Garden District Tours in New Orleans

New Orleans offers a wide variety of activities to see and do if you're visiting the city and looking for the best guided tours to make it a unique experience. And without a doubt, taking one of these Garden District tours has to be on your bucket list. You'll be able to tour the area's legendary mansions and historic mansions, appreciate the exquisite architecture and beautiful gardens, pass by celebrity homes and learn all about the neighbourhood.

All of these tours include a walk through the famous Lafayette Cemetery and are led by a guide who will tell you all about its history and even details about burial practices and funeral traditions. Here's all about the best Garden District tours in New Orleans.

The Garden District is a luxurious and glitzy neighbourhood in New Orleans and certainly one of the most visited. This tour will take you through the streets of the district for a little over two hours, making a few stops that will allow you to learn more about the history that accompanies each of the places in this area.

Along the way, as well as enjoying learning the history behind the mansions, you'll be able to relax in the shade of the centuries-old trees that will accompany you as you make your way along the streets of the neighbourhood.

The adventure begins at Gracious Bakery, a renowned neighbourhood café that delights visitors with the best pastries. I recommend you try something there before you start your tour.

The architecture of the Garden District will dazzle you as you stroll down St. Charles Avenue, one of the neighbourhood's main streets. You'll also tour the Lafayette Cemetery along Washington Ave, as your guide recounts historical events, and you'll see the legendary Buckner Mansion, which is located on Jackson Ave and is known for being featured in American Horror Story.

Details of Interest

• Price: You can enjoy this experience from €18 per person.
• Duration: Just over 2 hours.
• Maximum number of passengers: This tour can accommodate up to 28 people.
• Pros of this tour: You will get a lot of information about the neighbourhood for a very affordable price.
• Disadvantages of this tour: Meals are not included, but I'll leave you some recommendations as a solution.

With this option you can not only walk along the mythical St. Charles Avenue, get to know the heart of the neighbourhood and the cemetery, but also explore in depth the history of the most emblematic historic mansions of the Garden District, as you will pass by each one of them to appreciate their architecture and learn about their past. A not-to-be-missed experience!

Here are some of the mansions you'll pass through, which you'll definitely want to photograph and which will take your breath away.

• Briggs-Staub House: This house burst into the district with its arched windows, becoming the only Gothic-style house in the neighbourhood. It is located at 2605 Prytania St, New Orleans, just 2 blocks from Lafayette Cemetery.
• Louise S. McGehee School.McGehee School: Known as the Bradish Johnson House, it was built in 1872. It is located at 2343 Prytania St, New Orleans, 4 blocks from the cemetery.
• Colonel Short's Villa: It was owned by Confederate Colonel Short. It is located at 1448 Fourth St, New Orleans, 3 blocks from the cemetery.

Using the Warehouse District as a reference point, it will take you about 20 minutes to walk to this area. Bus lines are also available to take you to your destination.

This tour does not include lunch and ends at noon, but being in New Orleans, that's an easy problem to solve. This tour concludes at Commander's Palace on Washington Ave which is an iconic restaurant in the neighbourhood and the city. I recommend you grab a bite to eat there at the end of the tour to get the best taste of the Garden District, you'll thank me!

Interesting details

• Price: You can enjoy this experience from €23 per person.
• Duration: Starts at 10 a.m. and lasts 2 hours.
• Maximum number of travellers: Up to 7 people can participate in this tour.
• Advantages of this tour: This is a very exclusive tour in a small group, so you'll get the most out of it.

As I told you, this neighbourhood and its cemetery have a rich history to explore and get to know as much as possible. If you want to take advantage of this opportunity, I recommend you to take this tour and enjoy this fun and personal experience. It is definitely a great option, as it becomes very exclusive as it is a small group and even gives you the chance to talk more with the guide and get more information.

This tour offers two departure points and whichever one you choose you can grab a coffee and a bite to eat before you start: one is Gracious Bakery, 2854 St Charles Ave, and the other is Starbucks, 2801 Magazine St, New Orleans. If you ask me, I'd go for Gracious Bakery, which has the traditional flavour of the neighbourhood.

Interesting details

• Price: You can enjoy this experience for a price starting at 20 € per person.
• Duration: Approximately 2 hours.
• Maximum number of travellers: Up to 12 people can participate in this tour.
• The advantages of this tour: This tour offers you more exclusivity at a very good price.

New Orleans is synonymous with fun and this tour, in addition to showing you the history of the neighbourhood, its legendary mansions and the legendary cemetery, includes recommendations for food, music and fun in general. This plus will make the experience unique and will be accompanied by tips from local experts for you to enjoy the city even more.

Interesting details

• Price: You can enjoy this experience for a price starting from 22 € per person.
• Duration: Approximately 2 hours.
• Maximum number of travellers: Up to 15 people can participate in this tour.
• Benefits of this tour: This tour includes unique recommendations for food, music and entertainment.

