Top New Orleans Tours, Sightseeing & Cruises

Discover a different side of New Orleans—and admire a new perspective from the water's edge—on this steamboat tour down the Mississippi River. Board the historic riverboat—either the Steamboat Natchez or her sister vessel—for a morning or afternoon tour. Stroll the deck, admire the iconic paddlewheel, enjoy live music, and snap photos of the picturesque shoreline. This family‐friendly excursion offers an optional lunch (additional expense).

Explore one of Louisiana’s last protected wetlands on a 2-hour boat tour that includes round-trip transport from New Orleans. Depart in the morning or afternoon for Honey Island Swamp, a wildlife preserve teeming with critters such as 'gators, wild boar, snakes and birds. Ride through the swamp dripping with lush foliage and visit a boat-accessible Cajun village with an informative local guide who sheds light on the area’s inhabitants.

Cruise the Mississippi River aboard the Riverboat CITY of NEW ORLEANS on a relaxing 75-minute sightseeing experience suitable for all ages. As you travel along the river, the captain provides engaging commentary highlighting the French Quarter, historic waterfront locations, and the role the river has played in shaping New Orleans over the centuries. Guests can enjoy multiple onboard bars, including an open-air bar on the upper deck with sweeping views of the city skyline and riverbanks. Light snacks and beverages are also available for purchase, making it easy to sit back and enjoy the ride. Whether you’re visiting with family, friends, or as a couple, this river cruise offers a scenic and informative way to take in New Orleans from the water.

Admire the sights of New Orleans from a comfortable coach on a half-day introductory tour. Check out highlights such as the French Quarter and the Garden District while listening to live commentary. Delve into the city’s rich history as you tour one of the oldest cemeteries in New Orleans. Enjoy the convenience of round-trip transportation from your hotel in Downtown New Orleans, too.

Immerse yourself in the rich culture and natural splendor of New Orleans’ mystifying swamps and wetlands on a New Orleans swamp tour and wetlands adventure. Relax in the luxurious interior of a New Orleans swamp tour boat as you cruise past cultural highlights like a Cajun cemetery, an Indian burial mound and a traditional fishing village. Scour the scenery for fascinating flora and fauna like snakes, turtles and alligators while listening to interesting commentary from your professional guide.

Go for a sunset cruise aboard the Paddlewheeler Creole Queen on this boat trip. Listen to an on-board jazz band and choose to add on a Creole-style dinner buffet as the boat sails along the Mississippi River. Take in the views from the promenade deck and sip New Orleans-inspired cocktails.

See more of New Orleans without navigating unfamiliar neighborhoods or arranging transportation between attractions. This guided sightseeing tour goes beyond the French Quarter to showcase the city’s diverse communities, historic landmarks, and unique culture. Along the way, enjoy insightful commentary and convenient stops that help you experience more in less time.

View legendary homes and enjoy exclusive inside access to the Women's Opera Guild House during this 2-hour walking tour of New Orleans' Garden District. This stunning neighborhood was the former stomping ground of authors, movie stars, and sports figures such as Anne Rice, John Goodman, and Archie Manning. Hear anecdotes from your guide while you stroll under southern live oaks, crepe myrtles, and magnolia trees.

Get a taste of 18th-century New Orleans while exploring its most notorious haunts aboard a mule-drawn carriage. Join a small group of no more than eight people for an intimate evening tour through the French Quarter, where rollicking nightlife conceals a past filled with dark deeds, natural disasters, and supernatural sightings. Hear the city's most salacious history from a guide as you clip-clop your way past iron-laced balconies, darkened alleys, and southern mansions steeped in legend.

Experience the iconic New Orleans swamplands during a small-group airboat tour, led by a professional guide. Alternate between adrenaline-fueled high speeds and gentle cruising as you sail past fascinating flora and fauna. Capture fantastic photographs of alligators in their natural habitat, and relish the intimate atmosphere of a small-group, limited to only nine passengers.

Explore New Orleans’ haunted history without wandering unfamiliar cemeteries on your own. This guided tour combines exclusive cemetery access with stories of local legends, history, and reported paranormal activity. Use EMF readers as you investigate alongside your guide, making it an engaging experience for skeptics and believers alike.

