New Orleans Tours

There's no shortage of fun tour options in The Big Easy. To help you decide which ones to book, here are the New Orleans tours that have the highest ratings from previous travelers:

• New Orleans Ghost, Voodoo and Vampire Combo Tour
• Adults-Only New Orleans Ghost, Crime, Voodoo, and Vampire Tour
• New Orleans Food Walking Tour of the French Quarter with Small-Group Option
• New Orleans Airboat Ride
• New Orleans Voodoo & French Quarter Cultural Walking Tour

New Orleans tours range in price from around US$10–15 per person for a walking tour all the way up to US$1700 (and more) per group for a private, multi-day itinerary in New Orleans and the surrounding area. There are hundreds of tours to choose from, so there’s something for every budget—and most of the top-rated tours are in the neighborhood of US$30–60 per person.

New Orleans has a unique character, and the variety among the tour options can help you get to know the city better. Depending on the itinerary you book, you may see the French Quarter’s beautiful architecture, cemeteries known as “cities of the dead,” cypress swamps and bayous, stately mansions in the Garden District, or some of the nearby plantations. This is a great food city, too, so there are also excursions that focus entirely on what’s on your plate (or in your glass).

Yes, New Orleans is a very walkable city. The neighborhoods most visitors focus on—specifically the French Quarter, Treme, Marigny, and Garden District—are all best explored on foot. There’s a trolley that runs between the French Quarter and Garden District if you don’t fancy walking through the central business district downtown, but within each neighborhood walking is the best way to get around. If you’re hoping to tour some of the city’s famous cemeteries, though, it’s recommended you do that with a group tour rather than by yourself.

The combination of its location in the South and proximity to so many swamps and bayous means New Orleans has a tendency toward hot and humid weather for more than just the summer months. Some argue that the best time to be in New Orleans is late winter and early spring, about February through May, when the city comes alive with festivities like Mardi Gras and the New Orleans Jazz Festival. But if you prefer smaller crowds and lower prices along with weather that’s not sweltering, consider visiting between October–January—just remember that June–November is also hurricane season.

If you think the entire city of New Orleans is an attraction, you’re not wrong. But if you’re looking for a way to rank them, the top attractions according to travelers are the gorgeous French Quarter, the sleepy Garden District, and a few specific sights inside the French Quarter: St. Louis Cathedral, Jackson Square, and the haunted LaLaurie Mansion. Some of the other attractions that get high marks are Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, and the Mississippi River.