Top Things to do in Louisiana
Countries
Things to do in Louisiana, United States: The Best Literary, Art & Music Tours
Louisiana tourism is centered on New Orleans and the North Shore region in the southeastern corner of the state near the Florida border. West of New Orleans is the Great River Road, with the I-10 running to the Mississippi River port capital city of Baton Rogue. West of New Orleans along the Gulf of Mexico, the I-10 cuts through Lafayette and Lake Charles on its way past Abbeville to Texas. Central Louisiana is Lake Country, and home to cities like Alexandria and Natchitoches. In northern Louisiana, the I-20 runs west from Monroe to Bossier City, Shreveport, and East Texas. Unless Louisiana is very familiar and frequent territory, New Orleans will be the top choice for a Louisiana vacation. Though Mardi Gras, music, and the winning ways of the New Orleans Saints football team get the spotlight, there is much more to explore in New Orleans. Within New Orleans choose among Bourbon Street, Royal Street, the Upper and Lower French Quarters, the Warehouse and Central Business District, the Garden District and Uptown, and Mid-City. With street car lines linking the French Quarter to the Garden District, Convention Center, and everywhere else, it is easy for the whole family to get around. If long walks are your exercise, explore the scenic city on foot. An easy two-hour drive from New Orleans brings you to Baton Rogue, Natchitoches and Lake Country. Explore old Beauregard Town in downtown Baton Rogue, the historic homes of the Baton Rogue Garden District, and tour one or several working plantations. Walk the 33-block Historic Landmark District and tour the historic homes and churches of Natchitoches. Relive Spanish Empire history in Louisiana at Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site. Heading west from New Orleans is Cajun Country and Lafayette with its mix of French, French Canadian (Acadian), Spanish, and Caribbean cultures. Besides Cajun and Creole cookery, explore the Civil War heritage at the Lafayette Museum. Stop by Abbeville to view the courthouse designed by Hayes Town, St. Mary Magdalen Church, and have a seafood meal. With 75 annual festivals Lake Charles is Louisiana's Festival City, and home to the Creole Nature Trail Scenic Byway. Shreveport and Bossier City in northwest Louisiana are casino and entertainment centers. Shreveport is renowned for hosting the Louisiana State Fair in the fall. Plus floral centers, art galleries, and museums. Monroe in the northeast also has notable gardens.
Restaurants in Louisiana
1. New Orleans VIP Jazz Club Crawl
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 7 reviews
Join the leader of one of New Orleans' best-known bands for a behind-the-scenes musical experience in the Big Easy. You'll venture to three different jazz clubs in the French Quarter and be treated to premier seats while your host plays during live shows. Meet local band members and sip a cocktail at each venue during this 3-hour VIP experience.
Inclusions: Cocktail included at each club, All taxes and gratuities
Exclusions: Additional alcoholic beverages can be purchased
Reviewed By 765kieraa
Mary Dugan was our guide and we loved it! She was so informative and got everyone engaged and captivated! She really need her stuff and did a great job explaining everything!!
2. French Quarter Walking Tour: LGBTQ History, Literary History, and Voodoo
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
Because I am a long-term resident of the French Quarter, i can afford guests an insider's perspective of this unique neighborhood. My goal is to customize the tour according to guest's interests. Unlike other tours, this one goes beyond the tourist veneer and provides guests an authentic experience.
Inclusions: Architecture, sites of historical interest, ethnography
Exclusions:
3. Private New Orleans Garden District, Irish Channel, & Magazine Street Tour
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 1 reviews
This tour experience will complete our magical city in an epic way. Certainly younger than the Creole French Quarter, we will journey to the area of town formerly known as Lafayette – comprised of the working class neighborhood of the Irish Channel and aristocratic Garden District, home to beautiful houses made more famous by Anne Rice’s novel “Interview With A Vampire
Inclusions: In-person guide
Exclusions:
Reviewed By tammys484
Marc was excellent! He knows everything about New Orleans and can take you places that you would never get to see on a regular tour. He was very accommodating and flexible. We will look him up when we come back.
4. New Orleans Historical Literary Tour: Books and Bohemians
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 2 reviews
Five writers have passed through New Orleans on their way to the Nobel Prize in Literature. Dozens more who came this way have been awarded Pulitzers, National Book Awards and O. Henry Prizes. Something happens to writers in New Orleans that stays with them wherever they roam. During our Books and Bohemians Literary Walking Tour you will visit one of only three literary landmark hotels in America. William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams and Ernest Hemingway stayed there often. Truman Capote said he was born there. (He wasn’t.) We’ll visit the authors’ homes and favorite haunts. We’ll immerse ourselves in the vibrant culture of Dixie Bohemia, La Vie Bohéme, in the 1920’s. If you couldn’t join the Lost Generation in Paris, you came to Paris on The Mississippi. And we’ll shine the spotlight on New Orleans’ women, African American and contemporary writers. A relaxed stroll through the French Quarter with time for a cocktail or two (Drinks NOT included).
Inclusions: Licensed New Orleans Tour Guide
Exclusions:
Reviewed By MagalyGSanchez
Graziella was a very nice and knowledgeable tour guide. She pointed out many details about the architecture of the French Quarter that we never would have even noticed even after our third time visiting the city. She knew a lot of the history and culture and she was able to convey all this information in spanish for my in laws. One thing that I would suggest as an improvement, would be to carry a small microphone or something to amplify the voice. The streets of French Quarter as very noisy and I would hate to miss any information!
5. New Orleans VIP Jazz Experience: Social Distancing Series
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 7 reviews
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
Reviewed By 765kieraa
Mary Dugan was our guide and we loved it! She was so informative and got everyone engaged and captivated! She really need her stuff and did a great job explaining everything!!
