Laura Plantation is a Creole heritage site in Vacherie, Louisiana. It’s on the west bank of the Mississippi River, approximately 60 miles west of New Orleans. It is built around four generations of documented first-person accounts from the Duparc-Locoul family — owners and enslaved alike — and is TripAdvisor’s top-rated tour on the River Road. This guide covers tour times, admission, transport, and practical visitor tips.
Updated May 2026. A newly opened permanent museum exhibit — From the Big House to Quarters: Slavery on Laura Plantation — is included with all admissions. Walk-in tickets are no longer reliably available; the official site now states that reservations are highly recommended and walk-in availability cannot be guaranteed. Book your tour through Viator to secure your spot.
Quick facts: Laura Plantation
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Address | 2247 Highway 18, Vacherie, LA 70090 |
| First tour | 10:00am |
| Last tour | 3:20pm (English); 3:00pm (French) |
| Tours in French | Daily at 11:00am, 1:00pm, and 3:00pm |
| Adult admission | $32.06 (including tax) |
| Closed | New Year’s Day, Mardi Gras Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day |
| Walk-in tickets | Not guaranteed — advance booking strongly recommended |
| Parking | Free, on site |
| Distance from New Orleans | ~60 miles, ~1 hour by car |
| Typical visit duration | 1.5–2 hours |
Laura Plantation tour schedule
Tours run daily in English and French. Each tour departs at a fixed time and lasts approximately 65–75 minutes.
English tours (daily): 10:00am · 10:40am · 11:20am · 12:00pm · 12:40pm · 1:20pm · 2:00pm · 2:40pm · 3:20pm (last)
French tours (daily): 11:00am · 1:00pm · 3:00pm (last)
Closed: New Year’s Day, Mardi Gras Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day.
Shortened days: On 4 July and 24 December, the last tour departs at 12:00 noon.
Laura Plantation ticket prices
All prices below are inclusive of tax, as confirmed. Book in advance online.
| Visitor | Price (including tax) |
|---|---|
| Adults | $32.06 |
Advance booking is strongly recommended. The official hours-and-schedule page states that reservations are “HIGHLY RECOMMENDED” and that a “very limited number of walk-in tickets may be available on a first-come, first-served basis, but cannot be guaranteed.” Arriving without a reservation risks missing your preferred tour or being turned away entirely.
Book your Laura Plantation tour through Viator to secure your entry.
Ticket prices were confirmed with the user and checked on the official site and last updated in May 2026.
Why visit Laura Plantation?
- 📚 The most document-rich plantation tour in the United States: Laura Plantation’s tours are based on Laura Locoul Gore’s memoir and 5,000 pages of archival records recovered from archives in France and the United States — giving guides a level of first-person detail found nowhere else on the River Road.
- 🐰 Where Br’er Rabbit was born: The ancient west-African tales of Compair Lapin — the trickster hare who became Br’er Rabbit in English — were first recorded in writing inside the 1840s slave cabin on this site. Visitors enter that cabin as part of the standard tour.
- 👩 A woman-led plantation with a woman’s perspective: Four generations of the Duparc-Locoul family were led primarily by women, and Laura Locoul’s memoir forms the backbone of the tour. The site offers a distinctive female perspective on plantation life rarely captured at comparable sites.
- 🇫🇷 Daily tours in French: Three guided tours run in French every day — at 11:00am, 1:00pm, and 3:00pm. Laura Plantation is one of the very few plantation sites in Louisiana where a French-language tour is a daily, structured offering rather than a special arrangement.
- 🏚️ Twelve National Register buildings on one site: The estate retains 12 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places — more than most comparable plantation sites — including authentic 1840s slave cabins, overseers’ cottages, animal barns, and the 1829 Maison de Reprise. All are accessible on the standard tour.
How to get to Laura Plantation
Laura is at 2247 Highway 18 on the west bank of the Mississippi River, approximately 60 miles west of New Orleans.
By car from New Orleans (~60 miles, ~1 hour): Take I-10 West towards Baton Rouge. At the LA-641/Gramercy Bridge interchange, exit south and cross the Mississippi to the west bank. Turn left (east) onto Highway 18. Laura Plantation is approximately 12 miles east on Highway 18. Sat-nav: 2247 Highway 18, Vacherie, LA 70090.
Alternatively from New Orleans via Huey P. Long Bridge: Cross the Mississippi at Jefferson Parish, take Highway 90 west, then join Highway 18 westbound through Luling and Destrehan. This route takes approximately the same time.
By organised shuttle or tour: Several operators run day trips from New Orleans to Laura Plantation, some combined with Oak Alley or other River Road sites. Check current operators in the New Orleans tourism market if you do not have a car.
Parking at Laura Plantation
Parking is free on site. The car park is at the entrance and accommodates cars and coaches.
How long to spend at Laura Plantation
Allow one and a half to two hours. The fully guided tour covers the main house, the grounds, three gardens, and the slave cabins, followed by a self-guided walk through the museum exhibit. Those who browse the Laura Plantation Store afterwards typically add 15–20 minutes.
Accessibility at Laura Plantation
The plantation grounds include uneven terrain and older structures with stairs. The official site does not publish specific accessibility information. Call (225) 265-7690 in advance to discuss arrangements for visitors with mobility limitations.
Inside Laura Plantation: what to see and do
All visits are fully guided. There is no self-guided-only option for the main tour.
The Big House is the yellow Creole manor house at the centre of the estate, designed in the Louisiana Creole architectural tradition rather than the Anglo-American Greek Revival style seen at many neighbouring plantations. The tour covers the raised basement and galleries, and the men’s and women’s parlors, service rooms, and common rooms. The interior is presented based on documentary evidence rather than period-style recreation, making it unusually specific to the Duparc-Locoul family’s actual life.
