Tours To Take

City Tour

Tours by Isabelle is an excellent start to your stay in New Orleans. This company is the best for a small tour and uses vans instead of buses. They also do plantation tours and combo tours.

Walking Tours

French Quarter Walking Tour: Historic New Orleans Walking Tours, Inc.
They also have excellent Garden District Tours and cemetery/voodoo tours. They are great because they are history focused and extremely well done. On a weekday we recommend taking the Garden District tour and then having lunch at Commander's Palace, which has a weekday special - a two-course lunch for $15. Great deal and a great way to eat at Commander's without paying the prices and having to wear a jacket.

Le Monde Creole
A guided walking tour of the residences of the Laura Locoul family, including access to the courtyards of the French Quarter. This gives you some wonderful info on the Creole people.

Plantation Tours (outside of New Orleans)

There are over 20 plantations along Louisian's famous River Road from New Orleans to Baton Rouge. They vary in architecture and many are open to the public. They are worth the drive if you are in town for a few days.

Laura
A historic sugar plantation built in 1805, Laura is not what you would expect from a plantation, because it's Creole. The history is fascinating and the tours are very well done - the best of any plantation tours. Located about 45-55 minutes outside the city, you can rent a car or go with Tours by Isabelle. For lunch try nearby B&C Cajun Deli, which has awesome Cajun food.

Oak Alley
This is what you would expect from a plantation. Very beautiful and located only 10 minutes from Laura. The tour is a little dry and predictable - nothing compared to the Laura Tour. If you are short on time and have your own means of transportation, we would recommend doing the tour of Laura, driving by Oak Alley and maybe having a coke or ice cream (maybe lunch) in the restaurant so you can see the exterior.

Destrehan Plantation
The oldest plantation left intact along the lower Mississippi. Some scenes from “Interview with the Vampire” were filmed here. Approximately 30 minutes from New Orleans.

San Francisco Plantation
This plantation is located on the east bank of the Mississippi.

Houmas House
A Greek Revival Mansion located about 90 minutes outside of New Orleans.

Swamp Tours (outside of New Orleans)

We love swamp tours because the landscape is unexpectedly beautiful. The best one, Dr Wagner's Honey Island Tour, is about 35 minutes away in Slidell. Lots of alligators and guides who really know the swamp and its ecology. We can make reservations for you. Cypress Swamp tours are also very good.

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Other Sites

The following web sites explore the latest events and attractions New Orleans has to offer.

The Official Tourism Site of the City of New Orleans

New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc.

Gambit Weekly’s Best of New Orleans

New Orleans Magazine

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