12 Best Tours in New Orleans, Louisiana

Whether you’re spending an extended weekend or 10 days, you possibly can by no means spend sufficient time in New Orleans. There’s simply a lot to see and do! Sure, New Orleans’s most iconic landmark is the French Quarter, the place you possibly can seize a drink at any hour of the day and stroll round with it, however the Big Easy is filled with unimaginable adventures that spotlight simply how particular it’s.

The better part about visiting New Orleans is that there’s really one thing for everybody right here. Are you into the spooky, paranormal facet of issues? Well, you’ve come to the suitable place, and there are many ghost excursions to stretch your non secular information.

Are you a foodie trying to increase your culinary palette? You couldn’t discover a higher metropolis to eat in, and a self-guided or guided meals tour of a few of New Orleans’s most well-known eating places will provide you with a style of our well-known Creole and Cajun cuisines.

Or possibly you’re a historical past buff, hoping to study extra about New Orleans historical past. And don’t overlook in regards to the music scene, in any case, New Orleans is the birthplace of Jazz. From pirates to Pimm’s cups and ghosts to gumbo, New Orleans welcomes you with open arms to benefit from the sights and sounds of the town.

We’ve completed all of the onerous give you the results you want, compiling an inventory of a number of the greatest New Orleans excursions to take whilst you’re right here. Many of those excursions are only some hours lengthy, supplying you with ample time to stack your day with just a few totally different guided excursions to take advantage of out of your time right here in New Orleans.

The Best Time to Tour New Orleans

Before we get into the excursions, it’s value mentioning that every one of those excursions are provided year-round, and whereas there’s no “dangerous time” to take one among these excursions, there are some things worthy of consideration. Chief amongst these concerns is the climate.

Keep in thoughts that hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30, and New Orleans sometimes sees probably the most harmful storms in August and September. If you’re planning on visiting New Orleans throughout these months, it’s a good suggestion to regulate the Gulf of Mexico and keep versatile. The excellent news is that hurricanes have a tendency to return with loads of warning, so that you’ll have ample time to make changes to your journey plans.

June by September are a number of the hottest months of the 12 months for New Orleans, and the warmth index can simply be triple digits. Such fierce temperatures will not be very best for strolling round all day or being outdoors with out loads of water, so make sure to keep hydrated and slather on that sunscreen. That mentioned, the recent climate is nice for watching swamp critters like alligators! These cold-blooded beauties like to sunbathe throughout the heat climate.

Best New Orleans Tours

Ready to let the nice instances roll? As all true New Orleanians would say: Laissez les bons temps rouler!

1. Jazz Cruise On The Steamboat Natchez

Best Time of Year for this Tour: Year-round

See New Orleans from a wholly new perspective whenever you take a two-hour tour on board the Steamboat Natchez, the final genuine steamboat to cruise down the Mississippi River. There are a number of cruises to select from, together with an evening jazz cruise, a day jazz cruise, and even excursions with meals included. These historic riverboat cruises boast phenomenal views of the New Orleans skyline and sometimes there’s reside jazz music enjoying as nicely.

See Related: Best Restaurants In New Orleans French Quarter

2. Ghosts, Vampires, & Voodoo French Quarter Tour

Best Time of Year for this Tour: Year-round, however the expertise is heightened round Halloween

New Orleans is thought for being one of the haunted cities within the nation, and it’s one of the in style causes folks come to the Crescent City. The French Quarter is peppered with numerous Voodoo and occult retailers for people who wish to decide up a memento or two, and it’s these retailers that usually run strolling excursions the place you’ll go by yourself little guided ghost tour, Voodoo tour, or vampire tour, stopping off at the entire paranormal scorching spots within the metropolis. Just be warned: you very nicely may have a mystical expertise of your personal!

