Things to do in New Orleans
French Quarter Ghost Tour27 optionsAirboat New Orleans14 optionsGhost Tour New Orleans51 optionsNew Orleans Air Boat Ride32 optionsPlantations in New Orleans39 optionsOak Alley Plantation Tours21 optionsFood Tour New Orleans39 optionsNew Orleans Garden District Walking Tour29 optionsBus Tour New Orleans6 optionsCity Tour New Orleans10 optionsNew Orleans Cooking Tour6 optionsHaunted Bar Crawl New Orleans5 options
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Destrehan Plantation: Haunted Night Tour & Voodoo HistoryYou get picked up from the French Quarter and driven to Destrehan Plantation for an after-dark tour led by a historian who covers the 1811 slave revolt, the diverse people who built the plantation, and the real history of Voodoo in Louisiana. The tour includes transportation both ways and live commentary throughout the evening.Is it for me?Book this if you want to understand Louisiana's actual history—slavery, resistance, and spiritual culture—rather than a sanitized version, and you'd rather not arrange your own transport out to the plantation or navigate the stories alone.
New Orleans to MSY Airport: Private Transfer with Professional DriverA driver meets you at your hotel and takes you directly to MSY with no extra stops or negotiations. You pay a fixed price per person upfront, choose your vehicle size based on your group, and arrive at the airport without the stress of arranging a taxi or waiting for a shuttle. The drive time varies with traffic, but the route and timing are handled for you.Is it for me?Right for travelers leaving New Orleans without a rental car who want a fixed price and no taxi negotiation. Expect the drive time to vary with traffic — that's why you book ahead instead of waiting at the curb.
New Orleans: Audubon Zoo Ticket & Louisiana Swamp TrailsYou’ll wander among 1,700 animals at Audubon Zoo in New Orleans—from watching orangutan babies play in dappled light to pausing by a silent white alligator in the Louisiana Swamp. Feed goats at Watoto Farm or climb Monkey Hill for city views. Every corner brings something new—a mix of laughter, curiosity, and those quieter moments you remember later.
New Orleans VIP Bar and Club Crawl: Skip Lines, Free DrinksA VIP bar and club crawl in New Orleans takes you through the city's best nightlife venues with a professional guide, skipping lineups at every stop. Free drinks and drink specials are included throughout the evening, plus a Flip Cup tournament with other crawlers at the start. You show up; the guide handles the rest — routing, entry, timing and the party games that get the group moving.Is it for me?You get a full night of New Orleans nightlife without planning any of it — the guide's VIP access and knowledge of which venues are actually worth your time is what turns a bar crawl into a real night instead of a tourist loop.
Whitney Plantation Tour from New Orleans with 4 PlantationsYou get picked up from your New Orleans hotel in a comfortable van, visit Whitney Plantation Museum for 2.5 hours of in-depth history told from the perspective of enslaved people, then tour Laura, St. Joseph, and Oak Alley plantations across the day. Water and air conditioning are included, and the return drive crosses Lake Pontchartrain before dropping you back at your hotel around evening.Is it for me?Book this if you want to understand Louisiana plantation history beyond the surface—Whitney's focus on the lives of enslaved people sets it apart—and you'd rather not arrange four separate visits, tickets, and navigation yourself. The fixed itinerary and included transport mean you move through the day without logistics getting in the way.
New Orleans Haunted Pub Crawl: 4 bars & ghost storiesYou'll walk four stops through the French Quarter's oldest bars while a guide tells you the real history of Marie Laveau, pirates, and the city's most notorious figures. Drinks are on you, the stories are included, and you can carry your glass as you move—a format that only works in New Orleans. Book ahead; this one fills up fast.Is it for me?Book this if you want the French Quarter's real history—the scandals, the figures, the weight of it—told by someone who knows it, and you're comfortable buying your own drinks as you go. The open container setup and the guide's knowledge are what make the difference.
Food Tour New Orleans Garden District: 9 People or LessYou walk five restaurants on Magazine Street in the Garden District, eating at each one while a guide explains the difference between Creole and Cajun cooking and why this neighborhood's food reflects the city itself. All food, water and tips are included, and the group stays small enough that you're not herded. Plan for a full meal's worth of eating and walking — that is what makes it a real introduction to how New Orleans actually eats.Is it for me?Right for travelers who want to eat like a local without arranging five different reservations or figuring out which restaurants matter — the guide and the fixed route handle that. The group size means you move at a pace where you can actually taste and ask questions, not just swallow and move on.
New Orleans Cooking Class and Cocktail Walking TourA 4-hour activity in New Orleans combining a cooking demonstration at the New Orleans School of Cooking with a guided cocktail walking tour through the French Quarter. You watch a professional chef prepare jambalaya, gumbo and pralines, sample the dishes with coffee and beer, then walk to historic bars to learn the origins of the Sazerac and other classics while sipping two included drinks. Minimum age is 21; the cooking class is demonstration only, not hands-on.Is it for me?This works well for small groups or friends who want to understand New Orleans food and drink culture in one afternoon without splitting the day between separate activities. The fixed schedule—cooking class first, then cocktails—keeps everything connected, and the two included drinks mean you're not negotiating prices at each bar.
Oak Alley & Whitney Plantation Tour: 300-Year Oak AlleyYou’ll stand beneath centuries-old oaks at Oak Alley Plantation and then wander Whitney Plantation’s powerful exhibits at your own pace with an audio guide. Expect moments of quiet reflection among preserved cabins and memorials before returning to New Orleans by air-conditioned transport — it’s a day that stays with you long after you leave.
