New Orleans is a city unlike any other. Its claustrophobic streets are teeming with history, flanked by buildings that predate the thriving contemporary lifestyle. You could spend days exploring the city and learning about its past, and it’s widely recommended that you do so. However, there are other, more unconventional ways to get to know the Big Easy inside and out.
If you don’t want to get caught up in the norms of a New Orleans visit, consider filling your time with unique experiences. We’re talking a trek across the veil at some of the city’s most haunted locations, an outdoor excursion through marshy swamplands, and an evening of libations and spooky stories.
Experience the Frights of New Orleans
The Haunted French Quarter in New Orleans – Copyright US Ghost Adventures
Ghosts are a central part of New Orleans’ identity, but not everyone comes here to meet the ethereal entities from its past. Its streets are lined with haunted locations, and on the outskirts, even more spectral tales await to be told on controversial plantations and within swampy marshes. Luckily, you don’t have to go far outside of the French Quarter to get to know the most notable spirits of New Orleans.
The French Quarter Ghosts and Ghouls of New Orleans Ghost Tour offers a look into the past to uncover the origins of the city’s most active spirits. Visit iconic locations like the horrific mansion of Madame Delphine LaLaurie, where mutilated slaves still cry out through the ether. Muriel’s Jackson Square is a popular joint for French favorites and the eternal stomping ground for the restaurant’s former owner, Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan.
There’s a spooky story around every corner in the Big Easy, and the French Quarter Ghosts and Ghouls tour is your unique ticket to getting to know most of them.
Pay Respects to the Pioneers of New Orleans
Set right in the middle of the Treme neighbourhood of New Orleans is a veritable city of the dead. Like tiny skyscrapers rising to meet the sky, the above-ground mausoleums and graves of St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 mark the resting places of some of the city’s most influential figures. The old cemetery, which dates back to the late 18th century, was designed to withstand the region’s potential for flooding. The result is an eerie display that tells much of New Orleans’ history.
Unfortunately, vandalism was prominent, and signs of prior destruction can still be seen today in broken statues and missing markers. However, owned and managed by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is accessible via one dedicated tour offered by the church. While there is an evening tour that talks about the cemetery’s ghosts, the day tour is an engaging trip through time.
Visitors will listen to an abridged but detailed history of the cemetery, complete with names of notable figures that are buried or, in the case of one Hollywood elite, will be buried there. Cemetery tours aren’t a new concept, especially in old cities like New Orleans. However, few are as unique as St. Louis No. 1 cemetery, and only one is home to the legendary Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, Marie Laveau.
Enjoy an Evening of Spirits and Spirits
A haunted pub crawl – Copyright US Ghost Adventures
New Orleans has a pretty busy nightlife. At the center of it are bars and pubs that offer more than just alcohol. Many serve up frights in the form of wispy figures and disembodied voices. While you can sit in a bar and hope to catch a spirit in action, a haunted pub crawl may be a better use of your time.
The Boos and Booze Haunted Pub Crawl from New Orleans Ghosts lays out an itinerary of different bars, each of which has an eerie tale to tell. Buy a drink and hear about the uncomfortable energy of a pirate bar, along with other ghostly legends of the Big Easy. You may visit a former Civil War hospital one moment, then find yourself hearing the gory details of a serial killer at their former home.
A haunted pub crawl showcases two sides of New Orleans. There’s the side that hosts Mardi Gras every year, serving up crafted cocktails for a high-energy evening. Then there’s the darker side, where ghostly legends come to life.
Witness the Life (and Death) of the Rich and the Famous
There’s a hint of extravagance to the architecture around New Orleans. Even the buildings surrounding the French Quarter offer a glimpse into a more lavish lifestyle that doesn’t quite fit the aesthetic of the tighter streets and down-to-earth ambiance. However, not far from the heart of the city, you’ll find a district that’s all about living in opulence. The Garden District features the mansions that seem to mimic the architectural styles of some of the older buildings on Bourbon Street, albeit with a richer finish.
The Time and Money: Tombs and Mansions of the Rich and Famous tour showcases mansions that once belonged to the wealthiest families of their time. Though regal, they mark a dark age for the South and often have ties to slavery. These homes have been preserved for generations, looking like timeless masterpieces.
As part of the tour, you’ll also visit the Lafayette Cemetery #1. Similar to the St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, this above-ground city of the dead is the resting place for thousands. It’s a bit more accessible than the church-owned burial ground and has even been featured in many movies and TV shows.
Visit the Museum of Death
We’ve touched on death-adjacent topics, but this morbid museum in an otherwise innocuous building is brimming with it. The Museum of Death is exactly what its name implies, a museum that focuses on all things death-related, from crime scene photos to exhibits full of antique mortician tools. It’s as grisly as it sounds, and definitely not for children or the faint of heart.
The Museum of Death is fascinating in that it explores a topic so many of us try to avoid. It tackles it head-on, forcing guests to face their mortality. Gratuitous though it may seem, the museum caters to a specific audience that seeks open conversations about an otherwise uncomfortable topic.
If you’re squeamish, this is one to skip. If your stomach is stronger than your curiosity, it’s definitely a strange and unique experience.
Embark On a Swamp Tour
Don’t get too caught up in the French Quarter and the surrounding city that you forget about New Orleans’ natural side. There are an estimated 9,000 square miles of swamplands surrounding the Big Easy, much of it navigable on a swamp boat tour. You can choose between a number of different tour companies, but the basis of your excursion will be the same. Local guides will navigate speedy airboats through the wetlands of Louisiana, providing a scenic experience that may be marked by the region’s stunning wildlife.
Depending on the tour you choose, you may even get to experience gators swimming right up to the boat for a quick snack. Provided by the tour guide, of course. From exotic birds like the elusive bald eagle to wild boar and white-tailed deer, New Orleans’ swamps are a veritable whose who of the animal kingdom.
Though nearly every state has some form of wetland, few offer the accessible sights and sounds of New Orleans’ swamps.
Have you ever been to New Orleans? Perhaps you have taken on of these tours and would like to share more about your experience?
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