They also did not talk about the details of the house but seemed to focus on slavery. We both felt a little awkward with the tone of it. Yes, I know It is a plantation but the old tour was great where you learn fun facts about how ppl lived during that time. The house and property is beautiful. read more

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The tour is quick, which is what I like in a tour. The guide was really nice, and the house was really pretty. We were visiting, and we had a car, and it was worth the drive. The website says it closes at 5, but the grounds stay open until sundown. We arrived around 4:30, and it was plenty of time to tour everything before heading home. Plus, if you arrive later in the day, you can get a nice clear picture of the house. read more

Oak Alley - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Marrero, Louisiana

Oak Alley is exactly what you picture in your mind when you think of a southern plantation. It was just the most beautiful place you can imagine, with the row of majestic live oak trees leading from the river to the house. The grounds and the house are so well preserved and so worth the visit. The tour guides gave great information on the history of the place, lots of which was surprising. Just a great place to visit if you are in the area. Of all the many plantations and historic homes I have visited this is the most beautiful in the USA. read more

The tour and the scenery were fantastic. Our tour guide gave us a wealth of knowledge and it was just long enough to keep my full attention. I enjoyed roaming around the grounds and exploring. The only reason I didn't give this more stars was the restaurant. Save your money and eat elsewhere. It was overpriced and nothing special. Honestly, I would have been ok with just a burger from fast food place over this. My entire party left and felt sick. We went through a bottle of tums while out trick or treating later. read more

This was a ok place although it was approx hour and half away from the French Quarter. I would not recommend bringing teenage kids as this was not any fun for them at all. read more

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Oak Alley is a must-see for those interested in learning more about the history of Louisiana. The property itself is so beautiful, with the oaks in the front being the real cherry on top. We loved that you were able to go inside the mansion and see the way that the previous owners lived. The tour guides were very friendly and knowledgeable about the history of the property and the previous owners, and you can tell that they love being able to share the history of the mansion and surrounding areas. We were also very impressed by the information provided in what was previously used as the slaves' quarters. This part of the tour was not guided and functioned as something you could do at your own pace, which I thought was great. The information was presented well and was not shy about discussing some of the more terrible things that happened during the period of time that the property functioned as a sugar plantation. The location had nice bathrooms, a large gift shop, and a small kiosk behind the mansion where you could buy mint juleps and other souvenirs. All in all, one of the highlights of our trip! read more

The drive alone from NO to Oak Alley is worth doing..pretty, quite..though a LOT of po po around..do the speed limit. Oak Alley the HOUSE has been structurally modified through the years.. wish they could of bough it back to its original glory. This does not mean the place is not beautiful..it is. Seeing the HUGE oaks..the grounds..so peaceful.. yet a historical reminder of a troubled past. read more

Oak Alley - And you wondered WHY they called it Oak Alley... - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Marrero, Louisiana

An amazing place to visit, definitely should be on your travel list to see in Louisiana

The scenery here is BREATHTAKING (that's where the 3 stars are coming from.. would have been 5 if that was all I was there to see); the tour however, was not. Was incredibly disappointed that the focus of the tour was on the owners and then the lady who purchased the house afterwards. They gave zero history about how the slaves were treated during the time the plantation was active, except displaying the ankle shackles in the artifact room. The replica slave housing in the back definitely needs more attention, as I feel they've missed a huge opportunity to do some education. You are not allowed to take pictures inside of the big house, and our guide definitely just memorized a script. read more

