10 Cultural Tours in New Orleans That You Shouldn't Miss

Learn the history & architecture of the beautiful Garden District & Magazine Street. Your guide will take you to see residences of Anne Rice, Sandra Bullock, John Goodman, and more. Enjoy a visit to the Lafayette Cemetery & the Coven House of American Horror Story in a small group, walking tour.

Inclusions: Local guide

Exclusions: Gratuities, Transportation to/from attractions, Food and drinks

Put on your complimentary Mardi Gras beads and treat your kids to a fun, friendly walking tour through New Orleans oldest and most famous neighborhood! This 2-hour tour, designed for kids ages 5-12 and their families, meets in Jackson Square and explores such interesting New Orleans topics as Mardi Gras, voodoo, jazz, Creole cuisine, pirates, history, and more! We keep our group size at 12 or fewer guests(unless you are with a large group - we don't divide families into separate groups) to make it a fun, personal experience. The whole family will learn, have fun, try a few local snacks, do some simple hands-on activities, and end in the French Market in time for some midday shopping and eating!

Inclusions: Snacks, Local guide, Mardi Gras beads, second-line handkerchief, supplies for crafts, contact information for your guide

Exclusions: Drinks, Gratuities

Meet New Orleans' First Ladies of crime and deviance on the city's ONLY tour dedicated exclusively to the women who brought fear and mayhem to the Crescent City. You will meet near Jackson Square in the French Quarter for a 90 minute stroll, hearing the stories of New Orleans' most notorious women and learning about the ghosts that still haunt the streets of the 300 year old city.

Inclusions: Local guide, Professional guide

Exclusions: Gratuities

Join us for this small group tour (maximum of 15 guests) led by a world-renowned jazz musician. This truly is a one of a kind New Orleans experience! In order to maintain proper social distancing, your guide Kevin will ask that the group stay at least 6 feet from back while you join him on a "tumble" through the French Quarter while he plays the tunes that made New Orleans famous. Kevin will play New Orleans Jazz as our "tumble" stops in front of several of famous Jazz Clubs such as Preservation Hall, Fritzel's and others while keeping a social distance between you and the guests of the clubs. You won't want to miss this one! Sign up now in order to secure your space for your next visit to New Orleans.

Inclusions: Escorted by World Reknowned Jazz Musician, Minimum of Two Performance Stops, Jazz Tour Through the French Quarter

Exclusions: Gratuities (recommended), Transportation, Alcoholic Beverages (available for purchase), Cafe Au Lait and Beignets

Join us on a journey through three of New Orleans’ hallowed historical cemeteries. On this tour, your master storyteller will lead you through a maze of above-ground tombs in Masonic Cemetery #1, St. Patrick Cemetery #2 and the Katrina Memorial at Charity Hospital Cemetery. From burial customs and traditions, to the history of the Masons and Catholics in New Orleans, to the deaths of thousands buried in the graveyard behind the Katrina Memorial, this tour will leave you with feelings of trepidation and excitement, as well as with a reverence for our city’s incredible history. This is a narrated 1.5-hour walking tour with shuttle service to and from the French Quarter included.

Inclusions: Air-conditioned vehicle

Exclusions:

Combine the insatiable nightlife of the French Quarter with the storied past that hangs over our city. Our uniquely qualified, experienced guides will unearth for you what only the locals know but dare not speak. Hear tales of the broken-hearted and murderous, the forlorn and the strong on this 2-hour excursion through New Orleans' oldest neighborhood.  … And if you think vampires are merely the lore of superstitious imagination, think again. The vampiric culture, its customs, and strange potions await the brave and the foolish alike. We will take you on a journey back in time to experience the carnage of pirates. This is your chance to delve into the ancient stories that plague New Orleans to this day through the eyes of local concoctions. 21 and over only. Guided tour included. Drinks not included. Tour may be modified due to COVID-19.

Inclusions: Licensed, Local Tour Guide

Exclusions: Alcoholic Beverages

If you’re looking for something less familiar than “haunted history”—but just as entertaining—this daytime journey through the sex, class, and music of “Storyville”, our historic “vice district”, is just what the witch doctor ordered. Populated with legendary brothel owners, notorious criminals, crusaders for equality, and pioneering jazz virtuosos, this is a stroll through some of the most jaw-dropping history the state of Louisiana has to offer. Thanks to the miraculous work of city archivists, as well as historians like the one who curated our tour, Hottest Hell is now able to resurrect this forgotten neighborhood through a combination of historic photographs, visual aids, and narrative storytelling. Each tour guests receives their own “blue book” - modeled after the printed ‘guides to gals’ that ‘Tenderloin’ visitors could purchase - to help better see what was lost when Storyville was replaced. Our tours go out rain or shine. Intoxicated travelers will not be permitted.

Inclusions: Lincensed, insured, and bonded tour operator, Storyville walking tour with in-person guide, A 24-page visual aid

Exclusions: Alcoholic Beverages

Shrouded in mystery, driven by beating drums, and populated by some of the most fascinating—and virile—deities in modern theology, voodoo has been intriguing outsiders since it first arrived in New Orleans. Your tour begins on Basin Street, just steps away from the famous tomb which allegedly holds the remains of Marie Laveau herself. After a brief lesson on the differences between Haitian Voodoo, New Orleans Voodoo, Santeria, and Hoodoo, guests are led to Congo Square, site of Laveau’s countless ceremonies and rituals. From this sacred ground you’ll make your way to Laveau’s old home, the place she raised her children by day and practiced spiritual workings with a bigass snake around her neck by night. Zombie lore, pandemic history, and some old timey propaganda await you on Dauphine Street, where your guide will reveal the truth about voodoo dolls and traditional Afro-Caribbean medicine, all through the lens of ancestor worship and “magic” in America’s Most Haunted City.

Inclusions: Walking tour with in-person guide, Licensed, insured, and bonded tour operator

Exclusions: Alcoholic Beverages

We will explore the original suburbs of the old town… the hip Marigny, the funky Bywater and Bayou St John, the true gateway to New Orleans. We will ride through Tremé, the birthplace of Jazz, and so much more. Marc will cover the entire city, the American sector of uptown and cities now turned neighborhoods of Lafayette and the Irish Channel. Your guide knows all the right people and has both relationships and insight into this rich culture.

Inclusions: Air-conditioned vehicle

Exclusions:

Get the best of both worlds.  A rich 3 hour bicycle tour, provides you with the sights, sounds and early history of New Orleans. Starting on the Creole side of town in the French Quarter,  From there venture on to the American side of the city, known as the Garden District with it's beautiful 19th century opulent mansions and remarkable stories. This tour is for a maximum of 12 people.. On this tour visit: Banks of the Mississippi, French Quarter, Lafayette Cemetery #1, The Lower Garden District, The Mansions of the Garden District and more.

Inclusions: Local guide, Comfortable bike with basket, Bottled water

Exclusions: Hotel pickup and drop-off, Gratuities