Garden District Walking Tour New Orleans Historic Tours
Garden District Tours
Get to know the characters who built the Garden District into what it is today
You cant visit New Orleans without spending some time walking the tree-lined streets of the Garden District. Stroll around one of the most beautiful and historically rich neighborhoods in America. The Garden District is known for its amazing architecture, intriguing past, and interesting characters who have lived and played in old Lafayette City.
Our Garden District Tour takes the unique angle of focusing on the influential people and historic figures who have lived in the Garden District. Of course, you are still going to see the famous homes and the amazing architecture; However, we tell the story of the Garden District through the stories of the people who helped make the Garden District what it is today. Eccentric characters, Plantation owners and Military Generals have all lived in the Garden District. History is much more interesting when told through the stories of the people.
The Garden District Tour is a 90-minute walking tour that covers about 1 mile. We meet at The Rink Shopping Center and finish the tour less than a block away, inside of Lafayette Cemetery.
- Historic Homes of the Garden District
- You'll learn about the unique Architecture found throughout the Garden District
- Our Garden District Tour also includes a walk through Lafayette Cemetery
- and much more!
A Free Self-Guided Tour of The Garden District New Orleans with map
House of Broel (2220 Saint Charles Avenue):This handsomely columned mansion is unique in that it was built in two different periods- Antebellum and High Victorian. Another unique feature is that, unlike most of the other mansions in The Garden District, you can tour this one.
The Broel family has also dedicated the second floor of the home to The House of Broels Dollhouse Museum, a collection of antique dollhouses, model mansions, period figures and dcor.
Ghost Manor (2502 Magazine Street):During the last two weekends in October, you can visit Ghost Manor, a gorgeous Queen Anne Victorian House on 2502 Magazine Street.
The display is free to the public and easily viewed from the sidewalk. The show is made up of more than a dozen different scenes, with Halloween themed characters, all perfectly timed to music. Ghost Manor is a labor of love, gifted by the owners of the home who spend countless hours designing the performances each year.
Garden District Walking Tour
The Garden District, or 'Lafayette City' as it was once known, is part of Uptown New Orleans.
This area is just a short streetcar ride from Bourbon Street and the French Quarter, but it feels like a world apart. Step back in time and explore the architectural marvels and rich history of New Orleans. Whether youre a history buff or an architecture enthusiast, this tour has something special.
It's a must-see in New Orleans, and we know we lead hundreds of guests each week on walking tours of the neighborhood.
In the video below, Andrew, a tour guide with us - Tours by Foot, takes you on a virtual Garden District walking tour.
Depending on the time of year, we offer daily or 2x daily guided walking tours of the Garden District.
Sights We Cover on the Garden District Tour:
- Colonel Short's Villa: Begin your adventure at the stunning Colonel Short's Villa, a masterpiece of Italianate architecture. Learn about its storied past and the fascinating tales of its former residents.
- Briggs-Staub House: Next, marvel at the Gothic Revival style of the Briggs-Staub House. Your tour guide will share intriguing details about its unique design and historical significance- the only true example of Gothic Revival architecture in the Garden District.
- Commander's Palace Restaurant: A visit to New Orleans wouldn't be complete without stopping at the iconic Commander's Palace Restaurant. Known for its award-winning cuisine, this historic establishment has been a staple in the community since 1893.
- Toby's Corner: Wander past Toby's Corner, the oldest house in the Garden District. Admire its Greek Revival architecture and hear stories about New Orleans's early days.
- Manning House: Discover the elegant Manning House - once the home of former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning, as well as the childhood home of his football star sons Peyton, Eli, and Cooper Manning.
- Brevard-Mahat-Rice House: Explore the grandeur of the Brevard-Mahat-Rice House, a testament to the opulence of the antebellum South. Anne Rice, best known for her novels about vampires in New Orleans, renovated and used the home as her primary residence for many years, and she also set her Witching Hour trilogy inside.
- Rosegate: Stroll past the enchanting gardens of Rosegate. This hidden gem offers a serene escape and a glimpse into the city's horticultural heritage, surrounded by one of the first chain-link fence designs in the world.
- Payne-Strachan House: Admire the classic beauty of the Payne-Strachan House- where the first and only President of the short-lived Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, died.
- Lafayette Cemetery: Conclude your tour with a visit to Lafayette Cemetery, one of the most famous cemeteries in New Orleans. Discover the unique above-ground tombs and their rich history. The cemetery is closed to groups for maintenance until further notice.However, we will still discuss the graveyard at the gate!
New Orleans is well known for uneven streets, most famously in the Garden District.
It is often a source of great humor and peril. Please wear flat shoes and let us know if anyone in your party uses walking assistance.
