New Orleans is America’s happiest party and its deepest story: three centuries of French, Spanish, African and American joy poured into one crescent city of jazz, Creole food and iron balconies. This guide gathers the best of New Orleans, with the places and tours our readers love most.
The French Quarter and Jackson Square
Start where the city starts: the French Quarter, three centuries of joy in one neighborhood, beating around Jackson Square. Walk it properly on the French Quarter walking tour — small groups, real stories, hidden courtyards.
Where jazz was born
Louis Armstrong Park and Congo Square are where jazz was born; the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park keeps it alive with free live jazz every week. Feel the music from the water aboard the Steamboat Natchez jazz cruise.
The Garden District and the St. Charles streetcar
Ride the St. Charles Streetcar — America’s oldest rolling landmark — past the stately mansions and oak-lined streets of the Garden District. The streetcar is the tour, the view and the joyride in one.
Parks: City Park, Audubon and the riverfront
City Park spreads 1,300 acres of green magic under ancient oaks; Audubon Park is Uptown’s leafy playground; and Woldenberg Riverfront Park is the Mississippi’s front row. End the day with breezes and sunsets on the Lakefront of Lake Pontchartrain.
Swamps and plantations
The bayou is calling: the Mancha Swamp tour is the most beautiful swamp run of them all, the airboat swamp tour is pure wildlife thrill, and the Oak Alley small-group tour walks the most famous oak avenue in America.
Ghosts, voodoo and the haunted night
After dark, the Quarter changes key: the Ghosts & Voodoo tour is the city’s number-one night walk, and the 10-in-1 haunted mansion tour brings ten attractions of chills under one roof at the Mortuary.
Food: Creole, Cajun and the Treme
Taste it all on the French Quarter food tour of Creole and Cajun classics, the Treme food and music tour through America’s oldest African-American neighborhood, and the hands-on Creole cooking class — jambalaya and bananas Foster, aprons on.
Planning your days? Our New Orleans itineraries — from one perfect day to five — map out the Quarter, the swamps and the music hour by hour. And subscribe to the Happy City News newsletter for New Orleans’ best events, every week.
