The fastest roads out from New Orleans toward the west are the major I-10 and US-61; you can also drive along the River Road , which hugs both banks of the Mississippi all the way to Baton Rouge, seventy miles upriver. It's not a particularly eventful drive, winding through flat, fertile farmland, but a series of bridges and ferries allow you to crisscross the water, stopping off and touring several restored antebellum plantation homes along the way. In the nineteenth century, these spectacular homes were the focal points of the vast estates from where wealthy planters - or rather, their slaves - loaded cotton, sugar or indigo onto steamboats berthed virtually at their front doors. Today many of them offer luxurious B&B accommodation.

To get to the River Road from New Orleans, take I-10 west to exit 220, turn on to I-310 and follow it to Hwy-48 , on the east bank. It shortly becomes Hwy-44 , or the River Road. For the west bank ( below the river), cross Destrehan Bridge onto Hwy-18 rather than branching onto Hwy-48. The levee runs the length of the banks, blocking the river from view, and though you'd never guess it from the tourist brochures, it's the hulking chemical plants that dominate the River Road landscape . There are rural stretches where wide sugarcane fields are interrupted only by moss-covered shacks - the prettiest views are to be found around the small town of Convent , on the east bank - but you'll more often find yourself driving through straggling communities of boarded-up lounges and laundromats, scarred by scrap piles and smokestacks.

From Edgard , 25 miles along on Hwy 18, you can cross the river to the San Francisco House (daily 10am-4.30pm; $8), two miles upriver of Reserve on Hwy-44. Built in a style dubbed "Steamboat Gothic" by novelist Frances Parkinson Keyes, its rails, awnings and pillars were designed to re-create the ambience of a Mississippi showboat. The elaborate facade is matched by a gorgeous interior - a riot of pastoral trompe l'oeils, floral motifs and Italian cherubs. Crossing the river at Lutcher , the settlement a few miles beyond San Francisco, brings you to Vacherie and the fascinating Laura plantation (daily 9.30am-4pm; $10). Rather than dwelling lovingly on priceless antiques, tours here, which draw upon a wealth of historical documents - from slave accounts and photographs to private diaries - sketch a vivid picture of day-to-day plantation life in multicultural Louisiana. Nine miles upriver from Laura, Oak Alley is the quintessential image of the antebellum plantation home. It's a splendid Greek Revival mansion dating from 1839 - the magnificent oaks that form a canopy over the driveway are 150 years older (daily: March-Oct 9am-5.30pm; Nov-Feb 9am-5pm; $10). The restaurant serves Cajun lunches, and you can stay in pretty B&B cottages in the grounds (tel 504/265-2151; $100-130).

The restored plantation cottages at Tezcuco (daily: March-Oct 9am-5pm, Nov-Feb 10am-4pm; $8), some 25 miles upriver from San Francisco, offer B&B accommodation, complete with porches, rocking chairs and, in some cases, fireplaces and libraries (tel 225/562-3929; $50-250). Rates include a bottle of wine, breakfast in your room and a tour of the main house, an antebellum raised cottage built in Greek Revival style. Tezcuco is also notable for its small African-American Museum (Wed-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 1-5pm).

Eighteen miles south of Baton Rouge on the west bank, Nottoway is the largest surviving plantation home in the South, a huge white Italianate edifice of 64 rooms, 200 windows and 165 doors. Tours (daily 9am-5pm) cost $10, but you can get a peep at this "white castle" from the road. The house now also holds an inn (tel 225/545-2730; $160-200) and restaurant (daily 11am-3pm & 6-9pm).

Northwest from New Orleans: plantation country

• Northwest from New Orleans: plantation country

Explore Northwest from New Orleans: plantation country

• Baton Rouge

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