We have been leading walking tours for 15 years and are well-regarded experts. Read the reviews for yourself.
TOUR DETAILS:
- The tour departs from the southwest corner of Prytania Street and Washington Avenue. The corner is next to the white cemetery wall (map).
- The tour ends outside of Commander's Palace Restaurant (map). Note, if you are considering eating there, keep in mind that they have a dress code.
- Tour lasts 2 hours. Total walking is about 1 mile.
- Or take our anytime GPS-enabled audio tour.
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GARDEN DISTRICT OF NEW ORLEANS AUDIO TOUR
We also offer self-guided walking and audio tours to use anytime you wish.
The audio tour is GPS-enabled so you can follow it on your phone. Downloads cost just $2.99.
Here is an audio sample.
We also offer audio tours of other New Orleans Neighborhoods.
Here is how it works:
- Purchase an audio tour.
- Get a confirmation email with .mp3, .pdf, and embeddable Google Map
- Enjoy the tour(s).
Available Tours
- Garden District
- French Quarter
- Lafayette Cemetery #1
- Hurricane Katrina Rebirth
- Music, Arts, and More Tour
- St. Charles Streetcar
But first, here is a bit of background information.
Excluded from early 19th-century Creole society, newly arrived Yankees got to work creating their city.
They bought property blocks that were carved up from the Livaudais Plantation.
The result is one of New Orleans's most desired neighborhoods and one of the nation's most beautifully preserved city districts. It's home to the rich, the famous, the strange, and the dead!
Stroll the leafy, magnolia-shaded streets of the Garden District and a city of the dead, Lafayette Cemetery #1.
This walking tour is not just historic mansions, live oak trees, and manicured gardens.
It also includes stories of legends, tragedy, epidemics, lost causes, movie stars, celebrity chefs, and haunted spirits.
It's free to visit and walk around the Garden District and a very safe neighborhood.
HOW TO GET TO THE GARDEN DISTRICT
Depending on where you are coming from and going, the Garden District is approximately 2-3 miles from Bourbon Street in the French Quarter.
How you get to the Garden District depends on where you are staying and what you want to do.
Since this page is mainly a self-guided tour of the neighborhood, here is a link to the starting point of that tour.
Some buses service the area, and you could take a taxi or an Uber, but we recommend taking the St. Charles Streetcar.
The ride along St. Charles Avenue is full of beautiful
If youre mainly interested in the shopping and dining on Magazine Street, the #11 city bus runs the entire length of that street, from the edge of the French Quarter to the Audubon Zoo.
By Streetcar
Many reading this will come from the French Quarter, and then you will take the St. Charles Streetcarfrom Canal Street.
The fare is $1.25, though day passes are also available.
Be sure to read our guide on taking the streetcars in New Orleans. Below is a short video to give you a taste of what you will see.
Be sure to download our GPS-enabled audio tour of the St. Charles Streetcar, which you can take with you. Here's a sample.
Click here to get the audio tour.
On your journey to the outskirts of town, youll pass through the first of New Orleans "American neighborhoods."
Known today as the Central Business District, it was the first neighborhood for the American prospectors arriving in town shortly after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803.
Many structures in this area date as far back as the 1820s.
SELF-GUIDED TOUR
Once again, here is a link to the starting point of that tour.
This walk should take 60-90 minutes, possibly more if you enter Lafayette Cemetery #1.
Our tour begins just down the road from the Washington Ave. stop at St. Charles Ave.
You can also view this tour on a smartphone on Google Maps and can use it offline as well.
Stop 1. The Rink/Still Perkin
The mustard-brown building at 2727 Prytania St., was once called the Crescent City Skating Rink, which we call the Rink today.
It was built in 1884, when New Orleans hosted the World Cotton Centennial Exposition that years name for the Worlds Fair.
The whole city prepared to entertain huge crowds of visitors on this site so an ice skating rink was built!
Today, it contains a coffee shop, the Still Perkin Caf, where you can get a quick pastry or sandwich or a caf au lait or chicory coffee to bring with you.
Upstairs is the Garden District Bookstore, which has hosted many book signings for the neighborhoods famous novelist, Anne Rice.
You can see photos in the shop window of a theatrical mock funeral staged during one of her book promotions, and inside, youll find a barrister bookcase filled with signed copies of her works.
Diagonally across the intersection from the Rink, youll see the white-painted brick wall of Lafayette Cemetery #1. Halfway along it on Washington Avenue, youll find the cemetery gate.
Stop 2. Lafayette Cemetery #1
Lafayette Cemetery #1 was established in 1833 and was named for Lafayette, the autonomous city where it was located and which would eventually be incorporated into New Orleans.
