Historic New Orleans

French Quarter Walking Tour

French Quarter Fountain

Discover the mystery and magic of the Creole people that made the French Quarter their own. 

New Orleans is a rich city. Through history, architecture, art and scenic sights, New Orleans is a vacation treasure trove just waiting to be explored!

New Orleans Museums

A good place to begin any visit to New Orleans is at the Historic New Orleans Collection, a museum with exhibitions, collections, tours and a gift shop, covering history, art and culture in New Orleans. Located in the French Quarter, this museum and estate is personal collection of General and Mrs. Leila Kemper Williams who chose to share their items with the public. The Williams Residence is open to tour, and is furnished to reflect the style of the early 1900s. There is a white-on-white color scheme and lots of Colonial Williamsburg-style furnishings, and the entire residence is adorned with Mrs. William's favorite pieces, including needlework, tea caddies, porcelain pieces and watercolor paintings. There are docent-guided tours of the permanent exhibitions like the Louisiana History Galleries, the Laura Nelson Collection and William Aiken Walker's paintings from the Monroe-Green collection. There are also many changing exhibits on display both at the main museum and at the Williams Research Center, which is also open to the public. The Williams Research Center, located in the 1915 Beaux Arts building, features 35,000 library items, 300,000 visual pieces and two miles of shelves containing manuscripts and documents.

New Orleans Tours

After learning about the history of New Orleans at the Historic Collection, a great way to get out and reinforce some of that knowledge is through a New Orleans city tour. There are many tour options that depart from meeting spots near the Historic Collection.

• The Super City Tour is an excellent choice for New Orleans first-timers, as it features a narrated motorcoach tour of all of the city's most famous areas, like the French Quarter, Jackson Square, St. Louis Cemetery #3, the Garden District, Bayou St. John and Audubon Park. This tour gives a great overview of the city, and encompasses history, architecture and New Orleans' fascinating neighborhoods.

• The Cemetery and Gris Gris Walking Tour takes visitors to see St. Louis Cemetery #1, the most haunted burial site in New Orleans and possibly in the whole nation. Visitors get to see the tomb of the "Voodoo Queen" and hear lots of fascinating stories and legends. The 2-hour tour also features Armstrong Park and Congo Square.

• One particularly scenic tour is The Garden District Walking Tour, which includes transportation to the Garden District, and then a narrated walking tour of one of the city's most beautiful and inspiring sections. This tour includes Lafayette Cemetery, the Toby Corner house where Jefferson Davis died, lots of stories about Anne Rice, the local author, and also a refreshing beverage at a local caf'.

• If you love scenery, then another tour you won't want to miss is the Oak Alley Plantation Tour, a 4-hour excursion that treats visitors to the beauty, elegance and grandeur of the 1839 Oak Alley plantation with it s Greek-revival inspired architecture. This 25-acre National Historic Landmark also includes the quarter-mile stretch of ancient, towering oak trees that inspired the name, as well as the restaurant and gift shop.

• The Swamp and Bayou Tour features a motoroach segment and then a boat segment, treating visitors to views of the river, as well as stories about the Cajun way of life. Afterward, enjoy a wildlife show featuring snakes, snapping turtles, and an alligator.

• The Audubon Adventure Passport Tour #5 is just that: a passport to several of the city's most popular attractions. This tour holds a variety of opportunities, such as touching a shark at the Audubon of Americas Tour, larger-than-life movies at the Entergy IMAX Theater, and a 2-hour cruise on New Orleans' only steamboat, the Natchez, while being serenaded by the Dukes of Dixieland jazz ensemble.

With so much history and lots of colorful characters in her past, the city of New Orleans is the stuff of legend and intrigue. Visitors can tailor their experience by visiting the Historic Collection, and then embarking on a city tour of their choice to have an unforgettable vacation in New Orleans.