Location: Saint Francisville
Top Things to do in Saint Francisville
What to do and see in Saint Francisville, United States: The Best Places and Tips
St. Francisville is a town in, and the parish seat of, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,712 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Restaurants in Saint Francisville
1. Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 376 reviews
Historic plantation house restoration. Original buildings on site include the kitchen, doctor's office, cool house, Nina's wing, a tool shed, a hot house, and summer houses (gazebos) throughout the gardens. The gift shop stays open from 9am - 4:30pm and is independently run. Rosedown does not provide over night accommodations and there is no restaurant on site. Hours of operation are from 9am-5pm seven days a week. The first house tour is at 10am and the last house tour is at 4pm. Closed for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day.
Reviewed By memlane25 - LA
We were so happy to have a beautiful day to tour Rosedown. The grounds were outstanding! We have toured many plantation homes and Rosedown is lovely. However, the tour was rather bland. I'm sure the guide was knowledgeable but should really get away from such a scripted tour. Although she asked for questions, they were answered very briefly...and moved you along. No mention was made of the Henry Clay wing and I had to ask afterwards if that was it.
I would still recommend taking the tour and then roam the grounds. I did see a few picnic tables...would be so nice!
2. The Myrtles Plantation
Overall Ratings
4 based on 534 reviews
Experience antebellum splendor in this circa 1796 National Historic Register plantation home renowned for its mystery, history and intrigue.
Reviewed By sbadeaux1 - Denver, Colorado
My friend and I spent one night in the Cypress Cottage, and even though we did not experience a thing (very happy we didn't--HAHA!), we still had a fantastic time. The staff and tour guides were wonderful and very knowledgeable! I highly recommend taking a trip to The Myrtles.
3. Oakley Plantation
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 96 reviews
Reviewed By cynlynn - Houston, Texas
Unique Caribbean-style plantation home built in 1801. Decorated to this period, so it lacks the opulence you see in a Rosedown or Nottoway Plantation mansion, but it's so interesting and lovely in it's own way. Loved the sleeping porch with it's breeze, the unique foot tub, and the kitchen and work areas behind the home. The very best part was the beautiful setting. We walked all around and could have stayed for hours. Amazing place!
4. Grace Church of West Feliciana Parish
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 79 reviews
Reviewed By Carey L
My family and I had to evacuate Florida before the hurricane hit. We decided to check out this great old town. We stopped here and loved it! If you love old cemeteries you would love to check out this place. Hardly any parking but once you find some you can just walk right in without paying.
5. Audubon State Historic Site
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 47 reviews
Reviewed By Samuraigolfer - Houston, Texas
The home is restored to 1821 furnishings with many original artifacts. The 20-minute guided tour outlines the history of the home and the area with colorful anecdotes. A very pleasant stop for Saint Francisville visitors.
6. Afton Villa Gardens
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 64 reviews
Reviewed By Taylor B - Chicago, Illinois
Only the gardens and fragments of foundations survive from the fire that destroyed Afton Villa north of St. Francisville, Louisiana, in 1963. The exotic mansion was once the most imposing estate in West Feliciana Parish. Built from 1849 to 1857 by David Barrow, a wealthy planter who had a net worth of $1.4 million in 1860, Afton Villa was a 40-room Gothic Revival house with elaborate gardens that stretched over 25 acres. The L-shaped house, which included 15 bedrooms, featured a stucco exterior that was painstakingly incised and sanded to resemble stone and was embellished with carved cypress. Barrow tied in 1874 and his wife left the plantation, never to return. Two succeeding owners resurrected the old gardens and restored the house to its original grandeur. But the house burned down in 1963. The gardens were restored in 1952 by landscape architect Theodore Landry and again in 1972 when owners Morrell and Genevieve Trimble hired landscape architect Neil Odenwald to restore them and create new plantings. It is an eerie experience when entering the property off Highway 61. Enter the gates and look down through the cathedral-like archway of live oaks that line the winding road for a half-mile, then suddenly opens out to lawns and terraces. A row of four classical statues now marks the spot where the facade of the house once stood. Barrow is buried in the family cemetery nearby. The Trimbles incorporated the ruins of the villa into a series of gardens that retain the house's original footprint. Stairs lead to a small garden at the bottom of the slope called the Music Room, which sits above the Daffodil Valley. The Trimbles also constructed a pond and a lake on the grounds of the property and are all too eager to educate visitors about the history of the lavish gardens.