New Orleans Hotel & Cruise Port to MSY Airport TransferYou're met by name in your hotel lobby or at the cruise port, driven in a sanitized private SUV to MSY Airport, and dropped at the terminal — no shared rides, no navigating traffic yourself. The 30-year track record and new fleet mean the transfer is the reliable part of your trip, not the part you worry about.Is it for me?Book this if you want to skip the taxi line, the rental car counter, and the stress of driving in unfamiliar traffic before your flight — the fixed pickup and private route mean you leave when you're ready and arrive at the terminal without negotiating the ride.
New Orleans Bayou Boat Tour: Alligators & Levee ViewsYou explore Bayou Bienvenue's wildlife and levee structures from a brand new boat with a licensed captain, fifteen minutes from downtown. Onboard restrooms and a short duration mean you're not trading half your day for the experience. Bring a beverage or buy one at the marina before departure.Is it for me?Right choice if you want bayou wildlife and levee views without losing half your day to shuttle vans and long drives. Fifteen minutes from the city means more time actually on the water, and onboard restrooms remove one more thing to worry about.
New Orleans Witches Coven Walking Tour: Witchcraft HistoryThe Witches Coven Walking Tour traces ancestral witchcraft through New Orleans' Garden District, where you walk past the grand homes and burial grounds of real practitioners who shaped the city's oldest Uptown families. A licensed guide descended from hundreds of years of New Orleanians leads the two-hour route through Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 and the neighborhood's opulent architecture, separating documented craft history from the fictional accounts that dominate the city's supernatural reputation. The tour runs rain or shine and suits all fitness levels, though uneven terrain makes it unsuitable for those with mobility concerns.Is it for me?The guide speaks English and is a descendant of the witches and families whose stories shape the tour, so the commentary flows from lived family history rather than research alone—this works best for travelers who want the real accounts behind New Orleans' supernatural reputation, not the fictional versions.
New Orleans: Manchac Swamp Boat Tour on Private RefugeYou’ll glide through Manchac Swamp on a quiet boat with a local guide who knows every twist of these waters. Watch wild alligators come right up close, listen to Cajun stories, and feel the hush of real Louisiana wetlands—no crowds or other boats breaking the spell.
New Orleans: Storyville Museum Admission & Self-Guided TourYou’ll step into New Orleans’ infamous Storyville district and wander through immersive exhibits where jazz music spills from hidden corners and real-life stories line the walls. Read letters from brothel workers, touch history in recreated rooms, and feel the city’s pulse beneath your feet—all at your own pace with general admission included.
New Orleans: Storyville & Bourbon Street History TourYou walk 2 hours through the French Quarter starting at Jackson Square, stopping twice for drinks at actual bars, and learning how sex work shaped New Orleans from its founding through the Civil War and into Storyville. The guide is a professional historian of the city, not a performer, and the tour ends in front of a real brothel in the neighborhood that gave the industry its name.Is it for me?Right for anyone 21 and older who wants the real history of how women shaped New Orleans, told by someone who knows the streets and the stories—not a sanitized museum version, but the actual places where it happened.
New Orleans Garden District: Anne Rice House & Cemetery Walking TourYou walk through New Orleans' Garden District with a local guide, passing the homes of Anne Rice, Sandra Bullock, and other notable residents while learning about the neighborhood's history as the American Sector. The tour includes exterior views of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 and the Coven House from American Horror Story, all in a small group over roughly two hours with no separate transportation needed.Is it for me?Book this if you want the Garden District's architecture and celebrity homes explained by someone who knows the neighborhood, without spending half the day or figuring out which houses matter—the guide and the small group size handle both.
New Orleans Jazz Walking Tour: Frenchmen Street & Congo SquareYou walk four key sites — Louis Armstrong Park, the Old U.S. Mint jazz museum, Congo Square in Treme, and live music on Frenchmen Street — guided by a native New Orleans musician or cultural historian who explains the actual history instead of the tourist version. Museum entry and a small-group format are included, and the tour wraps before evening so you can catch dinner in the neighborhood.Is it for me?Book this if you want to understand jazz history from people who actually lived it, not from a guide reading facts — the small-group format and native guides are what make the difference between a walking tour and an education.
Metairie Cemetery New Orleans: Historic Monuments & Graves TourYou walk 127 acres of Metairie Cemetery with a licensed guide who shares the stories of governors, mayors, Carnival royalty, and musicians buried there. The tour is run by Save Our Cemeteries, the nonprofit official operator, and takes two hours. Wheelchair accessible, no prior knowledge needed, and your ticket supports cemetery restoration work.Is it for me?Right for anyone wanting to understand New Orleans through its history and the people who shaped it, without arranging transport or a separate guide — the official operator and fixed two-hour format handle both.
New Orleans: Haunted French Quarter Walking Tour & Ghost StoriesYou walk through the French Quarter for two hours with a local guide who shares their favorite ghost stories from Jackson Square to LaLaurie Mansion, with a drink-and-restroom break halfway through. The tour covers why New Orleans is considered America's most haunted city, and you leave with the stories that locals actually tell.Is it for me?Book this if you want the real stories behind New Orleans' haunted reputation without having to research them yourself — a local guide who knows which locations matter and what actually happened in them is what makes the difference between a walk and an experience that stays with you.
New Orleans: Treme Second Line Parade & Brass Band Walking TourYou walk alongside a live brass band and dancers through Treme's streets on a 2.5-hour Second Line parade tour with guide King Hollis Burton. You'll learn the history of African American fraternal societies and Social Aid & Pleasure Clubs while experiencing the music and movement firsthand. Bottled water is provided, and the route varies based on where the parade is that day, so you see the neighborhood as it actually celebrates.Is it for me?This is for anyone who wants to understand New Orleans culture by being inside it rather than watching from the sidelines—the walking pace and live parade format mean you're moving with the community, not standing still taking photos.
