{"id":2198584,"date":"2025-12-14T13:48:23","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T13:48:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2198584"},"modified":"2025-12-14T13:48:23","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T13:48:23","slug":"visit-natchitoches-and-tour-steel-magnolias-locations-entertainment-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/visit-natchitoches-and-tour-steel-magnolias-locations-entertainment-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Visit Natchitoches and tour Steel Magnolias locations | Entertainment\/Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The film “Steel Magnolias” turned 36 years old this year. The Southern comedy that summoned laughter and tears was filmed in Natchitoches during the summer and fall of 1988. Tours of filming locations bring fans to the buildings used for exterior shots in the film.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Natchitoches, known for its Christmas Festival and Northwestern State University, entertained Hollywood royalty for a few months nearly four decades ago. The movie became a classic, especially among Southern women.<\/p>\n

One enchanting way to experience Natchitoches as the home base of “Steel Magnolias” is by staying in the Eatenton home, the Steel Magnolia House Bed and Breakfast, and taking a tour of the landmarks of the film.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The Steel Magnolias Bed and Breakfast in Natchitoches, Louisiana.<\/p>\n

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Not only is Natchitoches home to the film, but it is also home to playwright Robert Harling, who wrote the stage play “Steel Magnolias” after the death of his sister, Susan Harling Robinson. Many residents of the small town know Harling, who now owns Oaklawn Plantation, and the much-loved Harling family. During the tours, tour guides also share their experiences with the Harlings as well as their memories of filming.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Steel Magnolia House\u00a0<\/h3>\n

The Steel Magnolia House Bed and Breakfast<\/a>, on\u00a0320 Jefferson St., opened in 2014, offering a traditional bed-and-breakfast experience in the main home used in the film with a full breakfast and true Southern hospitality.<\/p>\n

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“The home is located on a portion of a land grant given by the Spanish Government to Athanese De Meziere prior to the completion of the Louisiana Purchase transaction,” steelmagnoliahouse.net<\/a> states. “The first mention of this home was found in the Courthouse records in 1841 but it was built prior to this date.”<\/p>\n

Five rooms are available to rent, each named after one of the characters in the film. Prices vary according to season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Front porch walking tour<\/h3>\n

There are multiple ways to experience the “Steel Magnolias” locations in Natchitoches\u00a0and walk in the footsteps of the beloved actresses in the film, including Olympia Dukakis, Sally Field, Darryl Hannah, Shirley MacLaine, Dolly Parton and Julia Roberts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the holidays, the Natchitoches Historic Foundation<\/a> puts on front porch walking tours of the “Steel Magnolia” filming locations on\u00a0the third Thursday of December. The cost is $30 for adults. Children 12 and under are free.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The tour begins at The Historic Cunningham Law Office on 550 Second St. and ends at the Prud\u2019homme-Roquier House on 446 Rue Jefferson. The entire tour is approximately one and one-half miles and takes about two hours, while being mostly outdoors.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Newlyweds Shelby and Jackson (played by Julia Roberts and Dylan McDermott) are surrounded by family and friends as they leave for their honeymoon in the Natchitoches-shot film ‘Steel Magnolias.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The 6 p.m. tour is divided into three staggered groups limited to 40 persons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ticket holders meet at the historic Cunningham Law Office for light refreshments and then embark on a guided walking tour through Natchitoches’ National Landmark District, stopping at properties and sites featured in the movie “Steel Magnolias.” The tour makes various stops at select properties where ticket holders enjoy movie trivia, Christmas decorations and history.<\/p>\n

A do-it-yourself tour\u00a0<\/h3>\n

If traveling to Natchitoches during Christmas isn’t possible, another walking tour, offered by the Natchitoches Visitor’s Bureau<\/a>, is available year-round, but it is self-guided.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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This tour is free, but for more do-it-yourself types who want to go on an adventure of their own with a map and an itinerary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Private car tour<\/h3>\n

One more option is the private car tour with\u00a0Tour Natchitoches with Barbara<\/a>. Jerry Dawson is the owner of this tour company, and she is a member of the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches.<\/p>\n

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A group of childhood friends and their moms\u00a0\u2014 from left to right Sandi Stahl, Janet Robison, Genny Chamblee, Phylis Odum, Martha Liston, Juanita Parkinson and Alyson land \u2014 traveled from Mississippi to Natchitoches for the Steel Magnolias tour.<\/p>\n

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Dawson or her guides meet their visitors and jump in a car, van or bus with them for a private tour while driving through the city. The car ride stops at the sites for pictures and history. If someone is staying at the Steel Magnolias Bed and Breakfast, Tour Natchitoches with Barbara can give a tour of the inside of the home.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Dawson, who was an extra in the film, says she gets people from all over who love the movie and want to be up close and personal with the Natchitoches locations. She said many people watch the movie repeatedly with their mothers, aunts, sisters and friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The private car tour can take up to three hours and costs $45 per carload for a minimum of two hours. Prices may change according to season or size of group.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Where to eat\u00a0<\/h3>\n

While in Natchitoches, dine at Merci Beaucoup Restaurant, 127 Church St., for some delicious Louisiana cuisine in historic downtown. Another restaurant that locals say can’t be missed is Lasyone’s Meat Pie Restaurant, 622 Second St., the home of the famous Natchitoches meat pies and many other Southern comfort dishes.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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After a tour of homes, churches and other locations from “Steel Magnolias,” soak up the history of Louisiana’s oldest European settlement and bask in the beauty of the Cane River.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The film “Steel Magnolias” turned 36 years old this year. The Southern comedy that summoned laughter and tears was filmed in Natchitoches during the summer and fall of 1988. Tours of filming locations bring fans to the buildings used for exterior shots in the film.\u00a0 Natchitoches, known for its Christmas Festival and Northwestern State University, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2198585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2198584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Visit-Natchitoches-and-tour-Steel-Magnolias-locations-EntertainmentLife.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2198584"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2198586,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2198584\/revisions\/2198586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2198585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2198584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2198584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2198584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}