31. HOUMAS HOUSE
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (225) 473-9380
Address: 40136 La. 942
Description: Visitors experience the grandeur of Louisiana’s golden era of plantations. Restored by Kevin Kelly, a New Orleans businessman, the site features 16 acres of magnificent fountains and gardens blooming year-round. The home has been the setting for a number of films, including Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte. Tour the mansion’s 14 rooms filled with period antiques and fine Louisiana artwork. Guests can enjoy the turtle bar, named after a gilded turtle-shaped chandelier, and Latil’s, a fine dining restaurant offering exceptional wines. A luxurious gift shop includes a video on the estate. Open Monday through Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
32. LAURA: A CREOLE PLANTATION
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (888) 799-7690
Address: 2247 La. 18
Description: Enter the world of early plantation life during an exceptional history tour. The award-winning 70-minute guided tour is based on Laura Locoul’s Plantation Memoirs, firsthand accounts of 200 years of the lives of Creole owners, women, slaves, and children on this 1805 sugarcane plantation. View slave cabins and gardens with heritage plantings. There is an extensive gift shop. Tours are available in French and English. Open daily 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
33. MOUNT HOPE PLANTATION
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (225) 761-7000
Address: 8151 Highland Rd.
Description: Mount Hope is one of two surviving antebellum plantation homes in Baton Rouge. Located on Highland Road, the property was part of a land grant endowed in 1786 to Joseph Sharp, a German planter. Built in 1817, the one-and-a-half-story house features a central hall flanked by a pair of rooms, a gabled roof, and inviting wrap-around porches. Crystal chandeliers, oil paintings, and taffeta chair covers add a touch of 19th-century romance. The spacious grounds boast three legacy oak trees, a gorgeous fountain, and a patio area. The home is available for wedding ceremonies, receptions, and tea parties. Call about tours.
34. THE MYRTLES
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (800) 809-0565
Address: 7747 U.S. Hwy 61
Description: Mystery and myth surround this plantation home. The home, often called America’s Most Haunted Home, has been featured on Oprah and National Geographic Explorer and on A&E and the Travel, History, and Learning channels, among others. Home décor includes gold-leaf French furniture, Aubusson tapestries, and Baccarat crystal chandeliers. Bed-and-breakfast rooms are in the main house and grounds. The Carriage House Restaurant, featuring regional cuisine, is a local favorite. Tours given daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mystery tours are given Friday and Saturday nights.
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 31025 La. 1
36. OAK ALLEY PLANTATION
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (225) 265-2151, (800) 442-5539
Address: 3645 La. 18
Description: Oak Alley is named for its dramatic quarter-mile alley of oaks, believed to be nearly 300 years old, leading to the classic Greek Revival–style antebellum home. Jacques Telesphore Roman and his wife Celine acquired the property in 1836 and started building the mansion. It features 28 columns surrounding the entire house and 13-foot verandas. Tours touch upon the mansion’s history, architecture, antiques, and family memorabilia. Visitors can enjoy the restaurant and gift shop. Bed-and-breakfast cottages are located on the grounds. Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Last tour is at 4 p.m.
37. ROSEDOWN Plantation STATE HISTORIC SITE
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (225) 635-3332
Address: 12501 La. 10
Description: Rosedown Plantation features a 28-acre garden, which is considered one of the nation’s five most important historic gardens. Meander through paths with heritage camellias and other plants. Tour the 1835 plantation house that contains most of its original furnishings. Throughout the year costumed staff and volunteers offer programs, which include open-hearth cooking, 19th-century crafts, and children’s games. Visit the doctor’s office and gift shop. Open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. House tours are on the hour with the last tour at 4 p.m.
38. SAN FRANCISCO PLANTATION
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (888) 322-1756
Address: 2646 La. 44
Description: San Francisco Plantation was built by Edmond Bozonier Marmillon in 1856. The house is so distinctive that it inspired novelist Frances Parkinson Keyes to write “Steamboat Gothic,” a story about a family she imagined lived there. Viewed from some angles, the house closely resembles the ornate superstructure of a Mississippi riverboat. Fully restored, it is filled with handsome antique furniture by master craftsman John Henry Belter. Visit the slave cabin and schoolhouse. Tours are offered daily April through October from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and November through March, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
39. ST. JOSEPH PLANTATION
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (888) 322-1756
Address: 3535 La. 18
Description: This 1830 Creole antebellum plantation is home to one of Louisiana’s most interesting families; it has been lovingly restored by Waguespack and Simon descendants who have owned the plantation for 130 years. Tours are often conducted by family members who point out paintings, photographs, and artifacts relating to their history. Selected tours in fall include mourning customs of the 19th century. View the detached kitchen, commissary, blacksmith, and original slave cabins and learn more about sugar cane agriculture. Tours are Monday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. (last tour starts at 4 p.m.) April through September.
40. BATON ROUGE GALLERY in CITY PARK
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (225) 383-1470
Address: 1442 City Park Ave.
Description: Baton Rouge Gallery is a multimedia art gallery located in City Park, situated just off I-10 near LSU. An important aspect of Baton Rouge’s arts community, it is one of the United States’ oldest artist co-ops. It was founded in 1965 when eight artists formed a gallery to showcase not only their own work but also that of other local artists. Monthly exhibits open on first Wednesdays, 7 to 9 p.m., and are free to the public. Other activities include Sundays at 4 programs, including poetry readings and chamber concerts. No admission.
41. BRUNNER GALLERY
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (225) 389-7224
Address: 100 Lafayette St.
Description: The Brunner Gallery, owned by Susan and Rick Brunner, is recognized as one of the top contemporary art galleries in the South. Located in the Shaw Center for the Arts, the gallery showcases paintings, sculpture, photography, and mixed media works by artists from Europe and the United States. It also hosts exhibitions of functional art objects of glass, ceramics, metal, paper, and wood. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday. No admission.
42. CAFFERY GALLERY
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (225) 388-9397
Address: 4016 Government St.
Description: Located inside a pink house in the Mid-City Arts and Design District, Caffery Gallery is not the average art venue. It features collections of ceramics, stained glass, and hand-blown art objects. The gallery, popular for its offbeat approach and bright colors, also exhibits works by Louisiana artists, including jewelry, sculpture, paintings, and more. Be enchanted with the gallery’s approach to visual fantasy. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. No admission.
43. CIRCA 1857
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (225) 387-8667
Address: 1857 Government St.
Description: Circa 1857, situated in a former drug store, features an eclectic mix of old and new antiques, original art, and artifacts. You may find fanciful hats from the 1950s or colorful teapots. The gallery offers everything from old musical instruments to recycled sculpture. The owners specialize in architectural salvage from around the world—an old doorframe, a garden gate, and more. Stay for lunch or dessert at Yvette Marie, a delightful small cafe open from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Circa 1857 also presents an open house on the third Thursday of the month, showcasing a featured local artist. Sister shops are Rue Cou Cou, a gallery and frame shop, and Mosaic Garden, a gift shop. No admission.
44. ELIZABETHAN GALLERY
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (225) 924-6437
Address: 680 Jefferson Hwy.
Description: This family-owned gallery entered the art and framing business in 1978 under the perceptive direction of owner Liz Walker. It’s a popular gallery where local artists and visitors are given personalized service. The gallery carries a large stock of limited-edition prints, lithographs, graphic posters, etchings, serigraphs, antique prints, and original works. It’s the only local store that provides custom framing orders right up until Christmas Eve. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. No admission.
City: Baton Rouge, LA
Category: Tours & Attractions
Address: 100 South River Rd.