Louisiana attractions

The oldest building in the Mississippi River Valley, the Old Ursuline Convent in New Orleans’ French Quarter also once functioned as a school for girls, a hospital, and an orphanage. Today, it houses a museum, whose rich collection of devotional art and artifacts makes it a treasure of the city’s Catholic community. Ghost hunters also routinely investigate the historic site for reports of paranormal activity.

With picturesque stone bridges, botanical gardens, museums, a theme park, hundreds of centuries-old oak trees, and numerous waterways, City Park in New Orleans offers a myriad of reasons to spend a day outside. Join locals on the trails, visit the New Orleans Museum of Art, take a ride on a 100-year-old carved wooden carousel, or simply find a spot for a picnic and enjoy the park’s vast green spaces.

One of New Orleans’ most notable historic buildings—right on Jackson Square in the heart of the French Quarter—the Cabildo served as the seat of the New Orleans government during the Spanish colonial period, and was the signing site of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Today, it’s home to a museum showcasing Louisiana’s early history through original artifacts, photos, and exhibits.

The most visited of the three St. Louis Cemeteries, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is New Orleans’ oldest and most famous resting place. Among the grand 18th- and 19th-century burial sites are the graves of civil rights activist Homer Plessy, voodoo queen Marie Laveau, and other prominent New Orleanians, whose ghosts are said to be a presence in the cemetery. Unsurprisingly, this landmark is revered as one of the most haunted cemeteries in the United States.

With interactive exhibits, plus an extensive selection of weaponry and other objects from major battles including the D-Day landings, New Orleans’ National WWII Museum offers deep insights into the role of the US in the Second World War. The museum is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, and currently spans seven pavilions and 7 acres (3 hectares). Its exhibitions cover topics from wartime aircraft to the Pacific Theater.

With a mighty domed roof that could fit Rome’s Colosseum, Caesars Superdome is the world’s largest fixed-dome structure. New Orleans’ leading sporting and concert venue has hosted eight Super Bowls, two WWE Wrestlemania events, and shows by Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and the Rolling Stones, among many others. Home to the New Orleans Saints football team, it’s been known by many names over the years, including the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and the Louisiana Superdome.

A hotbed of musical talent, this historic New Orleans neighborhood is one of the best spots in the city to catch a live show. Dating back to the early 1800s, Faubourg Marigny is a nightlife destination popular with locals looking for authentic jazz and blues without the French Quarter crowds.

Part of the Louisiana State Museum, the Presbytère features two permanent exhibits: one on Mardi Gras and one on Hurricane Katrina. It's housed in the former residence of Capuchin monks that has been owned by the museum since 1911.

Stretching 6 miles (10 kilometers), Magazine Street offers a laid-back alternative to the tourist hot spot of the French Quarter. It’s a favorite among locals and visitors alike, thanks to its mix of antique stores, independent boutiques, art galleries, bars, and cafés. Whether you’re hunting for vintage finds, browsing local artwork, or sampling Creole cuisine, it’s a fun place to come to experience the eclectic spirit of New Orleans, without the crowds.

The Whitney Plantation was one of the most infamous plantation estates in Louisiana; more than 350 people were enslaved there during the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, the historic landmark serves as one of the only slavery memorial museums in the United States. Through original period buildings, art exhibits, and first-person narratives, visitors can learn more about the lives and experiences of people who endured slavery in America.

While its rich history includes stints as a mint and then a federal prison, today the Old U.S. Mint houses the New Orleans Jazz Museum, the Louisiana Historical Center, and a small exhibition that explores its past in coin production. A staple on any tour of New Orleans, the Jazz Museum celebrates the city’s history as the birthplace of jazz and also hosts live music performances; if you can, align your visit to catch one.

One of the city’s most popular spots for live music, Preservation Hall in the French Quarter is known for its resident Preservation Brass, Legacy, and All Stars bands. Dating back to 1961, the hall has been a New Orleans jazz destination for decades, and boasts a festive and intimate atmosphere. Performances are hosted daily, with multiple concerts every evening.

Bourbon Street may steal the spotlight, but the real party is just around the corner on Frenchmen Street. A short walk from the French Quarter, this vibrant stretch is packed with live music venues, bars, and late-night bites. Do as the locals do—grab a drink to go and hop between venues to take in the area’s incredible live music scene, from jazz and funk to blues.

Located just outside New Orleans, the Laura Plantation was founded in 1804 by a French naval veteran of the American Revolution. This former sugar plantation now serves as a powerful historical site, sharing the stories of the enslaved people who lived and worked there. Visitors can explore a permanent exhibition featuring personal narratives and gain rare access to the original slave cabins, as well as galleries, parlors, and common rooms.