It is a municipal cemetery, owned and operated by the city rather than by the Catholic Church, and is the third oldest cemetery still standing in New Orleans today.
27 or more nationalities are represented in its interments. The cemetery still has burials occurring.
Lafayette #1 is a city block in size, with about 1,000 tombs and an estimated 7,000 people buried there.
For a more thorough exploration, read our self-guided tour and guide to Lafayette Cemetery #1.
We also have a GPS-led audio tour of the cemetery.
NOTE: The Lafayette Cemetery #1 is closed to the public while repairs and improvements are being made.
The city has estimated that it will reopen to the public in late 2024.
Exit the cemetery where you came in, on Washington Avenue, and walk left to Prytania Street. Turn right on Prytania and proceed one block, where youll see a fence with a cornstalk design on the right.
3. Colonel Shorts Villa
At 1448 Fourth Street, this house was built by architect Henry Howard for Kentucky-born Colonel Robert Short in 1859.
Local lore says that Shorts wife complained of missing the cornfields in her native Iowa, so he bought her the cornstalk fence as a gift.
The current owners suggest an alternative explanation: The wife saw that it was the most expensive fence available in the building catalog and requested it based on that.
If you look closely, the corn plants are wrapped in bean vines a common strategy for efficient land cultivation, used by the regions native population.
During the American Civil War, New Orleans was taken and occupied early as a strategic move to cut off Confederate supply lines.
Colonel Shorts Villa was commandeered in September 1862, and Governor Nathaniel Banks lived inside with Major General Benjamin Butler.
As a result of the early occupation, New Orleans, unlike many southern cities, evaded destruction from Shermans March.
Continue in the same direction along Prytania Street until the next intersection, where youll find the Briggs-Staub house on the left side.
4. Briggs-Staub House
The Briggs home, at 2605 Prytania. Street, built in 1854, is the only true example of Gothic Revival architecture in the Garden District.
Because this style reminded the Protestant Americans of the Catholicism of their Creole antagonists, it was not popular.
The original owner, Charles Briggs, did not hold African slaves but did acquire Irish indentured servants. The large servant quarters can be seen to the left of the home.
Continue along Prytania to the next house on the same side of the street.
5. Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel- 2523 Prytania St.
The beautiful Madonna and canopy in the yard denote a small Catholic chapel, which used to stand here until Anne Rice, author of Interview with a Vampire, purchased the property.
It became the setting for Violin, another of her novels.
The home was designed by architect Henry Howard in 1857. Most of his works, including this house, were in the Italianate style.
Italianate homes in the Garden District, on average, have ceilings that are seventeen feet high.
Youll also notice the exquisite metalwork along the galleries.
At the tops of the metal columns, youll notice what we call Romeo spikes installed, according to local lore, to keep young men from climbing into young womens rooms.
The more likely intent of most owners was robbery prevention.
Youll also notice gas lights on the porch that burn all day and night.
Lights like these found on many historic New Orleans buildings uphold a tradition that dates to the 1833 arrival of J.H. Caldwell, a theater manager and gasworks industrialist, who added gaslighting to much of the city.
The neighborhood would have never been without light since the Garden District was founded just as his enterprise began.
Continue along Prytania to this blocks last building on the right.
6. The Women's Opera Guild House- 2504 Prytania St.
The standout homes in the Garden District often include more than one style.
Designed by William Freret in 1859, this building combines a Greek Revival structure and Italianate metalwork with a Queen Anne extension.
Now owned by the Womens Opera Guild, the home can be toured on Mondays from 1 to 4 p.m.
Recent filming in the house includes the motion pictures Elsa and Peter with Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer and the Quentin Tarantino film Django Unchained.
Continue down Prytania for another block; cross First Street and find the first house on the right.
7. Toby's Corner- 2340 Prytania St.
The Garden Districts oldest still-standing residence was built in 1838. You can note the basic Doric columns, which speak to the homes age.
Although built for an American owner, the house displays Creole building techniques that are practical for the region.
The house has a raised basement for flooding as well as ventilation.
The ceiling height is 15 feet. Floor-length windows surrounding the structure could be opened to take advantage of cross-breezes from nearby Mississippi.
From the front gate, you can see a sugar kettle used as a fountain in the front yard, paying homage to southeast Louisianas biggest crop.
If youre here during the Carnival season, youll likely see three flags with the insignia of Rex, King of Mardi Gras, one of New Orleans many parading organizations.
Next, look across Prytania Street.
8. Bradish Johnson House and Louise S. McGehee School- 2343 Prytania St.
Architect James Freret designed this mansion in the Second Empire style for sugar baron Bradish Johnson in 1872.
