16 Best Things to Do in Louisiana’s River Parishes near NOLA

Just outside of New Orleans lies a quieter stretch of Louisiana where moss-draped plantations and cypress swamps tell a deeper story. Louisiana’s River Parishes offer a completely different side of South Louisiana — one where history, food, and wildlife all come together.

I spent a long weekend exploring the River Parishes and found there’s so much more to do here than just a quick day trip from New Orleans. One day I was touring historic plantations and tasting fresh King Cake. The next, I was gliding through the bayou on an airboat and discovering a hidden chapel along the river.

If you’re planning a side trip from New Orleans or a weekend exploring the historic River Road, these are the best things to do in Louisiana’s River Parishes, from famous landmarks to lesser-known local experiences.

Best Things to Do in Louisiana’s River Parishes

1. Visit Oak Alley Plantation

The iconic alley of 300-year-old live oaks at Oak Alley Plantation is one of the most popular stops in Louisiana’s River Parishes.

While you can explore the grounds and exhibits on your own with a Historic Site ticket, I highly recommend booking the guided Big House tour, which provides deeper context about life at the plantation and the people who lived and worked there — and they don’t just gloss over slavery in favor of a pretty house, either; they give the whole story.

I toured the mansion early in the morning before the crowds arrived, which made the experience much more enjoyable. The upstairs balcony offers a unique view down the famous oak alley, and the Slavery at Oak Alley and Sugarcane Theatre exhibits provide a thorough account of the plantation’s true history.

Book your Oak Alley Plantation Big House Tour here.

2. Take the Manchac Magic Kayak Swamp Tour

The Manchac Magic Kayak Swamp Tour with Wild Louisiana Tours is an unforgettable way to experience the Louisiana swamp up close. This guided paddle through the cypress swamp lets you glide through the bayou while spotting wildlife like alligators, turtles, and birds.

Our tour was led by a biologist who shared so many great insights about the swamp ecosystem, local history, and even a few Louisiana legends. I went just before sunset, and the golden light through the cypress trees was incredibly scenic. And this part of the swamp was surprisingly easy to paddle, even for beginners.

Book your Manchac Magic Kayak Swamp Tour here.

3. Visit Laura Plantation

Laura Plantation is a Creole plantation and was the first historic attraction in Louisiana to include stories of the enslaved as part of the tour. Their guided tour is one of the best I’ve been on, and it explores the Big House, the original 1840 slave cabins, and the gardens.

The stories on the tour are based on Laura Locoul Gore’s Memories of the Old Plantation Home and archival documents. The stories follow four generations of free and enslaved members of the Creole families who lived here for an intimate, true look at life on the sugar plantation.

Our guide even presented dynamics between the free and the enslaved and compared them to current events. The stories from these plantations are so important in showing just how much our society still needs to change.

Book your Laura Plantation Tour here.

4. Take an Airboat Ride with Ragin Cajun Airboat Tours

An airboat ride is a faster and more thrilling way to explore Louisiana’s swamps. The 1.5-hour rides with Ragin Cajun Airboat Tours take you through a private swamp, which means you won’t be surrounded by other noisy tour boats.

Our guide knew the swamp’s wildlife incredibly well and pointed out several alligators he knew by name, including a massive 12-foot gator named Jack who likes to sun himself in the same spot every day. We also spotted baby alligators, birds, and even a snake. Even though it was high-speed, this was honestly a relaxing way to see Louisiana wildlife up close.

Book your Ragin Cajun Airboat Tour here.

5. Visit Whitney Plantation

Whitney Plantation focuses entirely on the lives of enslaved people and the history of slavery. You won’t hear about the plantation owners and how they lived; you’ll only hear about the difficult lives of the enslaved. This is one of the River Parishes’ best plantation tours.

They offer a self-guided audio tour of the grounds (which does not include the upstairs portion of the Big House) and a guided tour led by trained historical interpreters (which does include the upstairs of the Big House). I did the self-guided tour, but I really wish I’d had a guided tour because I think the guides’ unique personal lens lends itself so well to this difficult history.

The tour is raw and unfiltered. The audio guide includes interviews with former enslaved people and their descendants. The grounds contain 16 original structures, including two slave cabins, as well as art and monuments honoring the people enslaved here at Whitney, within St. John the Baptist Parish, in Louisiana, and those who participated in the German Coast Uprising of 1811, the largest slave revolt in the US.

