Culture in Vacherie Louisiana

When you make a list of all the unique things Louisiana has to offer visitors, you quickly see the long-lasting influences of our French, Spanish and African ancestry. Our past is well-preserved in our architecture, music, food and lifestyles—which include our amazing festivals—and of course in our museums of history and fine arts.

It is not an accident that Louisiana clings to the phrase "Laissez les bons temps rouler," meaning "Let the good times roll". Let yourself get lost in the traditions passed down through generations. Come visit us during Mardi Gras when costumed riders parade and magnificent balls are thrown from New Orleans and Baton Rouge to Houma, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport and beyond. Peek back across the centuries, as you walk under lavish ironwork and through the lush courtyard gardens of a meticulous French Quarter hotel. Touch history with a tour of a plantation where the daily activities of the past are recreated. Let nature's mysteries inspire and awe you via a boat tour through a cypress studded bayou.

Here, in Louisiana, history and lore don't merely live in books on a shelf; they're reflected in our everyday lives.

Often, when people picture Louisiana, they imagine a long row of oak trees leading to a magnificent plantation house, which is to say that, when they picture Louisiana, they’re picturing Vacherie. It is here that you’ll find that most iconic of all American plantation houses, Oak Alley. With its majestic stand of 300-year-old oaks and its grand, antebellum Greek revival home, it’s easy to understand why Oak Alley so amplifies the reputation of tiny Vacherie. But it doesn’t stop there. Vacherie is home to Laura Plantation, a gorgeous setting where you can learn about Creole culture and slave life. There’s also the 1,000-acre St. Joseph Plantation and Evergreen with its 37 historic buildings, including 22 slave cabins. Either upriver or down, the plantations along Great River Road offers the traveler an unforgettable opportunity to take a step back in time and touch the past  at these and other historic locations.