Destrehan Plantation looks plain-Jane in comparison to the next stop – the candy-colored ‘steamboat Gothic-style’ San Francisco Plantation, 21 miles upriver. The 1700-acre site was purchased in 1830 by Edmond B Marmillion from Elisee Rillieux, a free person of color. With $100,000 and 100 slaves, Marmillion’s son, Valsin, built a grand sugar plantation. Today only the archi­tectural confection of the 1856 house and metal-domed cisterns remain. Inside, the faux marbling and hand-painting techniques attest to the fact that no expense was spared.