If you plan to spend only a few days in the city or simply don't have enough time to do one of the tours I recommended, this option is for you. You'll be able to tour this neighbourhood and many other parts of the city on a New Orleans tour bus.

Please note that in this case you won't get to know the neighbourhood in depth, as the tour won't be focused on the Garden District and you'll only be given a superficial overview, with a little bit of information about the neighbourhood at the stops made there. But it's a good way to get a general idea.

Details of interest

• Price: You can enjoy this experience for a price starting from €30 per person.
• Duration: The total tour lasts approximately 2 hours.
• Advantages of this tour: In addition to the Garden District, you will be able to see other places in the city that are of interest to you.
• Disadvantages of this tour: You will be able to see a lot in a short time, but nothing too much in depth.

You can purchase any of these tours online and you will receive confirmation of your booking immediately upon purchase by email. For this type of tour you will need to choose an exact date when you want to go on the tour. Also, in case you get cold feet or your plans change, don't worry, you can usually cancel the tour for free.

All tours of the Garden District usually last approximately 2 hours. However, I recommend that you be at the starting point a few minutes before the tour begins so you can grab a bite to eat or a coffee.

In addition, there are usually some highly recommended restaurants in this neighbourhood, so consider having a bite to eat in the area at the end of the tour.

Exclusive tours of this luxurious and iconic neighbourhood are between 18 and 23 euros and if you decide to take the tour bus, around 30 euros.

Keep in mind that the main variables will be the route, the number of people you share the tour with and the services included.

When you take a tour of the Garden District you will learn about its history and discover many details, myths and truths that lie behind this emblematic neighbourhood and the company of a local guide will be essential for this.

Keep in mind that this is one of the most exclusive and emblematic neighbourhoods in New Orleans and was formed in the late 1840s by the city's American elite who sought to separate themselves from the Creoles and take refuge from the hustle and bustle of the French Quarter.

These tours will allow you to learn a lot of history and exclusive anecdotes that are hidden behind these mansions and the exuberant architecture of the area, making the tour richer and more interesting.

As you'll see, none of the tours include food, but that's not a problem when you're strolling through one of the best neighbourhoods in New Orleans, which also has an incredible gastronomic offer. I'll tell you about the best places to eat in the Garden District.

• Commander's Palace: I've already told you a bit about it, but I can't stop recommending it. It is undoubtedly one of the best restaurants in the area. They have a variety of dishes that will give you the unmistakable taste of Louisiana.
• Another Broken Egg Café: It is a restaurant with an original proposal for breakfast, brunch and lunch, with a variety of innovative dishes with southern inspiration.
• Gracious Bakery: I already recommended this place for breakfast before the tour, but they also have delicious lunches. It's a very cosy place with a typical neighbourhood feel that you can't miss.
• Sucré: This is a sophisticated and innovative restaurant in the area and is the ideal place to indulge in artisanal sweets of French heritage. You can find a wide variety of unique dishes and flavours.
• Joey K's Restaurant & Bar: Here you will find the perfect place to enjoy typical American food and a very good option to try some very tasty seafood.
• Molly's Rise and Shine: Here you will find another great option for breakfast or lunch.

In addition to eating your way through the neighbourhood and discovering its flavour and history, I recommend that you wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes. These are tours where you will walk around the Garden District for more than 2 hours and there are usually very uneven surfaces at the sites visited, so you don't want to be uncomfortable and have a bad time.

It is very important that you check the weather before the tour and dress accordingly, either warmly or loosely, taking into account the temperature of the day and the date you are going on the tour. Also, I recommend that you take into consideration that summer temperatures are usually high and in the winter you will need a warm coat.

It is important to note that all of these tours are weather-dependent, as good weather is necessary for them to take place, otherwise they will have to be rescheduled. While it is almost impossible to guess the weather conditions on any particular day, I can tell you the best months to visit New Orleans and therefore the Garden District.

The weather in the city is generally good most of the year, but the end of July and throughout August tend to bring more precipitation to New Orleans. Therefore, I think it might be a good thing to do in autumn, when the temperature is pleasant, but not extreme.

As you may have noticed, taking a guided tour will allow you not only to get to know the neighbourhood, but also to appreciate the history behind it.

This neighbourhood, its cemetery and each of its corners, tell the history of New Orleans, so there are a number of traditions and events that are very interesting to know and what better than taking advantage of the knowledge of a local guide to tell you all about it!

Anyway, it is also a good option to walk around on your own, but there is something you should take into consideration: although you can walk around the Garden District, visit the cemetery and its luxurious mansions, managing your own time and at your own pace, you would be missing a fundamental spice, which is precisely what is behind each one of those mansions, streets and basically everything you see as you pass by.

It also happens that when you go through a neighbourhood like the Garden District on your own, you don't really know where to go or what is really important to see. You may waste a lot of time trying to get your bearings and you may not even see half the things. On the other hand, if you take a tour, you don't have to worry about anything, the guide will make sure you don't miss anything and make the most of your time.