About an hour from New Orleans on Louisiana’s historic River Road sits Houmas House Estate & Gardens. With 38 acres of gardens, three one-of-a-kind restaurants, the Turtle Bar, the Wine Cellar, the Great River Road Museum, the Inn at Houmas House, and several events planned throughout the year, it’s more than a one-hour tour. You’ll want to spend a day or two here.
Along with touring the mansion (aka the Sugar Palace) with a costumed guide, visitors can wander beneath ancient live oaks and through breathtaking gardens discover the history and culture of the Mississippi River region, and enjoy the cuisine of famed Chef Jeremy Langlois at the Carriage House Restaurant, Latil’s Landing and Dixie Café.
If you ask us, an overnight stay is essential. You’ll want to see the estate in both daylight and at night when the grounds are absolute magic.
The Dragonfly
When you tour Houmas House, you’ll discover a dragonfly motive. Here, the dragonfly is more than decoration—it has a personal connection to owner Kevin Kelly. When Kelly was considering buying Houmas House in 2003, a dragonfly landed on his shoulder and lingered there. He took it as an omen that this was the place he was meant to restore and make his home. Since then, the dragonfly has become something of a signature symbol for the estate, appearing in artwork, furnishings, garden details, and even the dragonfly-shaped biscuits served in the restaurants.
Dragonflies are commonly associated with chance, transformation, adaptability, and renewal—an especially fitting symbol for a property, and an America, that has itself undergone much transformation since Houmas House was built in 1840.
The Gardens
At Houmas House, you’ll find formal courtyards with fountains and water features, ponds filled with lotus and lilies, tropical gardens bursting with exotic plants, colorful flower beds, quiet sitting areas, and the estate’s magnificent alley of ancient live oaks. The gardens are designed almost like a series of outdoor rooms, so wandering the grounds means continually discovering something new around the next bend.
Best of all, there really isn’t a bad season to visit. Houmas House plans its gardens for year-round interest, with major seasonal color changes each April and November. Spring and summer bring fragrant blooms and lush tropical growth; fall introduces a fresh palette of color; and Louisiana’s mild winters allow the gardens, live oaks, water features, and evergreens to remain beautiful even when much of the country’s landscape has gone dormant.
The Restaurants and Bar
Houmas House is a place to eat, drink, and linger, with dining options that range from casual to special-occasion. Latil’s Landing offers the estate’s fine-dining experience, while The Carriage House Restaurant serves Louisiana-inspired lunch and dinner in a more relaxed setting. Dixie Café, located inside the Great River Road Museum, is the casual choice for breakfast and lunch. Together, they make it easy to turn a mansion-and-gardens visit into a full day at the estate rather than simply a sightseeing stop.
Then there’s The Turtle Bar, a wonderfully atmospheric spot in the estate’s garçonnière where a Southern cocktail or mint julep feels especially appropriate. Wine lovers should also ask to see the remarkable Wine Cellars of Houmas House. They were created inside historic water cisterns behind the mansion, which have been transformed with circular staircases, cast-iron balconies, and walls lined with bottles. The collection includes more than 500 varietals and 1,000 cases of wine.
The Inn at Houmas House
Tucked among the gardens in charming cottages that complement the historic setting is the Inn at Houmas House. The guest rooms and suites carry the estate’s old-world atmosphere inside, with four-poster beds, antique furnishings, artwork, comfortable sitting areas, and spacious bathrooms with all the modern conveniences. Many rooms also have porches and garden views, and the larger suites include separate living rooms, soaking tubs, and other touches that make an overnight stay special.
Staying overnight lets you experience the property at a slower pace—enjoy dinner and a drink without rushing back to New Orleans. This is your change to take an evening stroll through the grounds and wake up surrounded by the quiet beauty of River Road.
The Great River Road Museum
Looking away from places connected to slavery does not further understanding or change what happened there. Ignoring the past honors no one. Looking closer, uncovering truths, does. That’s what the exhibits at The Great River Road Museum seek to do. The Sugar Palace doesn’t sugarcoat history. It shows a South that was and a South that evolved and resolved to right wrongs.
The Great River Road Museum includes exhibits on all the major plantations that existed in Louisiana, artifacts relating to slavery, the Civil War and Reconstruction, and so much more. You’ll view exhibits with rare artifacts on agriculture, pharmaceuticals, Yellow Fever, Mardi Gras—even an impressive pipe exhibit. You can see Napoleon’s death mask, Lincoln’s life mask, an actual Klansman’s robe, even wax figures of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor who experienced Mardi Gras in 1950. Here you’ll find carefully curated collections that hold answers to some of America’s most complicated and fascinating history.
