Oak Alley Plantation Gallery

Thirteen frames of the alley, the house, the quarters and the exhibits. Captions say what is in the picture, including which of them you are allowed to take yourself.

The quarter-mile avenue of live oaks at Oak Alley Plantation arching over a brick path, with the columned Big House at the far end — The alley from the River Road end, the two rows closing overhead into a tunnel.

The double row of live oaks seen from the upper balcony of the Big House, the brick path running straight away between them towards the levee — The same trees from the upper balcony — the one view you are allowed to photograph on the house tour.

The front of the Oak Alley Big House with its colonnade of twenty-eight columns, dormer windows and twin chimneys under a grey sky — Twenty-eight Doric columns wrapping all four sides, one for each tree.

A row of reconstructed wooden slave cabins under live oaks at Oak Alley Plantation, with an exhibit sign on the path in front — The reconstructed quarters, where the Slavery at Oak Alley exhibit runs.

A large cast-iron sugar kettle standing on the grass at Oak Alley Plantation beneath the spreading limbs of a fern-covered live oak — A cast-iron sugar kettle on the lawn, under oaks hung with resurrection fern.

Low spreading branches of the Oak Alley live oaks closing over the path, sunlight coming through the leaves — Limbs heavy enough to need no help meeting in the middle.

The thick trunk and wide horizontal canopy of a single live oak at Oak Alley Plantation — One tree, close to: the trunks are the part photographs never prepare you for.

The Oak Alley Big House seen from the formal garden, its colonnade and upper gallery framed by trees — The house from the garden side, away from the alley.

A small weatherboard outbuilding exhibit on the grounds at Oak Alley Plantation — One of the outbuilding exhibits scattered between the house and the levee.

The visitor site map board at Oak Alley Plantation showing the house, the exhibits, the restaurant and the car park — The site map at the entrance — worth a photograph before you set off.

The Oak Alley Plantation entrance sign hanging from a white timber frame with live oaks behind it — The entrance on Highway 18, the Great River Road.

The sign for the Oak Alley Plantation restaurant, inn and gift shop — The restaurant and the overnight cottages, about a block from the house.

A Louisiana historical marker for Oak Alley Plantation standing beside the Great River Road — The state historical marker at the gate.

Two of these are worth knowing about before you go. The view straight down the alley from the upper balcony is taken during the guided house tour. It is the only photograph you can make from inside the building, because cameras are not permitted in the rooms. The site map board at the entrance is the other: photograph it on the way in and you will not spend the visit guessing which path leads where. Both are covered under what you can photograph.

See it for yourself

Trips from New Orleans with the drive, the admission and a fixed slot on the house tour. Sorted by how long they leave you under the trees.

Oak Alley Plantation tours Compare every tour

What is each building in these pictures, and how long does the Foundation suggest you allow for it? The walk-through on the plantation page takes them one at a time. Every trip that gets you there is compared on Oak Alley Plantation tour from New Orleans.

Also useful: the Big House and the exhibits · what the light and the heat do by month · Oak Alley Plantation Tours