Jazz, bayous & Plantations

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Day 1:  New Orleans for 3 nights
Meet & greet private transfer from airport to hotel
Accommodation at Hotel Audubon Cottages****
This New Orleans French Quarter villa has cottages with a private or semi-private courtyard and butler service is included.
Each luxurious cottage at Audubon Cottages is uniquely styled with modern décor and elegant furnishings, including a 42-inch flat-screen TV. Complimentary beverages are provided in the cottages and replenished daily. Wireless internet is accessible free of charge.
Guests of Audubon can enjoy a refreshing swim in the heated saltwater pool or relax with in-room spa services. A fitness centre with cardio equipment and weights is accessible to guests.
A fresh continental breakfast is served in your private cottage or room each morning. There is also a dedicated on-site « French Quarter Butler Service, » which can assist you with anything from unpacking your luggage to making dinner reservations.
https://www.auduboncottages.com/

Have a pre-dinner cocktail at Galatoire’s 33, the new classic on the street, or a legendary Hurricane on the always-lively patio at Pat O’Brien’s.

Dinner reservation at Brennan’s Restaurant
Founded in 1956, Brennan’s Restaurant is a New Orleans institution. Known as much for its picturesque patio, flowering magnolias and verdant courtyard greenery as for its French and Creole cuisine.

Day 2:
3 hour private French Quarter walking tour
We will begin our adventure in Jackson Square and spend our time exploring the History and Architecture of the French Quarter, New Orleans Oldest neighborhood.  We will cover Saint Louis Cathedral, Ursuline Convent, Cafe du Monde, French Market, U. S. Mint and Royal Street.

3 hour private guided afternoon tour of Local Tour of the Garden District and cemetery
We will start our tour on the infamous Neutral Ground on Canal street where the Americans and Creoles clashed in the early 1800’s. We will take the oldest street car line still operating in the United States down St. Charles through mansions and talk about how the Garden District became the most wealthy neighborhood in the South. We will walk to Lafayette Cemetery that inspired Anne Rice’s Interview with A Vampire and talk about Catholic and Voodoo traditions that influenced so much of our early culture and beliefs. Then we cruise Magazine street to get a local bite and drink before taking the streetcar back downriver.

Have a romantic dinner at Commander’s Palace: they have served delicious food for the past 130 years. 

Once you’ve eaten, head to Tipitina’s, or the Maple Leaf Bar, or to Frenchmen Street, paying special attention to the Spotted Cat and d.b.a. for more local music and of course Preservation Hall, legendary club where all the biggest names in jazz have played.

Day 3:
Morning at leisure

3 hour private guided tour of Algiers Point
This is the second oldest district in the city after the French Quarter and “New Orleans Best Kept Secret »
Your guide will share with you the history and anecdotes and take you on an architectural tour of this pretty quiet village accessible by the Canal Street ferry.  You will have the opportunity to cross the legendary Mississippi River.

A jazz dinner at Arnaud’s, one of the oldest restaurants in town
Classic upscale restaurant & lounge featuring Creole cuisine, cocktails & Dixieland jazz since 1918.
Or if you prefer we can plan a
Cajun cooking class followed by dinner with a local chef in Algiers Point

Day 4:  Baton-Rouge for 1 night
Pick up car in the morning
Drive on Louisiana’s most famous road, the Great River Road. It runs along the Mississippi river and follows rice, cotton, sugar cane or indigo plantations. The planters had built often extraordinary mansions, veritable palaces, many of which were converted into hotel-museums illustrating a vanished art of living.

Day at leisure to explore Baton Rouge:
Visit the Capitol Park Museum and learn about the rich history of Louisiana through a dynamic and educational journey, mixing music and cuisine.
The Rural Life Museum:  a reconstruction of a 19th-century cotton plantation considered one of the most beautiful open-air museums
The Burden Museum & Gardens:  provides a window into Louisiana’s rich, cultural past. It is a must-visit destination for anyone interested in the flora and fauna of Louisiana’s lush landscapes and agricultural heritage.

Accommodation at Nottoway Plantation Resort****
This historic White Castle resort offers on-site dining, an outdoor pool and a hot tub. Located 15 minutes’ drive from Iberville Museum, its elegant rooms provide a flat-screen cable TV.
Guests can work out in the fitness centre or on the tennis court during their stay. Nottoway Plantation & Resort also offers a games room and a gift shop. Mansion tours are available for guests.
Complimentary WiFi and coffee-making facilities are provided in the rooms. They have antique furnishings and a seating area. Rooms with a patio are available.
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the Mansion Restaurant at Nottoway Resort serves Louisiana cuisine. Le Café, open Thursday through Sunday, offers baked goods, Louisiana cuisine and drinks.
https://www.nottoway.com/

Day 5: Natchez for 1 night
Drive to Natchez, former cotton capital founded by the French in 1716.  It overlooks the river of the same name. It is one of the oldest and best preserved southern cities.

Day at leisure to visit
Dunleith Plantation:  an antebellum mansion in Natchez, Mississippi. Built about 1855, it is Mississippi’s only surviving example of a plantation house with a fully encircling colonnade of Greek Revival columns.
Longwood Plantation:  also known as Nutt’s Folly, is a historic antebellum octagonal mansion located in Natchez, Mississippi, United States. The mansion is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, and is a National Historic Landmark.