Book your Whitney Plantation Guided Tour here.

6. Eat a Traditional King Cake

King Cake is a traditional Mardi Gras dessert decorated with gold, purple, and green sprinkles and hiding a plastic baby figurine inside (whoever finds the baby in their slice of cake wins a prize).

The cake is traditionally served from Epiphany until Carnival, but nowadays you can find it pretty much year-round. In Louisiana’s River Parishes, one of the best places to get King Cake is from Coffee &, a coffee shop and bakery known for their gourmet donuts and King Cakes in a variety of flavors. I recommend their Apple-Filled Traditional King Cake, but their flavors like Praline and Cream Cheese are also good choices.

7. Enjoy Fresh Seafood at the Best Local Restaurants

Louisiana’s River Parishes are hiding some really delicious seafood restaurants just minutes away from New Orleans. If you’re looking for some local, authentic, home-style Creole and Cajun cooking, here are a few of my favorites:

• Frenier Landing Restaurant and Oyster Bar — casual seafood restaurant overlooking Lake Ponchartrain. I recommend the Grilled Shrimp.
• Mabile’s Restaurant — home-style Cajun restaurant with huge portions. I recommend the Fried Shrimp Po’boy.
• Petra Restaurant & Lounge — Italian food with a Middle Eastern flair. I recommend the Petra Pasta with shrimp, crawfish, and crabmeat in a mushroom cream sauce.

It’s literally impossible to leave these restaurants hungry because they serve giant portions! I hope you booked a hotel room with a fridge for leftovers.

8. Experience the Historic Riverlands Soul River Musical Journey

Historic Riverlands is a powerful cultural experience with two tours that explore the influence of African American history on American music and the experience of a Black Catholic church in the Jim Crow Era.

I took the Soul River Musical Journey tour and loved how it traced the evolution of music from the call-and-response songs of enslaved people to jazz, blues, gospel, zydeco, soul, and rock. The tour combines storytelling, film, music listening stations, and live performances in an engaging way that connects the region’s history with the music that shaped American culture.

9. Visit St. Joseph and Felicity Plantations

St. Joseph Plantation and Felicity Plantation are neighboring plantations that are very closely related — they were owned by the same family, they are still working sugarcane farms, and they both have been filming locations for popular TV shows and movies.

I took a bit of a rushed guided tour at St. Joseph Plantation and the full guided tour at Felicity Plantation; both only offer guided tours, which you can purchase separately or as a combo tour to see both. Both tours focused mainly on the family who purchased the plantation after the Civil War, whose descendants still own the property, and the filming that took place here.

The TV series Queen Sugar used the farms and buildings at St. Joseph, and one of the houses is still set up like the set, which you can walk around. Felicity Plantation featured prominently in 12 Years a Slave and The Skeleton Key.

Book your St. Joseph and Felicity Plantation Combo Tour here.

10. Try Beignets

Beignets are a classic deep-fried French pastry that were brought to New Orleans in the late 1700s. They’re a staple of a Creole breakfast, but you can absolutely eat them any time of day.

In Louisiana’s River Parishes, one of the best places for beignets is Chung’s Heavenly Cafe. They have classic beignets and King Cake beignets that are glazed on top, instead of the traditional powdered sugar, and decorated with King Cake sprinkles.

11. Grab a Craft Beer at German Coast Beer Company

German Coast Beer Company is St. Charles Parish’s first craft beer brewery. The company is named in honor of the German immigrants who settled this part of the Mississippi River, often referred to as Louisiana’s German Coast.

Their flagship beers include the Morning Star Lager, the Super Duck IPA, the Sarpy Stout, the Cypress Island Pale Ale, and the Coffee in Sarpy Coffee-Infused Stout. They also have a variety of seasonal brews like the Felix Belgian Style Single Ale, the 1721 Bock Lager, the School Days Tailgate IPA, and the Shortcut Canal Gulf Coast IPA.

I’m not a beer drinker, but they did have a cider when I visited; it wasn’t officially released yet and was like a secret menu item! I really enjoyed it.

