evergreen plantation

This was my first visit to a Plantation and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. What I found was a family that has preserved the plantation for the purpose of educating the public about it's history complimented by a very well informed and entertaining tour guide who really knows her history of both the plantation and the region. You'll need a rental car to get there but if you can fit this into your New Orleans trip I would highly recommend it.

Very interesting presentation of plantation history. History of ownership and slavery. The guide was very knowledgeable, answered numerous questions. Get there earlier to go through the exposition in the tour reception building. I did not expect to see that two centuries ago slaves lived in better conditions than my highly educated professional parents and I did for the first 15 years of my live back in Russia.

We visited back in June and our guide was a fella who was most informative. However, we ended up getting there 20 mins prior to the tour starting, so we immersed ourselves in the literature located in the reception area which was very informative and recommended (especially if your guide is a bit lacking). This plantation is still a working sugar cane plantation - hence you cannot just wander around by yourself. The house itself is deceiving in size - quite small on the inside which was surprising. We walked from the house to the slave quarters - located amongst a stunning alley of Oak trees covered in Spanish Moss. It was difficult to imagine the hardships that would've occurred here as it was so beautiful and tranquil. There are information boards here to view, which I recommend as they offer good information which you may not get from the guide. This was our only plantation visit (I had been to 2 others 15 odd yrs ago) and I highly recommend it. I would also recommend that you bring your own water as this is my only gripe - they don't sell it in the reception area which was unfortunate as it was a very warm day when we went.

Had previously visited Oak Alley plantation and thought this one might have a better tour...it did. The guide presented an interesting and historically accurate view of life during both the creole and pre civil war era. The manor house is furnished, although not with pieces original to it. Interestingly, this plantation is privately owned and the owner sometimes lives in one of the out buildings. The visitor center is long on historical documents and short on gift shop glitz, both of which are good things. If I could visit two plantations near NOLA, the other would be Laura, just up the road from Evergreen. It has a more tourist oriented tour and gift shop but has structures and furnishings almost as good as Evergreen. Each is about $20 adult admission.

This is a great place to sink in the past a little. I would have given it 5 stars if it wasn't for our tour guide. We stood right in front of her and it still felt as if she was whispering. The best place to hear her was inside the house because it echod a little. She also kept getting "off track", whatever that means. I guess she would keep losing her place. Listening to the history was great but it was even better being around it. I enjoyed the plantation and the grounds very much. It was so beautiful and well kept. It was hard to keep reminding myself of how many hardships happened there. I would recommend this as a must, during a trip to New Orleans.

The main house and grounds were beautiful. It was great seeing how small the house really was. It was also neat seeing the slave quarters and getting a better idea about their living environment. The guide, however, recited from her memorized script. The. Entire. Time. I would be interested to see the Whitney Plantation or some other plantation where more of the slaves' perspective is told.

This was our first visit to a real working (sugarcane, not cotton) Plantation. We all learned many new & unrealized historical facts.There are many building on the National Historical Register. The Grandkids, 8 years (M) & 11 years (F) never lost interest & actually asked questions.Great Tour Guide, She was very knowledgeable.

Drove out from New Orleans to visit Evergreen as we particularly wanted to see the slave quarters. We found it no problem using a sat nav. The gates were not open when we arrived, but we just pulled in front of the gates and waited. The girl who came and opened the gates was not at all friendly, and pretty much didnt even acknowledge us as she opened the gates, and then just waved us inside to park. We said to each other that we really hoped she was just a caretaker and wouldnt be our guide, but unfortunately we were wrong.We checked in at the reception and waited for the other guests to arrive as we were a little early. We all then got back into our cars and drove across the property for about 2 minutes to park nearer to the house itself. It is very impressive from the outside, and we took a million photos. The guide offered very little information and was completely disinterested in her job and disinterested in offering anything other than the script which she just rolled off. When people asked her questions she just shrugged like she could care less and either gave a curt answer or answered them with another question like 'what do you think .....'.The inside house was a revelation as it is not the mansion you expect it to be. Fabulous all the same. The slave quarters were a real eye opener - considering the intense heat and cold the seasons must have brought back then. We spent a huge amount of time down there - not by choice, but because some of our tour group wandered off down the long road way out of sight and earshot = and we all had to wait until they finally decided to come back and rejoin the group before we could all head back to the cars together (you are not free to roam around on your own). I was not happy with the lack of organisation/management the tour guide had.This place could be no1 on the list of places to see, but the guide will ensure that will never happen. Replace her and this place will do very well.

