The Old Governor's Mansion
The Old Governor's Mansion
4.5
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Once the home to nine Louisiana Governors, this restored house museum includes memorabilia such as Huey Long's pajamas and Jimmie Davis' guitar, and is furnished to reflect the era in which it was occupied, 1930-1962.
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4.5
137 reviews
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𝕮𝖆𝖒
Paris, France686 contributions
Sept 2023 • Couples
No fee.
Beautiful mansion but honestly it doesn't worth the visit.
If you're in Baton rouge, you can stop by.
We drove all the way from New Orleans to visit the mansion but we wasted our time.
You're free to explore all the rooms, leaflets at your disposal at the entrance.
Easy parking around.
Beautiful mansion but honestly it doesn't worth the visit.
If you're in Baton rouge, you can stop by.
We drove all the way from New Orleans to visit the mansion but we wasted our time.
You're free to explore all the rooms, leaflets at your disposal at the entrance.
Easy parking around.
Written September 26, 2023
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.
Sightsee642790
Balm, FL47 contributions
Jun 2017 • Family
Website states hours are from 9am to 4pm. We arrived, at 2:30pm, to a sign that read, "...next tour 10am tomorrow". We were told, the "office" is open until 4, but tours stop at 2:30pm. It was 2:32pm when we rang the doorbell and asked. We've decided posted hours, in Baton Rouge, mean nothing. The Powder Magazine (open 9am to 4pm) was closed, when we stopped by at 11:15am. Also, the "Welcome Center" is closed and is now used as a gov't meeting space- although, there are signs directing you to the "Welcome Center" and a "Welcome Center" parking garage. Overall, very disappointing visit.
Written June 1, 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.
Vuko
Naples, Italy158 contributions
Nov 2019
I can remember spending time here as a child, but returning as an adult with my friends from Italy was a real treat! They absolutely loved it. The museum is informative, and the interior aesthetic is amazing. If you are a backyard tourist, or an international traveler, this is a must in the Baton Rouge area.
Written December 10, 2019
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.
Rita V
Hudson, MA764 contributions
Oct 2020
Time to kill and beat the heat? Take your self guided tour through the mansion and BR history. Super clean, well lit and spacious.
Written November 21, 2020
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.
MGKelly
Baton Rouge, LA232 contributions
Nov 2015
If you are a Louisiana history buff this is a great place to learn about how our state got it's start. Now that it is a social event venue it's loss some of it's cache. However, if you have never visited the White House, it is a must-do! Gov. Huey Long built it as an exact replica of the White House; Complete with Oval Office and every thing. He is said to have remarked, "I want to know where the light switches are when I get there~!" Salute!
Written July 13, 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.
Max
175 contributions
Mar 2015 • Couples
Two places not to be missed are the Old State House and the Old Governor's Mansion. The mansion has personal memorabilia from Huey Long. The building has been restored and furnished for that time frame. The guides seemed to love the house and willingly shared their information.
Written April 23, 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.
Cathi C
North Vancouver, Canada50 contributions
One of the best tours. We were the only visitors at the time & we were there for almost 2 hours. The tours are given by volunteers who are extremely knowledgeable & if you are interested, they will give you a very detailed account of the politics & history of Baton Rouge. Loved the back stories on all of the governors & their families.
Written April 23, 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.
hannahandtaylor
Lake Charles, LA128 contributions
Aug 2013 • Family
We really enjoyed our visit to the Old Governors Mansion. The Architecture is truly amazing. It's like a "mini" White House. The furniture & clothing & photos are very interesting. There are many great photo opportunities here.
This is also a must see when visiting Baton Rouge.
There is parking available in the front driveway (which we did not realize) but we parked across from the back of the property in a Pay to Park lot.
This is also a must see when visiting Baton Rouge.
There is parking available in the front driveway (which we did not realize) but we parked across from the back of the property in a Pay to Park lot.
Written August 8, 2013
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.
Randal G
Hugoton, KS27 contributions
Apr 2013 • Friends
We visited The old Louisiana Governor's Mansion while on a stop on our American Queen Cruise of the Mississippi River during our stop at Baton Rouge. It is part of their free bus tour for passenger's on the steamboat.