3. Cemetery Tour

Best Time of Year for this Tour: Year-round, however the expertise is heightened round Halloween

Few different cities parade their cemeteries like New Orleans, should you’re on the fence about taking one of many cemetery tours, do it. Because New Orleans sits beneath sea stage (8ft), burning the dead 6 ft underneath isn’t actually an possibility, so the dead are laid to relaxation in these big vault-like buildings, above floor. These historic tombs are the rationale Mark Twain as soon as referred to New Orleans cemeteries as “Cities of the Dead,” and that’s precisely the way you’ll really feel strolling by these well-known cemeteries.

There are a number of cemeteries in New Orleans you could take a self-guided tour of, like Lafayette Cemetery, however not all of them. The most well-known is St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, which is the oldest cemetery in New Orleans, and also you’ll want a licensed tour information to get in. This historic cemetery is the ultimate resting place for a lot of notable New Orleanians, together with the Voodoo Queen herself, Marie Laveau.

Many convey her choices to put at her tomb in hopes that she is going to bless them with luck, and you’re welcome to affix within the custom, simply don’t completely alter the tomb. This can be one of the haunted cemeteries in New Orleans, and also you very nicely might be visited by one of many many spirits unable to go away the grounds. In truth, Marie Laveau is among the metropolis’s most well-known ghosts, and she or he’s identified to seem everywhere in the metropolis, not simply on this cemetery. You by no means know when and the place she’ll pop up!

See Related: Best Family Road Trips in the US

4. Whitney Plantation Tour

Best Time of Year for this Tour: Year-round, however remember the fact that the summer time will be terribly scorching and there’s little shade

Historic River Road, a street that runs parallel to the Mississippi River for lots of of miles, is peppered with plantations, and whereas Oak Alley Plantation is probably probably the most well-known, we encourage you to go to Whitney Plantation. This is among the solely plantation tours the place you’ll study in regards to the historical past from the angle of the slaves.

The informative tour covers the Transatlantic Slave Trade, slavery in Louisiana, in addition to the slaves who lived and labored on the plantation. It’s one of the distinctive, and necessary, historic excursions in New Orleans, and should you do no different plantation tour whilst you’re staying in New Orleans, make it this one. Many of those excursions provide round-trip transportation out of your lodge, so renting a automotive isn’t crucial.

5. Swamp Tour

Best Time of Year for this Tour: These excursions are provided year-round, however you’ll have a a lot greater likelihood of seeing wildlife like alligators throughout the summer time months.

Louisiana’s wetlands are a sight to be seen, and also you’d be shocked to study that there are swamps and bayous not removed from New Orleans. Swamp excursions are an excellent possibility whenever you’re able to take a break from the bustling French Quarter for a day and immerse your self in a extra pure setting with a scenic cruise by the swamp.

There are two main varieties of swamp excursions: airboat tours and pontoon boat tours. The airboats are high-speed boats that solely want just a few inches of water to skim throughout, supplying you with entry to components of the swamps that you simply wouldn’t be capable to see every other manner. The pontoon boat excursions are bigger and function at a a lot slower tempo.

No matter which swamp tour you are taking, you’ll be met with a front-row seat to Louisiana’s enchanting wetlands, simply chock-full of wildlife. Your educated tour guides will cruise by the swamps, bayous, and marshes and let you know all the things about these waters whilst you preserve a watch out for wildlife. Alligators, snakes, turtles, nutria, and hogs are simply a number of the swamp critters you may see, in addition to egrets, herons, anhingas, and should you’re actually fortunate, possibly even a bald eagle or two.

See Related: Best Spring Break Destinations for Families

6. Zip Line Swamp Tour

Best Time of Year for this Tour: Year-round

Once you’ve seen the swamps from the boat, take to the skies and see the New Orleans swamps from a fowl’s eye view! Zip NOLA presents the uncommon alternative to zip line over the Maurepas Swamp, a really once-in-a-lifetime expertise.

From the treetops, you’ll have a tremendous view of each the swamp and close by Lake Pontchartrain, and as you make your manner throughout the multi-part zip line, preserve a watch beneath and also you may see a number of the native wildlife together with white-tailed deer, an alligator sunbathing on the banks, and even an cute swamp rabbit dwelling its greatest life within the marsh.

