shadows on the teche

Nicely designed house on the banks of the Bayou Teche, former plantation house now reduced to a single block. Still retains it's original furnishings, it has stairs, so be warned. Interesting story of the family who;s house it was, lot's of famous guests stayed there.

A bit off the main roads to New Iberia, it's worth the trip for those who want to find the rare antebellum plantation home that has not been redesigned and still has it's original furnishings. All rooms are still accessed by having to go outdoors, which was an old design for hot/humid climates before electricity. The tour starts in the museum across the street with an introductory film.

Walking tour with stairs... relatively small house but a great tour that includes the house, grounds, cemetery and the bayou in the backyard

This was the only plantation tour on our recent LA road trip, but it was a good one. We kind of stumbled upon it while driving through New Iberia, but it was such a nice way to spend a couple of hours and learn much about some local families. The current grounds seem relatively small, but impressive none the less. Of course it would have been great to see it in its heyday. Our young and enthusiastic guide, Katie did a terrific job of telling us about the families, furniture and photos in the house. The setting is beautiful, and the name comes from the live oaks that shade the property in late afternoon. We loved it.

Shadows sits on Bayou Teche in downtown New Iberia. The home and gardens are beautiful. Make sure you see the video in the visitors center.

If your in the area and have time its definitely worth a stop. Building is well preserved/restored like everyone says. Check the website for tour times and check out the inside of the house. Also if in the area pass by the house at night, very beautiful when at night when they light it up.

Think about it----building a house like this on the banks of the bayou---making all of the bricks on-site and the docent was a living history book of times gone by. She just added to the flavor of the tour and it felt like you had just been transported back in time. If you are in the area, make it a point to take the tour (right across the street from the museum)---what an experience.

Excellent tour guide who was born and raised in New Iberia - when asked if she was born in Louisiana she said I was born here and intend to die here. This is my home She did a great tour and seemed very proud of the home and history They also have several graves on the property from family descendants.

When we went to visit Shadows on the Teche there was an arts and crafts fair in the garden, which was an added bonus.The people in charge of the organisation were very friendly and the guided tour was informative and interesting.The house still has some authentic furniture.Worth a visit.

I'd been to Shadows a couple times before 15-20 years ago, but clearly a lot of new research utilizing the trunksful of primary historical letters and records from the family that lived in the home for 4 generations painted a very different view of the home and its occupants. Our tour guide Elaine (Helaine?) was very knowledgeable and wove stories of the family with information about the history of the surrounding community over the course of over 150 years. Particularly interesting to discover that the man who built the home never lived there (he died before moving in), and his wife raised many children while taking on the duties of running a large sugar cane plantation in pre-Civil war Louisiana. Ground are also pretty, sitting right on the Bayou Teche, which I never knew meant "Snake River". Elaine told us to enjoy the grounds, but not to take pictures in a certain spot, because snakes (water moccasins!) liked to keep cool under the tree roots. Steered clear. Note -- the steps to the second floor of the house are steep and narrow, and the tour meets at the visitor's center across the street, then visitors walk a short distance to get to the entrance to the house.

Well restored/preserved old home. Gardens are very nice. Most have been something when it was new. Interesting story. Watch out for snakes. We only saw a tiny one, but my wife pooped herself when she saw it.

I am in Louisiana for a conference and this was included in a field trip. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful home and learning about the history. The people working in the information center were wonderful - they did a great job with our large group.

The house was build by a family who made sugar from sugarcane. You can see sugar cane all over the parish. The tour is great and the people are very friendly. There is always something blooming in the garden! The pictures of the outside feel as if you have stepped back in time!

Great to see how people use to live and most of all the history they have preserved. The ground are beautiful.

All the history and facts were so interesting. I learned a lot of little known facts about Louisiana.