As a child, I remember driving by Evergreen and being awestruck by the majesty of the grand staircase. I was excited to finally see this magnificent mansion, but then shocked to learn that it is not a mansion at all. It is only one room deep. The exterior is a deception and made us all laugh about how people even then wanted to impress others. We had an excellent guide who was able to answer all our questions, was quite informative on local history and the owners. I recommend Evergreen. It has a balanced approach with the history of the slaves and the slave cabins and then the history of the owners and the main house. Also excellent museum and gift shop.

In 3 days we visited 6 plantations. This in was the worst one by far. It was not worth the money we paid for the tour! The guide was very knowledgeable and she just did not have her heart into her job. Management either needs to give the guides more training or more money, maybe both. I think they need some incentive to motivate them.

I chose to visit the Evergreen Plantation over other similar houses because of the original slave quarters and I wanted to know more about slavery and segregation in America following our visit to the amazing and moving civil rights museum in Memphis.I must say the woman who took our money didn't exactly make us feel welcome with her lack of enthusiasm and the equally disinterested tour guide wasn't much better, though she did seem to be struggling with a throat inspection, bless her. After waiting for the tour to start and other visitors to arrive we followed our guide up to the house in our hire car, behind what appeared to be her own private car.first stop was the outhouses and maze behind the house and despite her ailments our guide did a good job explaining the life of a slave servant working in the big house and the degradations they had to suffer. When we then went round the front for a Django photo opp which my son and I seized on sweeping front steps of Mr Big's house. Then followed a brief tour of the surpisingly small interior but there's a reason for this which made the story all the more interesting - you certainly got a sense of history - of time and place.The final part of the tour was a walk down the oak lined track which was fabulous with the spanish moss hanging from the branches of the symmetrically planted oaks; to the 2 rows of slave quarters.Maybe it's wrong to say I enjoyed the slave quarters but I cetainly thought it was a worthwhile experience simply to understand the hardships of the former occupants - the slave quarters also gave a sense of history but for different reasons; I'd say my feelings resembled those when I visited Bergen-Belson; just quiet acknowledgement of what went on here to fellow human beings.I have no regrets of choosing evergreen over others on the river road.

First of all be prepared to pay with cash! The lady wasn't very friendly and was short when we asked about the tour. Also once the tour starts you will have to drive in your own car to the plantation. Granted it's not far but just be aware of this. Now the plantation on the outside was breathtaking but on the inside it was ok. Unfortunately we weren't able to see a lot of the inside and you are not allowed to take pictures. Also there is a lot of renovations and a lot of it isn't authentic. The tour guide hardly talked and wasn't very informative. Afterwards you can see the slave cabins but again tour guide just stayed to the side while you looked around. I'm glad I went to see it but I think paying 20 was kind of too much when you don't really get a lot of historical background. Gift shop was very very small and didn't find anything to get.

It cost me 80.00 for 4 of us to take pictures of the exterior of the house. The tour was terrible and consisted of the guide saying, "This is the main house and the kitchen is not attached due to fire precautions. Any questions". There was no historical information given and the furnishings inside the plantation do not match the time period. You can save yourself 20.00 per person by parking outside the gate of the plantation and taking pictures for free from the side of the road, since you are not allowed to take pictures inside the home. Visit Laura Plantation for a very informative and friendly tour!

Besides the obvious association with Hollywood, this plantation had a much deeper display of 'real' plantation life in the small museum that you visit before the house tour. It had the entire history of the place organized in three rooms, based on the family who owned the property at the time. Personal documents, artifacts, and other items gave you a good background for the tour around the grounds. However, the tour is very restrictive in that you could only go with a guide to certain areas and when the guide was finished, so were you! However, our guide, Courtney, was very good, and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit.

This plantation was part of my tour through The Old River Road company. Excellent tour and beautiful property. My favorite part was the original slave quarters, which was both amazing yet very touching. Highly recommend!