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| Home > City Guide - New Orleans - Excursions | ||
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Excursions For a Half Day Destrehan Plantation: Located 37km (23 miles) west of New Orleans, along I-310, the Destrehan Plantation (tel: (504) 764 2341; website: www.destrehanplantation.org) was built in 1787 and remains the oldest intact plantation home in the lower Mississippi. The plantation is open daily from 0900-1600 and admission is US$10. Tours and period crafts demonstrations are led by costumed guides, who praise the house’s excellent insulation, its cavities filled with a mixture of mud, straw, horsehair and Spanish moss known as bousillage. Scenes from Interview with the Vampire (1994) were filmed here. For a Whole Day Barataria Preserve: The Barataria Preserve (tel: (504) 589 2330; website: www.nps.gov/jela) is part of the Jean Lafitte National Historic Park. It is located on the west bank of the Mississippi near Marrero, about an hour’s drive from New Orleans along the Business-90 and Highway-45. The Preserve encompasses approximately 8000 hectares (20,000 acres) of forest, swamp and freshwater marsh. Natural history walks are available daily at 1400. Canoe treks can also be arranged. The visitor centre is open daily 0900-1700. Admission is free. Lafayette: About 200km (130 miles) west along I-10 from New Orleans is Lafayette, the gateway to the Cajun country. The Acadian Cultural Center (tel: (318) 232 0789; website: www.nps.gov/jela) traces the origins and culture of the Cajun people, who were relocated from Nova Scotia, Canada, to the Mississippi Delta in the 18th century, as well as other cultures of the region. There are several attractive Cajun towns and plantations north of Lafayette on the Cajun prairie. The town is also a good base from which to explore the swamps and bayous of the Atchafalaya basin. |
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