Great River Road
Great River Road
4
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This 70-mile corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, running along both sides of the Mississippi, is rich in history and culture.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.0
8 reviews
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Michaelshamurphy
Tuscola, IL20 contributions
Not a scenic driving tour, but a great way to see some of the south's most notable plantations. My wife and I take things at a leisurely pace and found it easy to take in 2 tours per day. We have visited 6 plantations, San Francisco, Destrahan, Laura, Oak Alley, Houmas House, and Nottaway. I would recommend seeing each and every one. Be warned, however, beyond the perimeter of the properties are oil refineries and other heavy industry. The Great River Road itself offers virtually no river views because of the levee. Travel via Interstate 10. You will save precious touring time.
Written January 9, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
msgttop
Tallahassee, FL145 contributions
Dec 2014 • Couples
From New Orleans west along the Great River Road that follows the Mississippi River, there are many historic plantations that are open to tourists. They all provide guided tours and some also offer accommodations.
Staying in New Orleans we visited Destreham and San Francisco Plantations in one day and returned to the city for the night.
The next day after checking out of our hotel we visited 4 plantations: Laura and Oak Alley, Houmas House, and Nottoway. We spent the night at Nottoway Plantation and returned to Florida the next day.
Nottoway has an amazing restaurant and we had both supper and breakfast there. Highly recommend.
Many movies and TV shows have been filmed at Oak Ally Plantation.
These places can easily be reached from I-10 but you will have to take the River Road in some cases.
You can find all of these wonderful destinations on the internet and the Baton Rouge AAA office will provide you with a wonderful map of the area.,
Staying in New Orleans we visited Destreham and San Francisco Plantations in one day and returned to the city for the night.
The next day after checking out of our hotel we visited 4 plantations: Laura and Oak Alley, Houmas House, and Nottoway. We spent the night at Nottoway Plantation and returned to Florida the next day.
Nottoway has an amazing restaurant and we had both supper and breakfast there. Highly recommend.
Many movies and TV shows have been filmed at Oak Ally Plantation.
These places can easily be reached from I-10 but you will have to take the River Road in some cases.
You can find all of these wonderful destinations on the internet and the Baton Rouge AAA office will provide you with a wonderful map of the area.,
Written January 24, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GreenLakerGA
Columbus, GA488 contributions
Mar 2015 • Friends
We first travelled the "Great River Road" from Minnesota south to Iowa. It ran along the river with outstanding views and quaint small towns and great visitor areas. The route from New Orleans to Oak Valley Plantation does not have the same vistas. We travelled on the south and west sides and our view was completely obstructed by levees. This section is also dotted with multiple chemical plants and very few points of interest until you get to the plantations. There are a few places where you can get out and look at the river, but they are not well marked. But still a nice drive through parts of Louisiana you might not otherwise wee.
Written March 26, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andi27891
Greenville NC160 contributions
Nov 2016 • Couples
As one of the earliest designated "scenic by-ways" is the US, we expected scenery. I agree with the "No Scenery Here" reviewer. The levees block the views of the river nearly the whole drive! Very few little river towns to enjoy. We drove from Memphis and went South. Perhaps the northern route offers more sightings of the river, but we were not at all impressed!
Written November 11, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DTscientia
16 contributions
Jan 2016 • Family
Get any idea of a quaint drive by the river out of your mind. Most of it is blocked by the Levy and what you can see is a lot of industry. My advice is pick Plantations you'd like to visit and go straight there. Evergreen tour was very informative and less crowded. I'd recommend that one.
Written January 20, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Taylor B
Chicago, IL8,491 contributions
Apr 2021
The Great River Road follows the course of the Mississippi River for 2,340 miles, from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, winds through 10 states, embraces large cities such as St. Louis, Memphis and New Orleans, engages the Ohio and Missouri Rivers and features historic sites dating from the pre-Columbian period to the Civil War. My wife and I haven't traveled every mile of the Great River Road but we have visited some of its most interesting and most popular attractions. Three of our favorites are the Illinois segment, the Mississippi segment and the Louisiana segment. In Illinois, start at Galena, once the largest town in the state, a mining camp that became a go-destination for tourists, the one-time home of Ulysses S. Grant. Enjoy the sweeping scenery of Mississippi Palisades State Park, then tour the historic Mormon community of Nauvoo, with its Temple and the homes of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, where the persecuted religious sect began its exodus to Utah in 1845. See the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at Cairo, the southernmost tip of Illinois. In Mississippi, start at Vicksburg, site of the Union Army's 47-day siege in 1863. Don't miss beautiful Port Gibson or Windsor Ruins, all that remains of the grandest plantation house ever built in the South, then spend a few days in Natchez and tour such magnificent antebellum mansions as Monmouth, Stanton Hall, Melrose, Rosalie, Dunleith, D'Evereux, Magnolia Hall and the most extraordinary and bizarre structure of all, six-story Longwood with its 16-sided cupola topped by a Byzantine dome, the largest octagonal house in the United States which was never completed. In Louisiana, start at St. Francisville with its beautiful antebellum homes, then visit the magnificent plantations from Nottoway to Houmas House to Oak Alley to Evergreen to Destrehan to San Francisco to Whitney to Laura to St. Joseph. Nottoway is the largest house ever built in the South. Chances are you've seen pictures of Oak Alley's line of ancient oak trees from the house to the river. Finally, stop in the quaint river town of Donaldsonville to enjoy some Cajun food.
Written April 22, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Janet H
Norman11 contributions
Jul 2018
I think it's important to take the drive and visit plantations. We revisitedWhitney Plantation and it was not only educational but a reminder of the horror of slavery. Very important part of. U.S. History
Written August 8, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
travelerS_Korea
Columbus, OH121 contributions
May 2017 • Solo
I haven't used the app, but it's set up by the LaDOTD and says it provides up-to-date road info and other driving/traffic info. Certainly for anyone planning to drive in Louisiana it's worth looking into, as traffic regulations/customs in LA are a bit different from elsewhere. Blame in on their French heritage :) Unfortunately I went to the Castle Rock part of the Web site and got a warning about malicious implants, but maybe they just need to scrub their site.
Written May 9, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I was wondering how much time we should plan on spending driving the river road. We plan on starting at the La/MS state line and drive down to NOLA. Stopping to visit the historic sites about how long would you thing we need?
Written March 19, 2018
Amy C
Dana Point, California
We are driving from New Orleans north. What is worth seeing? We have 8 days
Written September 20, 2015
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