What intrigued us the most about the former Governor's Mansion is it is a 3/4 scale replica of the White House found in Washington D.C. Governor Huey Long when he became governor of Louisiana decided he didn't think the former governor's mansion was nice enough, so using the pretense that it was termite infested, quickly signed an order for the destruction of the old mansion and had the new building built over the objections of many in Louisiana, his new, expensive Mansion on the same site. This was done during 1930 in the midst of the growing depression. It is known that Huey Long had designs on becoming president of the United States and so had the new mansion built to replicate the White House in Washington on a slightly smaller scale (about 2/3 scale with the copy of the west wing of the White House included.) However, the west wing is on the opposite side on the Louisiana Little White House.) It is said he wanted to be familiar with the White House when he became President of the United States. He might have made it too if he had not been gunned down at the Louisiana capitol.The cost of building the new mansion was $150,000.00 in 1930. That was a large sum for the depression era for a building just for the governor of a state. They spent another $22,000.00 furnishing the house in drapes, fancy imported wall paper, and marble floors. The house was used as the governor's mansion until 1963 when yet another new governor's mansion was built for Louisiana. This home has been carefully restored and has displays in different rooms of all the different governor's who lived in the house while governor. It is now used for tourism and wedding receptions and special events. We found the tour very interesting and was designed to be handicap and wheel chair accessible. Elevators took us to upper levels. Much of what was the copy of the west wing is used for office space for the staff and some are saved as the offices of former Governors as they looked during their term in office. The mansion itself is gorgeous and the living quarters complete with bathrooms have a mostly 50's feel to them. We found all the things that belonged to the several governor's quite interesting and especially the things belonging to Huey Long and his family. We found the tour guides friendly and very knowledgeable. They volunteer their time to do this. We really enjoyed seeing some of the secret passages and hidden panels in the walls that allowed the governors to take short cuts around the mansion and also let them avoid talking to people they didn't want to visit with. Since we have never been to the Real White House this smaller scale version was very interesting for us to visit and gave us some insight to the one in Washington. I am sure the Nation's White House also has secret passages and rooms within it, but I suppose in different locations. Unlike the real White House this version you can visit all most all of the rooms including the former living quarters. Lot's of personal items belonging to several governor's that lived here are on display as well as gifts they received while in office from people around the world. The ballroom is awesome and designed through the use of mirrors to look even larger than it is creating an interesting Illusion. The house itself is extremely nice and is now air-conditioned. The paintings on the walls were spectacular as was the furnishings.We thought the Old Governor's Mansion was the most interesting to us of the things we saw in Baton Rouge. Well worth the effort for a visit. For the wealthy, this would be a spectacular place to hold a wedding and is available for that use.
What intrigued us the most about the former Governor's Mansion is it is a 3/4 scale replica of the White House found in Washington D.C. Governor Huey Long when he became governor of Louisiana decided he didn't think the former governor's mansion was nice enough, so using the pretense that it was termite infested, quickly signed an order for the destruction of the old mansion and had the new building built over the objections of many in Louisiana, his new, expensive Mansion on the same site. This was done during 1930 in the midst of the growing depression. It is known that Huey Long had designs on becoming president of the United States and so had the new mansion built to replicate the White House in Washington on a slightly smaller scale (about 2/3 scale with the copy of the west wing of the White House included.) However, the west wing is on the opposite side on the Louisiana Little White House.) It is said he wanted to be familiar with the White House when he became President of the United States. He might have made it too if he had not been gunned down at the Louisiana capitol.The cost of building the new mansion was $150,000.00 in 1930. That was a large sum for the depression era for a building just for the governor of a state. They spent another $22,000.00 furnishing the house in drapes, fancy imported wall paper, and marble floors. The house was used as the governor's mansion until 1963 when yet another new governor's mansion was built for Louisiana. This home has been carefully restored and has displays in different rooms of all the different governor's who lived in the house while governor. It is now used for tourism and wedding receptions and special events. We found the tour very interesting and was designed to be handicap and wheel chair accessible. Elevators took us to upper levels. Much of what was the copy of the west wing is used for office space for the staff and some are saved as the offices of former Governors as they looked during their term in office. The mansion itself is gorgeous and the living quarters complete with bathrooms have a mostly 50's feel to them. We found all the things that belonged to the several governor's quite interesting and especially the things belonging to Huey Long and his family. We found the tour guides friendly and very knowledgeable. They volunteer their time to do this. We really enjoyed seeing some of the secret passages and hidden panels in the walls that allowed the governors to take short cuts around the mansion and also let them avoid talking to people they didn't want to visit with. Since we have never been to the Real White House this smaller scale version was very interesting for us to visit and gave us some insight to the one in Washington. I am sure the Nation's White House also has secret passages and rooms within it, but I suppose in different locations. Unlike the real White House this version you can visit all most all of the rooms including the former living quarters. Lot's of personal items belonging to several governor's that lived here are on display as well as gifts they received while in office from people around the world. The ballroom is awesome and designed through the use of mirrors to look even larger than it is creating an interesting Illusion. The house itself is extremely nice and is now air-conditioned. The paintings on the walls were spectacular as was the furnishings.We thought the Old Governor's Mansion was the most interesting to us of the things we saw in Baton Rouge. Well worth the effort for a visit. For the wealthy, this would be a spectacular place to hold a wedding and is available for that use.
Written July 10, 2013
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.
RetiredTravelerTN
Nashville, TN3,994 contributions
Apr 2013 • Couples
We loved touring Louisiana's old governor's mansion. It's a beautiful structure, and our guide was great! With great enthusiasm, he told story after story about the building and its former residents. We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the mansion.
My only word of advice is not to wait too late in the day to visit if you can go earlier. Knowing that the mansion closed at 4:00, we arrived at 2:00; it turned out that a wedding was to be held and tours were stopping early that day -- we almost didn't get our tour. So lesson learned: when a venue is only open Tues - Fri, 10:00 - 4:00, get there before 2:00 Friday afternoon.
If you love history and architecture, the time spent at the Old Governor's Mansion is very worthwhile.
My only word of advice is not to wait too late in the day to visit if you can go earlier. Knowing that the mansion closed at 4:00, we arrived at 2:00; it turned out that a wedding was to be held and tours were stopping early that day -- we almost didn't get our tour. So lesson learned: when a venue is only open Tues - Fri, 10:00 - 4:00, get there before 2:00 Friday afternoon.
If you love history and architecture, the time spent at the Old Governor's Mansion is very worthwhile.
Written April 22, 2013
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.
Why is the website in what I believe is German? Trying to look for prices and other information but can’t seem to get English version.
Written March 26, 2021
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