Take a tour to see New Orleans’s points of interest. Feed an alligator on a swamp tour, see the bayou, hear why the city has above-ground cemeteries, visit plantations along the Mississippi, or see the magnificent homes and gardens in the Garden District. Heritage tours offer insight into the city’s heritage and blend of cultures that make it unique among American cities.

Walking Tours in the French Quarter

Get your exercise and learn about the Quarter at the same time. Walking tours are a great way to see this area. Try the Ghost Tour, which begins on St. Philip Street, said to be the most haunted street in the city. Or, you can go on the Southern Comfort Cocktail tour to restaurants and bars to hear about their histories and stories about the drinks created there, including the Southern Comfort cocktail. Visitors will learn the difference between Creole and Cajun on a culinary tour through the Quarter. Historical tours take you through amazing houses, historically important buildings, and museums in the Quarter. And Park Rangers also will walk you through all the important sites and places in the Quarter.

A carriage ride also gives you a great view of the French Quarter and its history. As the mule trots along, you’ll hear the history and stories from the entertainer who’s also the driver. The latest kind of tour is by Segway. You can ride around on a fun and unusual touring vehicle.

See the Sights

Let the bus driver entertain you with stories combining fiction and reality with a dose of theatrics as you tour the city sites. Walk out onto the playing field on the Louisiana Superdome tour, or just ride the streetcar down St. Charles Avenue. Purchase a day ticket so you can get off and on as you like. Take a cruise to see the riverfront on the Natchez Steamboat or on the Cajun Queen Riverboat. And don’t forget the ever popular voodoo-cemetery daytime tours into legendary St. Louis Cemetery #1, oldest City of the Dead. Note this is a daytime tour; you are discouraged from going into the cemetery after dark.

Outside the City

Dozens of tours are available that will show you the bigger picture of this Louisiana area. You can tour lovely plantations and learn just what life was like along the Mississippi 200 years ago. You’ll be guided through outbuildings, slave cabins, and schoolrooms and see the original furnishings and household articles while you learn about all the plantation’s owners, inhabitants, and history. Ride the boats into the swamps to see alligators, the mysterious Indian burial mound, and a Cajun cemetery. Bayou tours introduce visitors to the wild life and plant life of this ecosystem. Tours in Spanish, Italian, French, and other languages are offered for the many foreign visitors to New Orleans.

Open House to History

The Beauregard-Keyes House and Gallier House in the French Quarter are open to visitors. Some Garden District and French Quarter homes are open for tours during special events or holidays. Privately-owned buildings and homes open their doors to visitors too, offering views into their holiday decorating, parties, or of times past.