11 Best Sights in New Orleans, Louisiana

If you're not in town for the real thing, here's a fun (and family-friendly) backstage look at the history and artistry of Carnival. The massive 400,000-square-foot complex, just upriver from the New Orleans Morial Convention Center, features an enhanced guided tour through a maze of video presentations, decorative sculptures, and favorite megafloats from Mardi Gras parades such as Bacchus, Rex, and Endymion. A gift shop sells masks, beads, and Mardi Gras posters, as well as tickets for the tour, during which participants can sample king cake and coffee, pose for pictures in front of parade floats, and see artists at work, sculpting with papier-mâché and fiberglass. For special events, visitors enter through a plantation alley that is part Cajun swamp-shack village, part antebellum Disneyworld (Kern was a friend of, and inspired by, Walt Disney). A free shuttle is provided with ticket purchase and provides pickups from Canal Street.

The late local photographer and self-made historian Sylvester Francis created this rich collection of Mardi Gras Indian costumes and other musical artifacts tied to the street traditions of New Orleans. The museum hosts traveling and featured exhibits in addition to its permanent collection.

Long before the Civil War, free people of color lived alongside enslaved African Americans in New Orleans, making up the largest population of free blacks in the south and becoming an important part of the city’s cultural identity. Founded by the McKenna Family (descendants of free people of color who also run the McKenna Museum of African American Art in Central City), this museum provides a well-informed narrative into a crucial area of New Orleans history. Visits are by guided tour only, which must be scheduled in advance. From January through June, on every third Wednesday of the month, a moonlight tour is offered from 6 to 7:30 pm.

Standing for joy, art, and music, JAM NOLA is a series of immersive and colorful exhibits showcasing the works of some 30 local artists. The space is chock full of murals and installations, with plenty of fun photo opportunities. Tickets must be purchased in advance online. JAM NOLA is scheduled to move to Frenchmen Street by December 2024; check the website for updated information before you go.

Taking a deep dive into patterns of immigration, commerce, slave ownership, and the bonds of friendship between Jewish settlers and the non-Jewish southerners, this compact museum displays creative tableaus and some 4,000 artifacts that inform the visitor about how Jews influenced and were influenced by the south. Learn about how Jewish and southern cuisines merged, how Jews became involved in the Civil Rights Movement, and more. There’s also a beautiful collection of stained glass windows inspired by synagogues throughout the south.

A whimsical creation of repurposed urban wasteland, this artist-built sculpture garden features an interactive landscape of music-making structures and houses. The space hosts seasonal musical acts, performances, and workshops. Most weekend days when there isn't an event, the space is open for the public to explore and play (check the website calendar for "Open Hours" before visiting).

Set in a historic villa surrounded by a lovely small park and gardens, this terrific museum offers a year-round calendar of events and exhibits that highlight African and African-diaspora art and artists. The building itself is a prime example of the West Indies–style French colonial architecture that used to fill much of the French Quarter. The house was built in 1829 by Simon Meilleur, a prosperous brick maker; the main house was constructed with Meilleur's bricks, and the brick patio behind it bears imprints identifying the original manufacturer. While the larger museum is currently undergoing a massive renovation, there are several exhibits set up across the street, at  1417 Governor Nicholls Street. The museum holds events and programming in the villa's gardens as well.

This homegrown museum may turn skeptics into believers. Voodoo isn't just something marketed to visitors; it lingers on in the lives of many New Orleanians, who still light candles for good luck or rely on a potion to find love. The large collection of artifacts on display here include portraits by and of voodoo legends, African artifacts believed to have influenced the development of the religion, and lots of gris-gris (African and Caribbean amulets). The gift shop sells customized gris-gris, potions, and handcrafted voodoo dolls. A psychic reader is on duty to divine your future.

In 1987 the U.S. Congress declared jazz a "national American treasure," and shortly thereafter the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park was created to educate people about the art form and to preserve its history. The park hosts free performances and educational events in two locations around the French Quarter: the Visitor Center and the Old U.S. Mint, which also houses the state's jazz collection. Some of the park's rangers are also working musicians; don't miss the chance to catch their lively and informative demonstrations exploring the full range of Louisiana's musical heritage.

This small, home-grown museum is among many spots in Tremé where you'll get a chance to really dig into fascinating local history. Owner and enthusiastic jazz historian Al Jackson will lead you through his one-room, colorful collection of art, photographs, and memorabilia, providing insight on the origins of jazz and its place in the neighborhood. Located close to the New Orleans African American Museum and the Backstreet Cultural Museum, the location makes it easy to visit a couple Tremé museums in the same afternoon.