7. Greenwood Plantation
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 61 reviews
Reviewed By Tim S - Olmito, Texas
The visit to Greenwood was very nice. Stunning home from the outside. The inside is impressive, but it is reconstructed. The tour guide was very good. They also have a bed and breakfast on the grounds. We even met the owner while she was working in a flower bed and she was the epitome of a Southern lady. Very nice visit.
8. Butler Greenwood Plantation
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 37 reviews
Reviewed By Taylor B - Chicago, Illinois
Butler Greenwood Plantation dates to the 1770s and the current house, built in 1810, has been home to eight generations of the family. Located on U.S. Route 61 about 2 1/2 miles north of St. Francisville, Louisiana, it is an outstanding example of an antebellum plantation home. It consists of 44 acres and a plantation complex that includes the raised, cottage-style house, a gazebo and a rear brick kitchen. The beauty of the property, however, lies in the landscape architecture surrounding the home and the side gardens flanking the house which remain one of the few extant examples of antebellum garden design in West Feliciana Parish. For example, the north side garden is in the form of a geometric parterre, an ornamental garden with paths between the beds, reminiscent of the style developed in French gardens of the 16th and 17th centuries. In contrast, the entrance to the plantation, with its naturalized, free-flowing manner, is derived from the design of 18th century English gardens. Today, the property is the home of author Anne Butler and her daughter, Chase Poindexter, who offer guided tours of the house and have opened a popular bed-and-breakfast for overnight stays in cottages on the plantation grounds. The house is filled with oil portraits, Brussels carpet, gilded pier mirrors, Mallard poster beds, fine China and silverware, a French Pleyel grand piano and the area'f finest original Victorian formal parlor, its 12 matching pieces still in their original upholstery. The house is surrounded by formal gardens and extensive groves of live oak trees. The original detached brick kitchen dates to the 1790s and the garden gazebo dates to the 1850s. In 1860, Butler Greenwood had 96 slaves living in 18 dwellings and the estate was valued at $260,000. In that year, the plantation's 1,400 acres produced 130 bales of cotton, 2,000 bushels of corn, 175 hogsheads of sugar and more than 10,000 gallons of molasses. It is interesting to listen to the Butlers' description of how southern women managed great southern plantations during the antebellum era. Butler Greenwood was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. There are several outstanding plantations in the St. Francisville area. If you don't have the time to see all of them, be sure that Butler Greenwood is on your priority list. Just spending time with Anne Butler is worth the experience.
9. West Feliciana Historical Society Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 22 reviews
Reviewed By FLYBYU - Western Kentucky
Wow, I dropped in not expecting much and she loaded me up with info! Before we left, we were talking like neighbors across the back fence. Nice, beautiful building with knowledgeable people who are eager to talk about their historical town. Very engaging and very informative! A must-stop for your historical St. Francisville visit! Stop there first!
10. Hemingbough
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 22 reviews
Reviewed By BMarquette - Wakefield, LA
This place is nearly impossible to describe... the natural beauty surrounds structures, buildings, a gazebo and even an amphitheater all co-existing in beautiful harmony. For photographers, it's a must see in late March, early April when the azaleas explode in fantastic colors and surround the reflecting pond with the fountain... it's amazing. The peacocks that wander freely on the grounds are the perfect compliment. Hemingbough also has an amazing Bed and Breakfast with rooms furnished in Antebellum period pieces. You have to experience Hemingbough for yourself to truly appreciate it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
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