7. Cocktails & Brunch Crawl In The French Quarter

Best Time of Year for this Tour: Year-round, however folks up their sport round Mardi Gras

New Orleans definitely is aware of its manner round a kitchen, and a brunch crawl in the French Quarter is the right method to pattern some scrumptious New Orleans meals. There are a number of food tours in New Orleans, however the brunch crawl is our favourite.

On your New Orleans meals strolling tour, you’ll get to pattern a number of the scrumptious dishes New Orleans is thought for, in addition to a cocktail or two, earlier than strolling by the French Quarter to study a bit of historical past of a few of these iconic eateries. Did you already know that Oysters Rockefeller and Bananas Foster had been each invented proper right here in New Orleans?

See Related: Most Famous Historical Landmarks in the USA

8. Garden District Walking Tour

Best Time of Year for this Tour: Fall, winter, and spring present the most effective temperature for strolling round. Summer in New Orleans will be brutal!

Just outdoors of the French Quarter, you’ll discover the Garden District, a quiet neighborhood in New Orleans simply overflowing with antebellum homes. Easily one of the lovely neighborhoods in New Orleans, a guided tour of the Garden District is a should.

You’ll be strolling beneath canopies of historic oak bushes, lots of that are lots of of years previous, and as you cease off to learn the plaques at a number of the most historic houses, your tour will probably be accented with the smells of aromatic jasmine, wisteria, and candy olive.

You may even acknowledge a home or two on this tour! In addition to the numerous superstar houses within the Garden District, followers of American Horror Story will acknowledge the Buckner Mansion, one of many many historic and iconic houses on this a part of city.

9. French Quarter Carriage Ride

Best Time of Year for this Tour: Year-round

You’ve seen the images, now expertise it for your self. The French Quarter’s carriage rides could appear a bit of touristy (okay, a lottle touristy), however it’s completely value it.

Both day and evening excursions can be found, and it makes for a splendidly romantic tour. Take a seat and let the mule do all of the work as you sit again and revel in a tour of downtown New Orleans from the consolation of a carriage experience. Don’t overlook your digicam!

See Related: Best Museums in the US to Visit

10. Mardi Gras World Tour

Best Time of Year for this Tour: Year-round

Mardi Gras and New Orleans go collectively like peas and carrots, however should you’re visiting outdoors of Carnival season, don’t fear, you possibly can visit Mardi Gras World and study all in regards to the traditions, krewes, parades, and extra.

Mardi Gras floats are handmade, and that is the place most of the floats are constructed, and through your tour, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes peep at the entire work that goes into constructing a float. You might even get to see one of many proficient artists in motion! In addition to the floats, there are additionally reveals with memorabilia and costumes from earlier parades and infinite selfie alternatives.

11. Frenchman Street Pub Crawl

Best Time of Year for this Tour: Year-round

For music lovers, there’s no higher place to be than Frenchman Street. This three-hour tour will convey you to the entrance door of a few of Frenchman Steet’s hottest bars, the place you possibly can seize a drink and take heed to reside jazz music from a number of the metropolis’s most proficient native musicians.

This is an adults-only tour, and also you’ll must be 21+ to affix, so go away the youngsters at residence for this one. We’d suggest taking this tour after which taking the brunch tour the following day, so you possibly can stave off any potential hangovers and preserve the party going. You’re on trip, deal with your self.

See Related: Best Family Vacations on a Budget

12. Bayou Party Barge Tour

Best Time of Year for this Tour: Year-round, however spring break is all the time a blast

Speaking of holding the party going, a two-hour party barge tour may simply be probably the most unimaginable tour in New Orleans. Nola Pedal Barge has a number of totally different pedal boats and party barges you could board to take the party to the water. You’ll cruise down Bayou Bienvenue, buying and selling the town streets for lovely bayou scenes with a trusty Captain on board to care for all the main points.

The tour begins in Chalmette, which is only a quick drive away and it’s BYOB, so convey all of the drinks and snacks you need for the tour. You’re additionally the DJ of this cruise, so make sure to have an epic playlist to attain your bayou boat tour.

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