New Orleans City & Cemetery Tour + Garden District Stroll

Overview

This three hour city sightseeing tour covers 25 square miles of iconic neighborhoods through three centuries with ample opportunities to experience the beauty and history of New Orleans at a walking pace.

Board your bus at the Mississippi River in the French Quarter then follow the history of New Orleans’ expansion up Esplanade Avenue. Learn about the tradition of above ground burial before you hop off to explore St. Louis Cemetery #3. Cross Bayou St. John into City Park, where you can purchase beignets at Café du Monde or set out to find your own “Instagrammable moment.” The park’s museums, attractions and sculpture gardens are nestled among picturesque lagoons, bayous and groves of ancient live oaks, some more than 800 years old.

Hop on the bus to travel along the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, past a post-Katrina pumping station, seafood restaurants, marina and a historic lighthouse with the 24 mile long Causeway Bridge in the distance. Although called a lake, Lake Pontchartrain is actually one of the largest brackish estuaries in North America at 630 square miles (1600 km2) fed by fresh water rivers and connected to the Gulf of Mexico.

Continue on to St. Charles Avenue, home to Audubon Park and lined with elegant mansions, churches and schools, including Loyola and Tulane Universities. Follow the route of streetcars and Mardi Gras parades to the Garden District, for a guided stroll through one of the most well-preserved living neighborhoods in the United States.

Upgrade your experience by adding on a 1 hour tour of Vue Orleans for a view unlike any other (available online only).

10am City Tour = 1pm Vue Orleans Admission

2pm City Tour = 5pm Vue Orleans Admission

Our bus will drop off directly at Vue Orleans for those who have purchased the upgrade.

Located 33 floors above downtown New Orleans where Canal Street meets the Mississippi River, Vue Orleans immerses visitors in a multi-sensory 4-D experience with nine original films, seven interactive exhibits and the city's only rooftop 360-degree panoramic viewing platform. The attraction uses different technology at every turn to celebrate the art, music, food and history of New Orleans in a way that connects popular culture with its historical foundation.

In the central gallery touchscreens and hologram technology bring to life the influential characters who formed and flavored the New Orleans we know today. Order up at the counter of the digital Story Cafe where local foodie icons Kevin Belton and Poppy Tooker entertain you with the origins of New Orleans culinary and cocktail classics. A musical exhibit places the visitor in the oversize bell of a gramophone, with options to select 27 curated song clips showcasing seven different music genres, from jazz and R&B to bounce. Take a seat in the panoramic Vue River Theater where Irma Thomas, Soul Queen of New Orleans, narrates the story of the Mighty Mississippi as animated Van Gogh style paintings swirl all around you. Even the elevators are an immersive, colorful and musical experience designed to help you “feel” the power of the Crescent City!

Come see why New Orleans is #MoreThanBourbonStreet. Tour departs daily at 10am and 2pm. Please arrive 15 minutes prior to tour time.

Itinerary:
Mississippi River
The tour begins at the deepest point in a river that drains all or or parts of 32 US states and two Canadian provinces. There is a sharp turn in the river around which the "Crescent City" is wrapped.

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Pass Jackson Square
This 2.5 acre square on the Mississippi River is New Orleans' most recognizable landmark with the St. Louis Cathedral and statue of Andrew Jackson.

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Follow Esplanade Avenue
Stretching from the Mississippi River to City Park, this avenue was once "Millionaire's Row" for the Creole section of early New Orleans.

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Stop at St. Louis Cemetery #3
Hop off the bus for a guided tour through a historic New Orleans cemetery. Erected in 1854 this cemetery has 10,000 multiple burial sites. Often called a "city of the dead," this actively used final resting place is also an outdoor museum of antebellum mortuary art, intricate ironwork and carved sculptures.

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Free time in New Orleans City Park
This 1,300 acre urban park was created 170 years ago and offers an array of recreational and cultural amenities in a beautiful setting. It is home to the New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans Botanical Garden, Carousel Gardens Amusement Park, Louisiana Children's Museum, Storyland, City Putt, Besthoff Sculpture Garden, and more.

Follow St. Charles Avenue
This five mile oak-lined avenue features 19th and 20th century mansions built by industry tycoons and city fathers as well as private schools, churches and universities. Home to the route of the streetcars and Mardi Gras parades, this is one of the most well-preserved living neighborhoods in the United States.

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Garden District Stroll