Accommodation at Monmouth Historic Inn****
Located on a 26-acre estate, this historic inn offers a romantic getaway just 5 minutes’ drive Natchez city centre. Features include a full Southern breakfast, light hors d’oeuvres, and a tour of the Antebellum Mansion.
The on-site 1818 Restaurant offers guests an authentic Antebellum dining experience. An a la carte menu is available and cocktail hour is also held daily.
Free WiFi, a work desk, and an en suite are standard in every room at the Monmouth Historic Inn. Rooms are individually decorated with antique and period piece furniture. In-room bottled water and ice service are provided.
Guests of the Monmouth Historic Inn can take a relaxing stroll around the landscaped gardens. The property also has free WiFi and fax and photo copying services. Free parking is provided.
https://www.monmouthhistoricinn.com/

Day 6: Natchitoches for 1 night
It takes about 3 hours to reach Natchitoches, located by the river, in the middle of the Kisatchie forest.
Upon arrival, you will be transported into another period; you will be delighted by view of cotton and pecan fields, orchards and plantations dating from the 18th century. You will be in the heart of the Old South.

Guided tour of Melrose plantation (1796)
Melrose Plantation, also known as Yucca Plantation, is a National Historic Landmark in Natchitoches Parish in north central Louisiana. This is one of the largest plantations in the United States built by and for free blacks.  It was administered by a former black slave, Marie Coincoin.
Discover a surprising collection of primitive art by Clémentine Hunter, a famous artist of Louisiana.

Accommodation at Andrew Morris B&B
The Andrew Morris House Bed and Breakfast is a Historic Louisiana antebellum planters cottage built around 1855.  The beautiful home is located directly in the center of the National Landmark district just steps away from Historic Front Street. Recently renovated, the Andrew Morris House Bed and Breakfast has beautifully appointed one and two bedroom suites, King and Queen Sized beds with updated private and spacious bathrooms with one or two person Jacuzzis.   They serve the ultimate multi-course breakfast each and every morning!
https://www.andrewmorrishouse.com/

Day 7: Lafayette for 2 nights
Drive to the heart of the Cajun country and stay in Lafayette, a small nonchalant town full of character.

Private guided tour of Vermilionville
23-acre historic and folklife park along the banks of the Bayou Vermilion that depicts the Acadian, Creole and Native American cultures from the time period 1765 – 1890. This historic village features guided tours, costumed artisans, live music, cooking school, dance lessons, boat tours, and a gift shop that will leave you overjoyed with history and culture.

Accommodation at Mouton Plantation***
Set in Lafayette, 1.7 km from The Acadiana Center for the Arts and 1.9 km from Cathedral of St John, Mouton Plantation offers accommodation with free WiFi, air conditioning and access to a garden.
All units come with a seating area, a flat-screen TV with cable channels and a private bathroom with a hairdryer, shower and bath. For added convenience, the property can provide towels and bed linen for an extra charge.
Guests at the bed and breakfast can enjoy a Full English/Irish or an American breakfast.
https://www.moutonplantation.com/  

Day 8:
Boat cruise along the bayous in the Atchafalaya basin
The tour is conducted aboard open swamp people boats (crawfish skiffs) that are designed to get us into the heart of the swamp. The tour boats are powered by environmentally friendly and very quiet.
The tour area has alligators, egrets, herons, bayous, cypress trees, nutria, otter and other swamp critters.

 Rest of the day at leisure to visit Loyd Hall Plantation
2-12 story mansion built during the mid-19th century with possible later additions. The style of Loyd Hall is predominantly Classical Revival, although the brick core is strongly Georgian in form and some details have Victorian influence.  The planation has been growing sugar cane since 1820.

Day 9:  Vacherie for 2 nights
Drive through Cajun country.
On your way stop in New Iberia and tour the Tabasco Factory.
For 150 years one family has been producing the iconic hot sauce on a bayou island made of salt. 
Since 1868, five generations of one family have been making Tabasco on Avery Island, at the southern end of Louisiana’s New Iberia parish. The McIlhenny Company, owned by descendants of the original family that settled the island, still runs the factory, along with a museum, country store, and restaurant. There are also daily tours of the greenhouse, barrel and blending processes, the island’s salt mine, and the factory’s bottling plant.
Visit The Nottoway Plantation:  Home of the South’s Largest Antebellum Mansion. Nottoway Resort, a magnificent 1850’s sugarcane estate.
The Whitney Plantation:  newly renovated and has an exhibit that focuses on the children of slavery that is deeply moving and emotional.

 
Accommodation at The Inn at Houmas House Plantation B&B
The Inn at Houmas House Plantation features a restaurant, bar, a shared lounge and garden in Darrow. This pet-friendly inn also has free WiFi.
The units come with air conditioning, a flat-screen TV with cable channels, a coffee machine, a shower, a hairdryer and a desk. At the inn all rooms come with a wardrobe and a private bathroom.
The Inn at Houmas House Plantation offers a à la carte or American breakfast.
The accommodation offers a terrace.
https://houmashouse.com/the-inn/

Day 10:
Visit the Laura Plantation is a restored historic Louisiana Creole plantation on the west bank of the Mississippi River near Vacherie. Step in to Creole culture and one of the prettiest historic residences of the region.                                
Visit Oak Alley Plantation:  often, when people picture Louisiana, they imagine a long row of oak trees leading to a magnificent plantation house.  With its majestic stand of 300-year-old oaks and its grand, antebellum Greek revival home, it’s easy to understand why Oak Alley so amplifies the reputation of tiny Vacherie.

Day 11:
Drop off car at New Orleans airport

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