Tour

Whitney Plantation Tour

5 hours and 25 minutes

Very easy

A personal look into the lives of owners and enslaved people in antebellum Louisiana.

In 2014, the Whitney Plantation opened its doors to the public for the first time in its 262 year history as the only plantation museum in Louisiana with a focus on slavery. Through museum exhibits, memorial artwork, restored buildings, and hundreds of first-person narratives, visitors to Whitney will gain a unique perspective on the enslaved people who lived and worked here.

The early owners of Habitation Haydel, later known as The Whitney Plantation, became wealthy producing indigo before the plantation transitioned to sugar in the early 1800s. Whitney is also significant because of the number of its historic outbuildings which were added to the site over the years, thus providing a unique perspective on the evolution of the Louisiana working plantation.

The Big House is one of the finest surviving examples of Spanish Creole architecture and one of the earliest raised Creole cottages in Louisiana. Although a limited portion of the original tour, the house is undergoing renovations in 2021 and it is not currently open.

The Whitney Plantation Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places. As a site of memory and consciousness, the Whitney Plantation Museum is meant to pay homage to all enslaved people on the plantation itself and to all of those who lived elsewhere in the United States.

Travel past Laura, Oak Alley, Evergreen, Felicity & St. Joseph Plantations, ghosts of the past that front the Mississippi River, where rich crops of sugar cane, cotton, and indigo from these fertile lands once traveled to ports of trade.

Tour starts at 12:00pm and 1:00pm Wednesday - Monday. Tour does not operate on Tuesdays. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to tour time.

What's included?
  • Bus fare
  • Entry tax
  • Entry or admission fee
  • Entrance fees
  • Round-trip transportation from the French Quarter
Exclusions
    • Food and drinks
    • Gratuities (optional)
    • Hotel pickup and drop-off (must meet at 400 Toulouse Street)
    Please note
      • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
      • Check-in is 15 minutes prior to start time.
      • They Whitney Plantation is a self-guided tour. Please make sure to download the Whitney Plantation app on your cell phone, tablet, or iPad to listen to an audio tour.
      • If the guest needs a wheelchair lift equipped bus, then special arrangements need to be made with the supplier. This must be arranged 48 hours prior to tour date. Contact details will be on your voucher.
      • Guests visiting Whitney using a wheelchair will have access to the gift shop, restrooms, and museum. The plantation grounds are accessible; however, there are uneven gravel paths. The main house tour is not accessible to guest traveling in wheelchairs and is not required to be modified as it is a historic home; however, the first floor is accessible. Guests would be able to view the slave quarters, but would not have access to enter.
      • You can present either a paper or an electronic voucher for this activity.
      What to bring
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