New Orleans, United States
Photography by Lucas Stoffel can be licensed on Shutterstock and Getty Images
Creole Plantation by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.
The “Best History Tour in the United States” is right here in New Orleans Plantation Country, according to Lonely Planet Travel. What is it that makes a visit to Laura: A Creole Plantation so special? For one, it’s not about the house. It’s about the people. Here, like nowhere else in the United States, visitors become immersed in Louisiana’s rich, Créole culture & history.
Laura: A Creole Plantation’s acclaimed 75-minute guided tour based on over 5,000 pages of documents from the French National Archives, Civil War Pension Records & Laura Locoul’s own “Memories of the Old Plantation Home” is offered daily. These compelling and intimate first-hand accounts transport visitors beyond the myths of the Old South, focusing on the complex relationships of 4 generations of one Créole family, both free and enslaved. Guillaume and Nanette; Henriette and Nina; Élisabeth; Émile and Désirée; Pa Philippe. Edward and Susan. And Laura, who wrote it all down.
Creole Plantation by Luke Stoffel - Fine art prints available on Etsy.
The guided tour through the entire historic site includes the Maison Principale (Big House), the French Jardin, the plantation kitchen garden, the Banana-Land grove, and the original 1840s slave cabins where the legendary tales of Compair Lapin (known in English as “Br’er Rabbit”) were first recorded. In all, see 11 historic structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Take time to browse through hand-selected local arts, crafts & souvenirs in the historic Laura Plantation Store and take in the new museum exhibit: “Daily Lives, Free & Enslaved, on the Sugar Plantation” (opening Fall 2016). It’s no wonder that Laura: A Creole Plantation was awarded the title of “Top Travel Attraction” by the Louisiana Office of Tourism. Come and discover for yourself a unique cultural tour experience unlike anything else in this country and see the world through the eyes of a Créole.