12. Stay Overnight at the Oak Alley Plantation Cottages

One of the most unique places to stay in Louisiana’s River Parishes is right on the grounds of Oak Alley Plantation. Oak Alley Plantation Restaurant & Inn has nine historic cottages ranging from one- to two-bedroom accommodations, many originally built between the 1890s and 1920s for estate employees.

I stayed in Cottage 5A, a charming historic duplex with a four-poster bed, kitchenette, and screened porch. The real highlight, though, is that you get the famous oak alley entirely to yourself once the historic site closes for the day. I wandered the grounds at sunset and again at night for photos, and it was one of the most peaceful experiences of the trip.

You can check out my full review of the overnight cottages at Oak Alley Plantation here.

13. See a Performance at Lafon Performing Arts Center

The Lafon Arts Center (full name Dr. Rodney R. Lafon Performing Ars Center) is a unique community-supported arts education venue that benefits the students of St. Charles Parish Public Schools. The kids come here to learn through instruction and mentorship, they put on school productions, but there are also professional touring productions.

We got to see CeCe Teneal’s Divas of Soul, and she and her band were fantastic! Earlier in the day, she’d held education sessions with a couple local middle schools, and then those school choirs joined her on stage during the performance. You can really see how the arts center and the professional acts benefit the local arts community!

See what events are happening at Lafon Arts Center here.

14. See the Our Lady of the Blind River Chapel

Hidden deep along the Blind River, Our Lady of the Blind River Chapel is a tiny chapel that’s one of the most unusual places to visit in Louisiana’s River Parishes: you can only reach it by boat. The chapel was hand-built in the 1980s by Martha Deroche after she experienced visions of the Virgin Mary.

I was fortunate enough to visit with Martha’s grandson, Lance, who took us out to the chapel on his boat and shared the story behind it. The peaceful riverside setting and the community’s dedication to preserving the chapel make it feel like a true hidden gem.

If you don’t have a boat, the Facebook group Friends Of Our Lady Of Blind River is a great place to ask for a ride.

15. Visit the St. James Parish Welcome Center

The St. James Parish Welcome Center is a great first stop when you arrive in Louisiana’s River Parishes. The site includes a restored French Creole house, restrooms, travel information, and a small pavilion.

I especially enjoyed the short boardwalk trail that winds through nearby wetlands; it’s a quick and relaxing way to stretch your legs while getting your first glimpse of the Louisiana landscape.

16. Nearby: Try Your Luck at the Treasure Chest Casino

Right next door to Louisiana’s River Parishes is Jefferson Parish, home to the Treasure Chest Casino on the banks of Lake Ponchartrain.

If you’re looking to try your luck at something a little more involved than all those gas station slot machines, the Treasure Chest is the place for it. And this place is absolutely packed on a Friday night, it was hopping when we visited.

They have slots, table games, sports betting, restaurants, bars, event spaces, and a calendar full of live entertainment from musicians to comedians.

Activities in Louisiana’s River Parishes Map

Ready to plan your visit to Louisiana’s River Parishes? Use the map below to find all the things to do listed in this post.

I hope you have a great time discovering this beautiful area just outside of New Orleans!

More Louisiana Itineraries

• 3 Days in Louisiana’s River Parishes near New Orleans
• 11 Restaurants in Louisiana’s River Parishes Worth the Drive
• Staying at Oak Alley Plantation Overnight: Historic Cottages Review
• Which Plantations near New Orleans are Worth Visiting
• Ultimate River Road Plantation Itinerary near New Orleans
• 16 Can’t-Miss Things To Do in New Orleans, Louisiana
• 14 Best Summer Vacation Spots in the South
• 14 Best Spring Break Destinations in the South
• 14 Best Winter Vacations in the South
• 14 Best Fall Vacations in the South

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Ready to visit New Orleans, Louisiana? Plan your trip with these tips.

• Book Your Flight: Find the cheapest flights using Skyscanner, my favorite flight search engine.
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• Get Packing: Make sure you’ve packed everything you need with my packing list resources.
• Save on Attractions: Save up to 55% on admission to top New Orleans attractions using the Go City New Orleans pass.

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Cheers!

Paige

Which of these top things to do in Louisiana’s River Parishes are you most excited about? Let me know in the comments!