New Orleans Tourist Attractions

While visiting New Orleans, Louisiana, USA there is a wide variety of activities, adventures and excursions available to properly soak in the unique atmosphere of the city and the area. With options such as unique cuisine, plantation history, intriguing nature, the culture and much more visitors are certain to find something up their alley of liking or interests. We have listed some of these activities, adventures and excursions found on getyourguide.com.

New Orleans: 1-Hour Carriage Ride through the French Quarter

This 1-hour mule and carriage ride through New Orleans’ French Quarters is a great way to experience the historic neighborhood’s vibrant history, culture and architecture while also relaxing.

Your driver/guide will share the basics of New Orleans’ history over the last 300 years or so through fascinating anecdotes about the people and the places that contributed making the city the unforgettable and unique place that it is today.

See sights like Bourbon Street, the French Market, Jackson Square, Napoleon House and the Saint Louis Cathedral. The tour also comes with the options of either a walking tour of St Louis Cemetery #1 or a ride through the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood with its live venues and unique architecture.

From New Orleans: Swamp Airboat, 2 Plantation Tours & Lunch

Participants will be collected by a 13-seater high-roof van from their New Orleans hotel after which the enthusiastic historian driver and guide will prepare the group for a pilgrimage back in time along a scenic drive.

After crossing a high bridge over the Mississippi River the group will arrive at a remote swamp where they will board a small airboat that will glide comfortably over marshes and deep into secluded bayous expertly navigated by your Cajun captain. The swamp has fascinating fauna and flora that includes alligators, turtles, exotic birds and more.

This is follow by a drive upriver through sugar cane fields to Laura Plantation. Laura Plantation is a Creole plantation dating back to 1804 and your guide will share compelling stories about the Laura family as well as the West-Africans that where enslaved here before visiting the museum exhibit that is dedicated to “Slavery on Laura Plantation”.

On the way to Houmas House Plantation the company will travel on the old River Road and pass Felicity Plantation where “12 Years a Slave” was filmed, St Joseph Plantation where the “Queen Sugar” TV series was filmed and stop in front of Oak Alley Plantation to admire the parallel rows of oaks that are centuries old.

You will arrive at Houmas House Plantation, also known as “Sugar Palace” after yet again crossing the Mississippi River, this town on the Sunshine Bridge, where a lunch of genuine Cajun cuisine will be served in the elegant dining room. After lunch there will be a tour of the mansion with a guide dressed in Antebellum costume followed by some free time to stroll around the beautiful gardens before it is time to return to New Orleans.

New Orleans: Total Food, Cocktail and Jazz Tour

The “total” in this experience stands for total day, or full day, as this tour is approximately 9 hours long. It starts on the banks of the Mississippi River, where it all began. This is where we witness the lifeblood of the region, which brought new influences, cultures and ingredients to the country through its ports. Participants get to sample the beignet, a breakfast treat and wander through the French Market to try classic and uniquely New Orleans’ dishes, including gumbo, Louisiana’s state cuisine.

After food comes the chance for a coffee or souvenir shopping break before it’s time for cocktails, and more specifically the New Orleans’ cocktail culture. This section of the day begins on Jackson Square and it goes beyond Bourbon Street and the normal tourist trails to the historic and truly unique bars of New Orleans. After all, New Orleans has been called “the cradle of civilized drinking” and these historic bars with characteristic drinks such as the Sazerac and the Ramos Gin Fizz are part of the reasons why.

The jazz stretch of the tour you’ll head to the Louis Armstrong park to learn about the jazz legend before making your way to the popular Marigny neighborhood and the famous Frenchmen Street where you will find the largest concentration of live music venues in New Orleans. The local guide will show you the best experience for that day of the week, because different nights offer different experiences, and one of the venues will even provide a free beer, and, if the mood and the timing are aligned, there might be a trip backstage with one of the live bands.

The day, or at least the tour, ends at the nightly art market, where the city’s artists show off their finest works of art ranging from handmade sculptures to local photography and much more.

New Orleans: Private City Lights Helicopter Night Tour

This helicopter tour comes in two different versions and lengths. The first one is a 15-mile route that flies over the busy French Quarter and it includes experiencing the lights of Canal Street and the colorful Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The second is a 30-mile route that includes flying over the city including Uptown and the Garden District for sights such as Tulane University, Loyola University and Saint Charles Avenue.

The routes are between 12 and 24 minutes long. The helicopter night tour departs from New Orleans Lakefront Airport located only 15 minutes (drive) from the French Quarters. The professional and experienced pilot will also share interesting facts about what you are seeing.

Hotel pickup and drop-off is not included in the experience. A digital photo package will be available for purchase at the price of $15. There is a weight restriction of 300lbs per passenger as well as a combined maximum of 575lbs for the entire group of 2-3 people. Passengers will be weighed in for the purpose of balancing the helicopter correctly and to not be overweight for safety reasons.

New Orleans: Evening Jazz Cruise on the Steamboat Natchez

How about some jazz on a steamboat on the Mississippi River in New Orleans? This 2-hour cruise takes place on the Sternwheeler Steamboat Natchez, New Orleans’ only surviving authentic steamboat.

The smooth jazz entertainment on the steamboat is provided by the Dukes Trio and it adds to the New Orleans atmosphere on board. A Southern style buffet is available as an option and if chosen the guests can enjoy a nice meal while relaxing to the beautiful and fun music while enjoying the views of this unique city and the atmosphere.

Both indoor and outdoor seating is available with the indoor areas being climate-controlled.

The cruise departs from and arrives back to the heart of the French Quarters.