River Road Plantations

San Francisco Plantation
With its yellow and blue exterior, San Francisco Plantation House is an exclamation point of color. The house was built in 1856 by French Creole Edmond Bozonier Marmillion. It's name comes from the French slang sans fruscins, which means "without a penny in my pocket." Its cost was high, even for the times.

To begin the tour, you enter the cool wine cellar. The brick floor is original, as are the wine racks and the bars on the windows to keep out wine thieves.

Upstairs awaits a riot of rooms and color. "There are 17 rooms in the house," your resident interpreter says. "The center room was the central passageway. There were no hallways."

You see family photos on the wall in the children's parlor. In the children's bedroom, take note of one of the house's five spectacular painted ceilings.

San Francisco Plantation House: (985) 535-2341 or toll free 1-888-322-1756. Admission: $10 adults, $5 students 13-17, $3 children 6-12. Hours: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tours every 20 minutes.

Nottoway Plantation
Because it is thought to be the largest plantation house in the south, Nottoway is nicknamed The White Castle. As you pull into the long drive, the expanse dwarfs the river levee.

Built by Mr. and Mrs. John Hampton Randolph (their portrait overlooks the entry) in 1859, the house has 64 rooms, 200 windows, and 165 doors. They needed the space for their 11 children.

The interpreter explains the original bars on the lower windows. "It wasn't to prevent burglary," she says. "It was to keep out the sheep and cows."

Notice the attention to detail, from iron gallery railings on the front to the coal-burning fireplaces. The water system for Nottoway was in the attic, with huge cisterns providing water for the house.

Nottoway: (225) 545-2730. Admission: $10. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. Restaurant: Randolph Hall is open for lunch and dinner daily. Accommodations: Include 13 rooms, each with private bath and entrance. Room rates begin at $135-250 per night, double occupancy, and include a carafe of sherry; fresh flowers; morning wake-up call of sweet potato biscuits, orange juice, and coffee; full plantation breakfast; and a complimentary tour.

Ormond Plantation
Built in 1787, Ormond Plantation calls itself the oldest French West Indies-style Creole plantation on the river. The main house was home to Mr. and Mrs. Pierre d'Trepagnier, who first grew indigo, then switched -- as so many did -- to lucrative sugarcane.

After being in the hands of a few other prominent Louisiana families, the plantation fell into disrepair. But beginning in 1943, Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Brown, owners of a dairy in New Orleans, began a major restoration. The work continues today, and Ormond is now open for tours, dining, and bed-and-breakfast accommodations. Its 16 acres may be strolled at leisure. A gift shop holds a terrific selection of Louisiana books.

Ormond: (985) 764-8544. Admission: $5. Hours: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. daily. Accommodations: Three rooms in the main house are available for bed-and-breakfast. Room rates are $125 per night and include chilled wine with a fruit-and-cheese tray, a wake-up call, and breakfast.

Oak Alley
It's every bit as spectacular as you could ever imagine. Twenty-eight trees make a perfect lane leading to the river. The trees existed before the house, as far back as the early 1700s.

In 1829, Jacques Telesphore Roman, a Creole sugar planter, built the present house (with its 28 columns) for his wife.

Twelve-and-a-half-foot ceilings rise above the lovely furniture. Doors sport faux-bois cypress, painted to look like mahogany. "The floor in the hallway had to be replaced," says the guide, "because the young boys liked to gallop their horses through the hall from the front door to the back door."

Family portraits of former owners line the walls, but the most stunning view is from the upstairs front gallery. It's a grand view of the alley of ancient oaks as they march toward the river.

"We have baby oaks in back," the guide says. "They're only 150 years old." Take a long look over the land. Don't you wish you could call Oak Alley home?

Oak Alley: (225) 265-2151 or 1-800-442-5539. Admission: $10 adults, $7 ages 13-18, $3 ages 6-12. Hours: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. March-October, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. November-February. Restaurant: Open for breakfast (served in a Creole cottage) and lunch daily. Accommodations: Turn-of-the-century Creole cottages start at $105 and include a full country breakfast.

Dining on River Road
Aside from the restaurants listed with several of the plantation homes, two excellent dining experiences await hungry River Road pilgrims. The Cabin Restaurant in Burnside (intersection of States 44 and 22) offers fine Cajun food, including gumbo ($3.95), red beans and rice ($4.25), and a large selection of po'boy sandwiches ($4.25-$6.75). Finish off with a big helping of bread pudding ($1.50); (225) 473-3007. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Sunday and lunch Monday. Located in Donaldsonville is Lafitte's Landing Restaurant at Bittersweet Plantation, where dinner is gorgeous and delicious.

Unfortunately the original restaurant suffered considerable damage in a fire this past fall, but will reopen in a new location on Valentine's Day. Chef John D. Folse's menu will feature the same superb food, and you can't go wrong if you choose their signature lamb dish, veal, or fresh fish topped with seafood sauce; (225) 473-1232. Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday-Saturday and lunch Sunday.

Because prices, dates, and other specifics are subject to change, please check all information to make sure it's still current before making your travel plans.