Take a peek beneath the surface with a visit to the state-of-the-art Audubon Aquarium and Insectarium. Marvel at more than 3,600 animals from over 250 species in an AZA-accredited aquarium voted one of the top five aquariums in the USA Today 10 Best reader poll. Explore a vast underwater world spanning the Caribbean and the Amazon Rainforest to the waters that give New Orleans its lifeblood: the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Touch sharks and stingrays in the Shark Discovery Touch Pool, and enter a 30-foot-long tunnel to admire aquatic creatures as they swim through the Great Maya Reef habitat. In the Amazon Rainforest gallery, discover lush plant life, free-flying birds, stunning aquatic species. Feel amazed by the array of aquatic life in the aquarium’s largest exhibit, the 450,000-gallon Gulf of Mexico habitat. Please note these are GA tickets and our facilities are self guided, we welcome guests to enjoy the facilities for as long as they wish.

If you're looking for no-holds-barred frights in New Orleans, explore the city’s dark history on this adults-only tour. Set off after nightfall to discover a new perspective on the city, and steel yourself for gruesome tales and fearsome encounters: Your guide saves the most grisly true-crime stories, voodoo legends, and paranormal frights for this tour, and takes you past the French Quarter's most supposedly haunted locations.

Delve into the stories behind the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans during a French Quarter walking tour. Take in famous landmarks including Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, and the Mississippi River, along with lesser-known places of interest. Hear from your guide about the architecture and heritage of the district, and get the inside scoop on recommended places for shopping and dining as well.

Connect with spirits of various kinds on this adults-only, risqué romp through New Orleans. Hear debauched tales of adultery, murder, mayhem, medical experiments, and more from an entertaining guide as you wind through the streets of the French Quarter. Steel your courage with stops at three historic and allegedly haunted bars (drinks at own expense), including a former brothel. Choose from earlier- or later-evening tours to suit your schedule.

Connect with the dark and complex history of the American enslavement trade on a tour to Whitney Plantation, the only plantation totally dedicated to memorializing the lives of enslaved people. Get a primer on antebellum history on the drive from New Orleans, and then explore museum exhibits, memorials, and historic slave cottages on a self-guided audio tour.

Exploring New Orleans in the evening can seem like an intimidating quest on your own, but this ghost, voodoo, and vampire walking tour takes you to the city’s eeriest sights at night in the safety of a group led by a guide. Stop by top attractions such as the LaLaurie Mansion and New Orleans Pharmacy Museum while listening to your guide’s detailed stories of the paranormal and beyond.

One of New Orleans' most popular tourist attractions, St. Louis Cemetery No.1 is only able to be visited as part of a guided tour, with limited visitors allowed into the City of the Dead each day. This pre-bookable experience ensures you don’t miss out on the chance to visit the impressive cemetery—or the opportunity to learn more about the final resting place of some of the city’s best-known residents.

Experience New Orleans’ wild bayou country first-hand on an exciting, family‐friendly airboat ride. This boat tour winds through the mossy cypress swamp near Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, named for the 19th-century pirate and smuggler. While onboard, enjoy lively commentary from a local guide as you admire lush, forested shoreline and spot local wildlife. Gators appear most commonly in the summer months, so keep your eyes peeled.

Experience the Jean Lafitte National Park and Preserve on this shaded pontoon excursion - the closest swamp tour to downtown New Orleans. Your tour guide, who was born and raised in the bayou, will teach you about Southern Louisiana’s distinctive ecology as you cruise past magnificent cypress trees and watch for native wildlife like gators and egrets.

Sail down this Mississippi River on a classic Paddlewheeler boat on this New Orleans river cruise. Enjoy illuminating narration from the onboard historian and stop part-way through the trip to learn about the Battle of New Orleans. Then, get back aboard the vessel and enjoy a cash bar while admiring the views.

Go beyond ghost stories told from the sidewalk with a tour that includes entry to real haunted locations. Led by a licensed guide, this French Quarter experience combines historically grounded storytelling with exclusive access for a deeper look into New Orleans’ paranormal past. It’s an immersive alternative to standard walking ghost tours.

Visit the Whitney Plantation Museum—a former indigo and sugar plantation that is now dedicated to promoting an understanding of enslavement in Louisiana—on this hassle-free trip from New Orleans. Round-trip transit and admission tickets are included for your convenience. Upon arrival, learn about the brutal realities of plantation life through museum exhibits and an audio guide (6 languages available) as you explore the site independently. You can also choose to upgrade your experience to include a 90-minute swamp tour.