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For centuries, ghost stories and larger-than-life legends have been passed down in Plantation Country. The region’s homes, a medley of Creole, West Indies and English antebellum styles of architecture, tell colorful stories of the families who once inhabited them. Follow the Mississippi River as it flows down through the heart of Plantation Country and discover avenues of ancient oak trees that grace the lawns of stately homes and mansions, all whispering of days gone by.
 
Louisiana Recreation and Outdoors

Outdoorsmen will find the region to be a fisherman’s haven, with the rustic camps of Old River and False River. Time passes imperceptibly, until the crank of an airboat penetrates the calm. In Pointe Coupée Parish, the Old River and False River areas provide opportunities for fishing, boating and Jet Skiing. The Tunica Trace, in the St. Francisville area, is great for hiking and wildlife watching, including bird watching. Those who want wild explorations with their tee times should follow the Audubon Golf Trail to notable golf courses. Plantation Country offers much for families as well, such as the Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center south of Baton Rouge. A swamp tour with Cajun Pride Swamp Tours is another great way to get an up-close-and-personal natural experience.
 
Not surprisingly, alligators and other swamp-loving wildlife abound in the appropriately named Alligator Bayou in Ascension Parish. For viewing in a setting that’s a little less wild, the Baton Rouge Zoo is a fun way to spend an afternoon with kids. Nearby attractions such as the Blue Bayou Waterpark and Dixie Landin’ Amusement Park thrill with rides such as Voodoo and the Ragin’ Cajun roller coaster.
 
Louisiana History
 
History comes to life throughout the year in Plantation Country. Port Hudson National Historic Site holds an annual reenactment of the Battle of Port Hudson. In nearby Jackson, visitors can ride an old rail train or observe a reenactment of the Battle of Jackson Crossroads. At the West Baton Rouge Museum in Port Allen (the mighty Mississippi River can be seen from there), they can trace the local folklife and urban development and explore the area’s agrarian history on at the Louisiana State University Rural Life Museum. For a peek at the military past, climb aboard the USS Kidd in Baton Rouge and visit its veteran’s memorial, honoring those who served. 
 
In the 1700s and early 1800s, the Great River Road delivered French Creoles from New Orleans, hardworking German settlers and planters from England trying to make their fortunes. They brought with them diverse customs that made Louisiana the mélange of styles it is today. The Feliciana Parishes are full of charming antebellum homes and bed and breakfast inns. Livingston
Parish celebrates its Hungarian ties in a celebration each year.
 
Point Coupée Parish (meaning “cut off point”) is the oldest settlement in Plantation Country. The area was first explored by Iberville and Bienville in 1699 and later became one of the original parishes after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
 
Louisiana Culture
 
The region also has a legacy of grace and gentility, and the tasteful manners and hospitality of Plantation Country are known the world over. During pre-Civil War times, unmarried males (both guests and family members) were often housed away from the main building (and the unmarried ladies) in a garçonnière, a small building on the plantation grounds. If you overstayed your welcome while visiting a friend at one of the plantations, a pineapple would be placed on your bed as a gentle reminder that it was time to leave. Ironically, today the pineapple is a symbol of welcome.
 
Likewise, travelers will find a warm welcome at plantations throughout the region. Some not-to-miss sites include Destrehan Plantation in Destrehan, Oak Alley and Laura plantations in Vacherie and Nottoway Plantation in White Castle. San Francisco Plantation in Garyville and Rosedown and Greenwood plantations in St. Francisville are also on the must-see list. Evergreen Plantation in Edgard is a working sugar plantation (tours are by appointment only) and boasts the most intact plantation complex in the South with 37 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places.
 
There’s a lot to keep visitors amused in Plantation Country. French, German, Hungarian and English influences are all evident in the swamp waltz and Zydeco two-step (a type of Louisiana Zydeco music). Cajun Zydeco and swamp pop fills the air. The Baton Rouge blues scene is as alive today as it ever was, thanks to the efforts of Tabby Thomas, the late Johnny Adams and many others. Music fans should also include the popular Live After 5 concert series, which takes the stage on Friday nights every spring and fall in downtown Baton Rouge.
 
For an education in Louisiana art, including Newcomb Arts & Crafts period pottery, visit Shaw Center and LSU Museum of Art in Baton Rouge, which also hosts international exhibits.
 
During the first weekend of December, St. Francisville entertains with “Christmas in the Country,” where residents and visitors can walk through a lighted historic district, complete with strolling carolers. Another local favorite festival is Kite Fest Louisiane, held for three kite-flying days in early April in Port Allen.
 
Angola is home to a rodeo known as the “wildest show in the South,” where each Sunday in October the Louisiana State Penitentiary opens its doors to the public. Movies, including "Monster’s Ball," have been filmed there.
 
Find horses of a different color (and on a virtual track) at Evangeline Downs Races & Aces in Port Allen. Baton Rouge has Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge and Belle of Baton Rouge Casino, which offer slots, poker and table games. 
 
Louisiana culture even permeates the gridiron scene. Football season brings fans of the sport as well as contemporary music to the area, as live bands play during tailgating parties at Louisiana State University and Southern University.
 
Louisiana Food and Dining
 
There’s a saying in Louisiana: “We don’t eat to live, we live to eat.” Nowhere is this more true than in Plantation Country. 
 
Houmas House Plantation in Darrow features its own style of nouveau Creole cuisine at Latil’s Landing and Café Burnside, where the innovative offerings include starters such as bisque of curried pumpkin, crawfish and corn. Upriver at The Bluffs Country Club, Varnedoe’s serves up contemporary Southern cuisine. Their fried green tomatoes are topped with shrimp and lump crabmeat in a remoulade sauce.
 
A taste of old Acadian style can be found in a back-country snack called gratons (cracklins) or a hot link of boudin. The Gonzales Jambalaya Festival will give you the best of the best in this traditional Louisiana dish. Jacob’s World Famous Andouille in LaPlace sells the spicy, smoked sausage and gives tours and samples.
 
The region’s rural small towns are farmed for cotton, sugar cane, corn, soybeans and pecans, making a drive through the countryside an education in Louisiana’s farming roots, as well as a culinary adventure in roadside farm-store offerings.
 
Louisiana Shopping
 
Once your appetite for food is sated, try shopping on for size. Southern charm abounds in Donaldsonville, a 200-year-old river town known for its multicultural museums, quaint bed and breakfasts, interesting Louisiana architecture and unique shopping. 
 
Visitors seeking quieter times and old finds will be charmed by the antiques stores found in downtown Plaquemine and Denham Springs. The Towne Center at Cedar Lodge and Perkins Rowe developments in Baton Rouge feature upscale live/work/dine/shop experiences. 
 
However you choose to spend your days in Plantation Country, you’ll be sure to catch some of that intangible essence of Louisiana life that infuses each experience.