New Orlean's French Quarter Tours

You might probably be wondering and ask, -what's in French Quarter? Why do many tourists love to visit the place? So, you'll get curious, right? The best answer would be to go there, visit and see it for yourself ;).

French Quarter is also known as "Vieux Carre" - the largest district with a predominant 19th century best-preserved architecture that can be found within an American city. Its architectural styles are a mix of French, Creole, Spanish and American styles.

These eye-catching walled courtyards, cast iron balconies, lacy galleries with stoops and porches on some buildings are what makes French Quarter uniquely creates its popular trademark for many visitors.

You can find that in every corner bend, you can also enjoy some eclectic shopping destinations, restaurants and historical museums.

Did you know that French Quarter is so far the oldest neighborhood in the city? It was first established by the French in 1718, and soon developed its history of international cultural contributions from the Spanish, Italians, French, Irish, Africans, Sicilians, and more, which now reflects the development of this global port settlement.

The French Quarter is full of history. You'll learn a lot of it with the help of a professional tour guide. You will learn about the quarter's unique strategic location down to its architecture styles to restaurants, music, food and shopping.

A French Quarter Self-Guided Walking Tour (New Orleans)

If you get a chance to spend some time visiting New Orleans, one of the most commonly visited attractions is the French Quarter. The most recommended way to visit this area is by walking, as you can control your own time at your own pace. Besides, it is also much more practical to do rather than driving. Expect your tour to last for at least 3 hours or more, particularly if you spend a lot of times stopping to either take photos or visiting shops ;).

But you can even make it an hour or so since you get the chance to skip some sites you don't feel like seeing. If you are not familiar on where to start, it's highly recommended to get a self-guided walking map by visiting neworleanscvb.com/tours and print it online, or you can get them available at any gift shops or stores somewhere within the area.

Otherwise, there are still a lot of options to choose if you want to learn more about landmarks you're mostly interested at, by the help of a tour guide.

There are a lot of things to see and do at the French Quarter, and at least more than 30 historical landmarks that are highly recommended to see and learn about. If you don't want to miss a thing, taking a professional history tour with a knowledgeable tour guide is recommended as well.

It was a fun experience for me to do the French Quarter self-guided walking tour. I spent an hour and a half because I took short cuts ;). Besides, it feels more convenient and with no pressure and hassles when you do it on your own leisure time.

Just a self-guided walking map was more than enough of help to do a leisure tour like this.

Top Sights to See in New Orleans

There is always fun happening around every corner of New Orleans. Here are some that are worthy of exploring:

• French Quarter
• Streetcars & Riverboats
• Audubon Institute Attractions, - try the Audubon zoo, insectarium, aquarium of the Americas & Entergy IMAX Theater.
• New Orleans Art District - Contemporary Art Center, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, National World War II Museum & more.
• New Orleans Museum of Art
• Louisiana State Museum
• Show Center for the Arts
• Vermillionville
• The Shops Along Front Street in Historic Natchitoches
• Poverty Point State Historic Site

You can always "google" these sites for complete addresses and websites online.

French Quarter Self-Guided Walking Tour (Part 2) - A Repost

I became curious about Moonwalk, so we moved further until we reached Cafe du Monde. It’s a french coffee shop, so without a word, hubby was pulling me going inside and we ended up ordering a coffee and 6 pieces of beignets. He told me this is a famous coffee shop and well liked by almost anybody who would taste their french donuts (beignets) as well as the coffee. My hubby is a coffee lover, so I won’t wonder. I tried getting an ice decaf coffee and it’s sooo bitter…hehehe.

Hubby with the beignets (ben-yeys). He loves eating them. I ate one he ate five..lol!

We spent few minutes sitting on the bench along moonwalk park. The park faces the Missisipi River, it’s kinda like Manila Bay.

Below is a photo overlooking the Mississipi River.

There are some spots where you can relax along moonwalk overlooking the bay. Be sure to take an extra jacket with you. It's cool and breezy out there not unless you're in the summer time with the heat at its peak.

French Quarter Self-Guided Walking Tour(Part 1) - A Repost

December 5, 2007

We did a short walking tour this afternoon at French Quarter here in New Orleans, Louisiana. And yes, so far this is the only state I’ve been so far with banana trees well growing in the coming winter :))

Other photos taken of me while walking along the street are below. New Orleans is well known for its jazzy music where many musicians play on the city streets. These people have great musical talents, but I’m just wondering if they can live with just a meager income in doing these…

Notice the balcony on top of the building? These are widely seen when you walk on the streets. I think this became popular because of the famous mardi gras celebration that they usually do. There are several designs of it which make them fancy to look at. There’s not much to see on the sidestreets though, except for some antique collection shops, galleries, etc…

Notice this guy? This is not a statue. At a first glance you would think he is a statue. It was funny when I just went close to him and it startled me when I saw his eyes moving, lol! Then, I analyzed he is a real human being trapped in a statues’ body!!! hahaha…that’s what he does for living.

VIP City Tours (New Orleans) - LOUISIANA

Our tour started at 1pm that lasted for 2 hours. It started with the tour guide's introduction of the city of New Orleans...the birthplace of Jazz music! We went around the city's famous buildings and historical places. Not much photos to share in here since we're on mobile and had no chance to stop and go down to take photos. (If stops were allowed, then the tour might last 4-5 hours I guess, LOL!)

Then we proceeded to the devastated Lower Ninth Ward by hurricane katrina. I got a few photos plus a video clip while touring around. It was only at that time I had known that New Orleans is geographically in the lowlands, surrounded by marshlands and a bayou!...the main reason why the flood went as high as 8 feet.

The only stop that we did was at the St. louis cemetery #3, or widely known as "Cities of the Dead." There is a long story behind that and telling all about here would be a long chapter to be written, hehehe...anyway, if you're interested about the story, just google it, and read from there :)

Anyway, it was chilly that day! It just freezes my feet walking. So I just feel lazy walking and not much of going around by foot.