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New Orleans’ Garden District Walking Tour

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New Orleans’ Garden District Walking Tour

Step into the Garden District, one of New Orleans' most beautiful and story-filled neighborhoods, on this self-guided walking tour.

 

You'll wander past grand antebellum mansions, ancient live oak trees, and a very particular brand of old New Orleans money, all while your guide tells you exactly what happened behind every door.

 

Along the way you'll discover:

  • Colonel Short's Villa and its famous cornstalk fence
  • The Briggs-Staub House
  • The Women's Guild Home and the Adams-Jones House
  • The D'Arcy Manning House, boyhood home of Peyton and Eli Manning
  • The Seven Sisters
  • Buckner Mansion, star of American Horror Story
  • The Brevard-Clapp-Wisdom House, once home to Anne Rice
  • The Jefferson Davis House
  • Commander's Palace and the Benjamin Button house
  • Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
  • The F. Scott Fitzgerald boarding house

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What will you see?  Here are the tour highlights

Colonel Short's Villa

A Confederate colonel built this cast-iron cornstalk fence in 1859 for his homesick Kentucky wife, and it has survived a war, a Union occupation, and over a century of New Orleans weather.

 

  • The Seven Sisters

Legend says a father built one house for each of his seven daughters, but there are eight houses in the row, and the real story is even more interesting than the myth.

 

  • Buckner Mansion

Built in 1856 to be the biggest house in the Garden District, this mansion later became the exterior for a school of witches on American Horror Story: Coven.

 

  • Brevard-Clapp-Wisdom House

This 1857 mansion was home to a judge who helped enforce school desegregation across the South, and later to novelist Anne Rice, who found inspiration for her vampire stories within its walls.

 

  • Jefferson Davis House

The only president of the Confederacy died in this house in 1889, far from home and, according to legend, still looking for his boots.

 

  • Commander's Palace

Open since 1893, this Garden District institution launched the careers of chefs Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse and remains one of the most celebrated restaurants in America.

 

  • Lafayette Cemetery No. 1

Roughly 7,000 people rest above ground in this 1833 cemetery, a New Orleans tradition born from a city that sits below sea level.

 

  • F. Scott Fitzgerald Boarding House

In 1920, a broke, unknown writer rented a cheap room here to finish correcting proofs on his first novel, and it made him famous within the year.

FAQ's
  • How long does the tour take?

The tour is about one and a half miles and takes roughly an hour of walking, depending on your pace.

 

  • Do I need an internet connection to take this tour?

No. Once you download the tour in the app, it works offline, so you don't need to worry about spotty service in the neighborhood.

 

  • Are there any admission fees on this tour?

Most stops are viewed from the sidewalk and are free. The Women's Guild Home charges around ten dollars for adults on the days it's open for tours, and Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 was closed for repairs at the time this tour was recorded, so you'll experience it from outside the walls.

 

  • Is this tour good for kids?

Yes, families are welcome. Just know that a few stops touch on serious history, including slavery and the Civil War, so it may spark some good conversations along the way.

 

  • Can I pause the tour or go at my own pace?

Yes. The tour is location-aware, so you can pause anytime and pick up right where you left off. It plays automatically as you reach each stop.

 

  • Where does the tour start and end?

It starts at The Rink Shopping Center on Prytania Street and ends at Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.

 

  • What should I bring?

Comfortable walking shoes, water, and earbuds if you have them. Your phone's speaker works fine too if you don't.

 

  • Can I visit Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 during the tour?

At the time this tour was recorded, the cemetery was closed for repairs, so the final stop is experienced from outside the cemetery walls. Check current hours before your visit in case that's changed.

 

  • Does this tour cover difficult history, like slavery?

Yes. The Garden District's mansions were built on wealth from cotton brokerage, and the tour is honest about that history throughout, while still keeping a warm, conversational tone.

 

  • Is this a driving tour or a walking tour?

It's a walking tour. You'll need to be on foot and moving between stops for the tour to play correctly.

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