6. New Orleans: Mardi Gras World and Seven Three Distilling Company Tour
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 2 reviews
Mardi Gras Mambo Tours (MGMT) has captured the essence of what makes NOLA enchanted... it's mystic art, cuisine and of course spirits. MGMT brings brands together by creating exclusive experiences. We specialize in branding and hosting the most unique events New Orleans has to offer. This is an open bar cocktail tour but the kiddos are welcomed. Must be 21 to drink. Jump on board as we visit Mardi Gras World & Seven Three Distilling. Shuttle services are provided. Space is limited so Book Now!
Inclusions: Alcoholic Beverages, Air-conditioned vehicle, Private Room, Hurricanes and King Cake at Mardi Gras World, Tour and Open Bar at Seven Three Distilling Company, Mask-making, Dinner
Exclusions:
Reviewed By royshandas
It was an ALL-INCLUSIVE tour! Luxury bus, OPEN BAR at every stop (yep..every stop), food...like real New Orleans food at every stop, and brass band/ Carnival Indian/ unabashed burlesque show were a big surprise. It's details like serving us dinner on china not plastic in a historic mansion/courtyard that added to this classy yet "drop it like it's hot" [#JuvenileCashMoney] fun time we had. My friend's 44th birthday was definitely one to remember...thanks #MGMBtours. We should have done the 3 stop tour instead of 2 stop if I has known it would be this much fun.
7. New Orleans Mafia, Murder, Madames and All That Jazz Historical Tour
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 26 reviews
For the past 300 years New Orleans has hung precariously to the lower lip of a country that doesn’t know quite what to make of her. At best, New Orleans is called “different”. As often as not, the difference is characterized in travel memoirs as “decadence”. Decadent: corrupt, degenerate, depraved, dissipated, dissolute, immoral, sinful, unprincipled. On this two hour walking tour of the French Quarter you will meet the rogues and roués, the mobsters and madams: Silver Dollar Sam, Diamond Jim, Emma Johnson and her House of All Nations, Norma Wallace and, of course, Bourbon Street. In our mind’s eye we’ll tour down the line of Storyville, the legendary and notorious tenderloin district that beckoned all comers between 1898 and 1917. We’ll meet the King Fish, Gov. Huey Long, who fathered modern Louisiana through patronage and payoffs. He might have become President — if he hadn’t be assassinated. You must be at least 21 years old to take this tour. Adult content!
Inclusions: Licensed New Orleans Tour Guide
Exclusions:
Reviewed By MagalyGSanchez
Graziella was a very nice and knowledgeable tour guide. She pointed out many details about the architecture of the French Quarter that we never would have even noticed even after our third time visiting the city. She knew a lot of the history and culture and she was able to convey all this information in spanish for my in laws. One thing that I would suggest as an improvement, would be to carry a small microphone or something to amplify the voice. The streets of French Quarter as very noisy and I would hate to miss any information!
8. Total New Orleans Tour: Food, Cocktails & Jazz
Overall Ratings
4.9 based on 17 reviews
Experience everything that ‘The Big Easy’ has to offer on this unique total day tour. Dig into the delicious flavors that make New Orleans one of the USA’s top foodie destinations, enjoy some classy cocktails in the famous French Quarter and hear all about the origins of jazz before visiting a few of our favorite local jazz clubs. By the end of this all-encompassing tour, you’ll be hooked on gin and jazz and a bona fide expert on North America’s Mardi Gras city! This tour is a combination of three of our most popular tours, the New Orleans Food Tour, the New Orleans Cocktail Tour and the New Orleans Jazz Tour
Inclusions: Local English-speaking guide, Food samples, Five cocktail samples, Small snack, Food options and portion sizes vary — the total amount of food included will be equal to a full meal. Cocktail portions vary throughout the tour., Streetcar ticket
Exclusions: Additional drinks, food, Tips/gratuities for your guide and the musicians
Reviewed By vickiaW4866LI
Great personalized tour by a knowledgeable, professional, friendly guide, Mike. We toured the beach area, had a nice cup of coffee, drove around town, and visited the Marine Mammal Rescue Center. Would recommend!
9. New Orleans Jazz Tour with Live Music and a Beer
Overall Ratings
4.8 based on 123 reviews
Few cities rival New Orleans’ nightlife thanks to its thrilling music scene. From authentic dixieland to big brass and every other jazz style in between, live music options are endless in the city that gave birth to the coolest genre in music. Hear about the origins and culture of jazz before making your way to the 19th century neighborhood that boasts the best music and bars in town. We’ll visit a few of our favorite local clubs, enjoy a beer and discover the talents of some of the city’s best local musicians. There’s nothing quite like a night out in ‘The Big Easy.’
Inclusions: Local English-speaking guide, One beer
Exclusions: Additional drinks, Food, Souvenirs, Tips/gratuities for your guide and the musicians
Reviewed By robert b
Holly was so loved her tour she knows the history and the food loved the boudin the gumbo and potato salad wow!
10. New Orleans Drink and Music Tour: From Cocktails to Jazz
Overall Ratings
4.8 based on 29 reviews
Explore New Orleans’ jazz and cocktail scenes on fun and far-reaching afternoon tour. With a local guide leading the way, learn about jazz’s origins and explore musical landmarks like Marginy and Louis Armstrong Park. Escape the beaten path in the French Quarter and visit a legendary 18th-century haunt. Enjoy a beer and five cocktail samples.
Inclusions: Local English-speaking guide, Five cocktail sample, Small snack, One beer
Exclusions: Additional drinks, food, Tips/gratuities for your guide and the musicians
Reviewed By robert b
Holly was so loved her tour she knows the history and the food loved the boudin the gumbo and potato salad wow!
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