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Grounds - 4 stars (they were in the process of renovating when we visited) This is what you come for, the huge oaks and the alley up to the house. Beautiful trees! The pathways and exhibits on property (civil war tent for example) were also good. Slave quarters self-guided exhibit - 4 stars. Self paced was nice. You do not get to go in many of them, as they are set up as an exhibit. But you can look through the doors and read the signs. The cabins you can go in have great information. The wall of names especially struck me emotionally. Lunch - 4 stars. Great food, decent service. Not much to say but we liked it. Home and home tour - 1 star and this is a big reason for the overall 3 stars. Tours are spaced out and because there are so many visitors you are in a large group. Our tour guide was super boring - he had a memorized script and sounded like I was listening to one of those little audio tours you can buy for $5 and hold to your ear. When someone asked a question, he didn't know what to say because it wasn't part of his memorized script. Also, you are not allowed to take pictures inside the house, which to put it frankly, ticks me off. All the other plantations I read about visiting, and the ones I was actually able to visit, do not mind pictures. That bull about protecting the artifacts - numerous studies have been done that show cameras don't affect things like that but it could always be asked that there be no flash. And there are so many people all around the house just watching to make sure you don't actually sneak a picture! I did not feel welcome, that's for sure. In all, do the grounds, skip the house. Go to Destrehan instead! read more

Kind of disappointed. The grounds are beautiful and the film about sugar cane was informative. However our guide was terrible. A robot would have been better. He didn't point out much at all and nothing seemed to actually be from the plantation. It was to be an hour tour and lasted 30 minutes. read more

What a great experience! First we ate breakfast in the restaurant- food was excellent. Then we toured the grounds and the house. Both are beautiful. The tree lined walk way was absolutely beautiful! Highly recommend! read more

We rented a car and drove out to this plantation because we were told by some friends that it was beautiful. We decided to rent a car because it was waaaaay cheaper to do that then to take a tour through any of the tour companies. It's about 45 minutes outside of NOLA and the car cost us about 30 dollars to rent for the day compared to a 90 dollar tour ticket each. The admission to the plantation I believe was around $25 dollars and included a guided tour of the Big House. Our tour guide was kinds of blah. He was hard to hear and seemed to recite things like a robot. You aren't allowed to take any pictures in this house, only from the balcony. This plantation is very beautiful because of the old oak trees, but it's also very sad when you think of the slavery that went on here. They have random scheduled 'tours' of different parts of the plantation throughout the day. We went and listened to the one about the slave quarters. That dude was very knowledgable and a little more personable. There is a restaurant on site with traditional NOLA style food. There was quite a wait for a table so we went to their gift shop where you could order food and sat in their food court area to eat instead. I think it's worth it to drive out to see this place. They preserved it very nicely and there is so much history to be experienced. read more

While the plantation is beautiful with the trees, the price to get in is expensive. The tour is short, our tour guide was new and had no personality. Just recited information off and had no extra information to give if asked questions. You could barely understand him. Wish there would've been more information about the plantation and life itself at that time. The house has been modified over the years and should have been redone to its former glory. The slave houses are not original, but they did offer up a little to what life was like. If this tour were half the price, I would recommend going, otherwise I would find a different one to go to. read more

I really loved the plantation! Beautiful trees and landscaping! House is beautiful and big! Our guide seemed a bit off and looked like she didn't want to be there. She had a few snarky comments. But other than that it was a great experience! read more

A very informative tour of the plantation house by our tour guide, Ann. Beautiful home with unbelievable views down the oak alley! Ann was very informative and friendly - the fact that she grew up nearby gave us lots of local color and we appreciated her recommendations on where to go in NOLA. The slave quarters and cane works were very well done. Be sure to visit the restaurant for a great lunch! read more

The house is a bit disappointing and the tour is quick... interesting overall but not sure if it's the best plantation to see. Nice but could be better. Oaks are incredible. read more

Seriously so cool. This was my favorite part of this trip to NOLA. It's a tourist attraction but away from the normal tourist stuff. I didn't like that you couldn't take pictures inside the big house but the whole rest of the grounds were so cool. It was amazing to stop and picture what life was like back in history and how it has changed to the present. The gift shop is super cute and food at the restaurant was surprisingly tasty and not super expensive! Highly highly recommended! read more

The drive out there was a little long, but the guide/driver made it interesting. The plantation itself is breathtaking! The oaks are straight out of the movies (literally!), and the history is also interesting. I felt a little rushed and wished I had more time to walk around and explore. read more