Located in the heart of New Orleans’ French Quarter, Beauregard-Keyes House is an historic residence and museum dedicated to the home’s famous residents—Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard and American author Frances Parkinson Keyes—who lived at the house almost a hundred years apart.

Located about 25 miles (40 kilometers) upriver from New Orleans, Destrehan Plantation is one of the oldest documented plantation houses in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Visit to learn about life in the antebellum South through walking tours led by costumed guides, who share the stories of both the Destrehan family and the enslaved people who lived and worked on the plantation.

New Orleans’ Mardi Gras celebrations are as much a part of the city as jazz and the Mississippi River. Get a taste of the magic year-round at this colorful museum, with a dazzling collection of floats and costumes from the oldest, biggest parade in Louisiana. Visitors can even see artists building each year’s floats and props.

With 4,000+ works by local artists, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans is one of the premier destinations for Southern art in the United States. Established in 1999 and named after local businessman and art lover Roger Ogden who donated 600 works of art to the collection, the museum covers paintings, sculpture, and photography.

The Audubon Aquarium showcases the diverse marine life of North and South America. You can wander through a Caribbean reef tunnel, spot piranhas in the Amazon exhibit, and see penguins, sea turtles, and seals up close. With touch pools and hands-on displays, it’s an educational and fun attraction that’s perfect for all ages, conveniently located on the banks of the Mississippi River near the French Quarter.

The Lower Ninth Ward is a working-class and predominantly African-American neighborhood in New Orleans that was hit especially hard by the floods of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Rebuilding here has been slower than in other parts of the city, and many blocks still contain abandoned homes and empty lots. Despite this, ongoing community efforts continue, and the area stands as a symbol of strength and resilience in the face of disaster.

St. Joseph Plantation, located on the Mississippi River, is both a still-operating sugarcane plantation and a living testament to the brutal legacy of slavery in the American South. Visitors to the plantation can learn more about the landmark’s dark history as they tour the plantation home, slave quarters, and other preserved sites.

Once a massive plantation, Audubon Park is now, at 350 acres (142 hectares), a treasured source of open land in New Orleans. Home to sports fields, picnic and playground facilities, a golf course, biking tracks, lagoons, and other facilities, Audubon Park is where locals and tourists head when they need a breath of fresh air or time to stretch their legs.

Lafayette Square is a pleasant place to rest during a walk around New Orleans’ Central Business District. The urban park features statues of the city's forefathers, including Benjamin Franklin and Southern statesman Henry Clay, whose bronze likeness is the park’s focal point. Most visitors flock to the square during spring for the free Wednesday at the Square concert series. The Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival is also held at Lafayette Square each fall.

Visitors can dive into America’s Civil War history and pore over artifacts from the war at New Orleans’ Confederate Memorial Hall Museum. Through memorable accounts and in-depth exhibitions, Louisiana’s oldest museum provides insight into the war that shaped the American South.

Established in the late 19th century as the official red-light district of New Orleans, Storyville was once the city’s most notorious neighborhood, known for is brothels, saloons, and other houses of ill repute. The district was shuttered by the US government at the outset of World War I, and today is the site of numerous housing developments.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Houmas House was once one of southern Louisiana’s most significant sugarcane plantations. It was home to more than 750 enslaved people and formed part of the transatlantic sugar industry’s brutal legacy. Today, the grand house and gardens are open to visitors, offering guided tours that reveal the stories of its complex past and serve as a reminder of a dark chapter in American history.

The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) boasts one of the biggest art collections in the Southern US, with an impressive collection of almost 50,000 items spanning French, Japanese, American, and African art, as well as the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Here you can spot pieces by Picasso and Degas in the permanent collection, see a temporary exhibit, and wander among 90 artworks in the sculpture gardens.

Set in a small French Quarter townhouse, the New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum consists of just two compact rooms—but it’s packed with atmosphere and interesting trinkets. Explore the history, mysteries, and enduring legends of voodoo through a mix of altars, dolls, masks, paintings, and ritual objects. Equal parts museum and shrine, it’s a must for curious travelers drawn to the spiritual roots of New Orleans.

Recreating the surroundings of upper middle class life in an antebellum row house, the 1850 House museum offers a fascinating look into times past. The museum is made up of rooms decorated in the most fashionable styles of the mid-19th century, when life in New Orleans was at its most prosperous.

The New Orleans School of Cooking is a local institution where visitors can learn how to prepare classic Cajun and Creole dishes such as shrimp etouffee, jambalaya, bread pudding, and pralines. Led by chefs, the school offers small-group, hands-on classes, as well as demonstration sessions where you simply watch, learn, and eat. It’s a go-to spot for anyone wanting to master authentic Louisiana cooking.