The plantation grounds and 12 buildings include the Jardin Français, a kitchen potager, and the BananaLand grove, alongside the 1829 Maison de Reprise, animal barns, overseers’ cottages, and other structures — all on the National Register of Historic Places. The layout and condition of the estate make it one of the most physically intact plantation complexes on the River Road.
The 1840s slave cabins are a central stop on every tour. Inside one of them, the west-African tales of Compair Lapin — the story cycle that became Br’er Rabbit in the English-language tradition — were first set down in writing by a Louisiana researcher in the 1870s, working from oral traditions still alive in the community of formerly enslaved people at this location.
The museum exhibit: “From the Big House to Quarters: Slavery on Laura Plantation” is a newly opened permanent exhibition included with all tours. It is self-guided and covers the experience of the enslaved community on the estate using documentary evidence, first-person accounts, and material history.
The Black Union Soldiers Tour is a second, distinct guided tour covering the history of the US Colored Troops who served from this region — a topic with direct documentary connections to Laura Plantation. This tour is separate from the standard Creole Heritage Site tour; check the official site for scheduling and pricing.
Tours in French run three times daily (11:00am, 1:00pm, 3:00pm) and cover the same ground as the English tour. Laura Locoul’s family records were kept in French, and the plantation’s Creole culture was French-speaking — the French-language tour is as authoritative as the English version.
The Laura Plantation Store is included with admission and sells books, merchandise, and Creole Louisiana heritage items.
Practical visitor tips for Laura Plantation
| Tip | Detail |
|---|---|
| Book in advance — walk-in is not guaranteed | The official site now states that walk-in tickets “cannot be guaranteed.” Book your preferred tour time online before travelling. This is not a warning to be taken lightly — tours can sell out. |
| July 4 and December 24 have early closing | On these two days, the last tour departs at 12:00 noon — not 3:20pm as on standard days. Arrivals after noon on these dates will not be able to take a tour. |
| French tours are available daily | If you prefer to follow the tour in French, three options run every day: 11:00am, 1:00pm, and 3:00pm. No advance notice is required — just book the relevant time slot. |
| Wear weather-appropriate clothes and comfortable shoes | The tour involves walking on plantation grounds, including gardens and a working farm site. Louisiana summers are intensely hot and humid; October through April is more comfortable. Water is strongly recommended. |
Frequently asked questions about Laura Plantation
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do you need to book in advance for Laura Plantation? | Yes, strongly. The official site states reservations are “highly recommended” and walk-in availability cannot be guaranteed. Book online before visiting. |
| Are tours available in French? | Yes. Daily French-language tours run at 11:00am, 1:00pm, and 3:00pm. |
| Is Laura Plantation open every day? | Yes, with exceptions. Closed on New Year’s Day, Mardi Gras Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day. On 4 July and 24 December, the last tour is at noon. |
| What is the connection to Br’er Rabbit? | The west-African Compair Lapin (trickster hare) story cycle — the origin of Br’er Rabbit in the American tradition — was first documented in writing in the 1870s from oral traditions still alive among the formerly enslaved community at Laura Plantation. Visitors see the cabin where this was recorded. |
| Is there a free parking at Laura Plantation? | Yes. Free parking is provided on site for cars and coaches. |
Things to do near Laura Plantation
St. Joseph and Felicity Plantations (~5 miles east on Highway 18, ticketed) are two working sugarcane plantations under the same family ownership, with guided house tours and access to original enslaved workers’ cabins, a blacksmith shop, and the Louisiana Sugarcane Museum.
Oak Alley Plantation (~5 miles west on Highway 18, ticketed) is the River Road’s most visually iconic estate, fronted by a quarter-mile canopy of 28 live oak trees estimated to be 300 years old.
Whitney Plantation (~20 miles east on Highway 18, Wallace, ticketed) is the only Louisiana plantation museum whose primary interpretive focus is the history of the enslaved. It includes documented first-name records of enslaved workers, original field cabins, and sculpture by Louisiana artist Woodrow Nash.
Houmas House (~25 miles east on the River Road, Burnside, ticketed) is a lavishly restored Greek Revival plantation house with formal gardens, on-site dining, and comprehensive exhibition spaces.
Destrehan Plantation (~35 miles east, ~45 minutes, ticketed) is the oldest documented plantation house in the lower Mississippi Valley, with a documented connection to the 1811 German Coast Uprising — the largest slave revolt in American history.
What to visit tomorrow: plantation museums and historic sites within two hours
Whitney Plantation (Wallace, LA, ~20 miles east, ~25 minutes) is the most important memorial to the enslaved in the American South. The documentation-based approach and commemorative sculpture make it a natural companion to Laura Plantation’s archive-driven interpretive method.
Old Ursuline Convent Museum (New Orleans, ~60 miles east, ~1 hour) is the oldest building in the Mississippi River Valley, with a new exhibit on Pope Leo XIV and his New Orleans ancestral connections.
Houmas House (Burnside, LA, ~25 miles east, ~30 minutes) has one of the River Road’s finest formal garden settings alongside its historic house, with restaurant dining that is among the best on the entire corridor.
Nottoway Plantation (White Castle, LA, ~30 miles south, ~40 minutes) is the largest antebellum plantation house in the South — a 53,000-square-foot Italianate mansion with guided tours, a restaurant, and accommodation.
Magnolia Mound Plantation (Baton Rouge, LA, ~40 miles north-west, ~45 minutes) is a late-18th-century Creole farmhouse at the edge of Baton Rouge with a documentary-evidence-based tour similar in approach to Laura Plantation’s own interpretive method.