It is quintessential Reconstruction-era architecture.
You can also find this style further uptown along St. Charles Avenue in neighborhoods like Audubon Place, which was developed during that era.
Today, the property is the private Louise S. McGehee School for Girls, which celebrated its centennial in 2012.
From here, turn back along Prytania to the intersection with First Street, then turn left. Continue along First Street until you find a tan house on the right.
9. Buckner Mansion - 1410 Jackson Avenue
The massive house at Coliseum and Jackson, built in 1856, is the Buckner Mansion, the largest home in the neighborhood.
As you approach Coliseum Street, youll see the back of the house, including a long, three-story extension: this was the homes slave quarters.
As you approach the front of the house on Jackson Avenue, youll get the complete sense of its size over 20,000 square feet.
Henry Buckner, the house's namesake, was a cotton magnate who commissioned it. His family continued to live there until 1923, when it became a business school.
You can still see a mosaic stating its educational mission by the front gate.
Now its again a single-family home, but it got to play the part of a school in American Horror Story: Coven.
10. Archie Manning House- 1420 First St.
This is the home of former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning and the childhood home of his sons, Peyton, Eli, and Cooper Manning.
The family is made up of full-time residents and is a common sight in the neighborhood.
A lot of footage from the family documentary The Book of Manning (2013) was shot at the home.
11. Morris Israel House - 1331 First St.
By the 1860s, the Italianate style was the most popular style of architecture in the Garden District.
Like many New Orleans homes, this one is narrow along the street but extends far back on the lot.
Large square lots that failed to sell were often split lengthwise, sometimes more than once, to form multiple lots, leaving owners with no choice but to build long, rectangular homes.
Past visitors to Disneyland in Anaheim, California, might recognize this house, as it was the basis for the design of the Haunted Mansion and the house appropriately has rumored ghosts of its own.
Continue along First Street until you cross Chestnut, then find the first house on the left.
12. Brevard Mahat/Anne Rice House- 1239 First St.
Originally designed in 1857 as a Greek Revival home, this house has noticeable modern additions, like an Italianate bay and a skylight.
Notice the Rosegate fence, which is believed to be one of the world's first chain-link fence designs.
Viewers today, especially those familiar with the works of former owner Anne Rice, often see skulls rather than rosebuds.
Rice, best known for her novels about vampires in New Orleans, renovated and used the home as her primary residence for many years, and she also set her Witching Hour trilogy inside.
She sold the home in 2003 after the death of her husband, Stan Rice.
Continue along First Street, stopping at the first house right after the intersection with Camp Street.
13.Payne Strachan House- 1134 First St.
Jefferson Davis, the first and only President of the short-lived Confederate States of America, died here in December 1889.
He had been traveling to New Orleans to give a lecture, became ill, and spent his last hours here in the home of Judge Charles Fenner, where he was brought to receive care.
A small monument in front of the house bears the date of Davis death: December 6, 1889.
Notice the sky-blue color of the ceiling on the front porch.
The color is believed to keep winged insects from nesting there and to ward off evil spirits.
Many Garden District homes and other homes throughout the Gulf South region adhere to this tradition.
The color is called haint blue.
From here, turn back along First Street and proceed until you reach the intersection with Coliseum Street. Turn left and continue until this blocks last house on the right.
14. Joseph Merrick Jones House- 2425 Coliseum St.
This home currently belongs to the actor John Goodman, who is known locally for his role in the post-Katrina HBO drama Treme, created by David Simon, the creator of The Wire.
He's known more broadly for his film career and long-running role as Dan Conner on the hit TV showRoseanne.
He moved to New Orleans thirty years ago after making the film The Big Easy with Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin.
Thanks to his portrayal of a staunch defender of New Orleans culture in Treme and his real-life advocacy, New Orleansians consider him an honorary native son.
Before Goodman owned the home, it belonged to Trent Reznor, the singer of Nine Inch Nails.
Some would speculate he was not a good fit as he had several unconventional guests and a recording studio installed inside.
Continue along Coliseum Street and pause at the next blocks last house on the left.
15. Musson Bell House- 1331 Third St.
This home was built in 1853 for Michel Musson, one of the few Creoles living in the Garden District before the Civil War.
He was the uncle of French artist Edgar Degas.
Degas briefly lived with Musson in another home on Esplanade Avenue during a visit to New Orleans.
You can tour that home, now called the Degas House.
The backyard of this building, visible along Coliseum Street, contains several detached buildings typical of 19th-century homes.
This includes slave quarters, a kitchen, a stable and carriage house, and a cistern for water storage.
Mark Twain once commented that, upon visiting the neighborhood and seeing all the cisterns, it looked as if everybody had a private brewery.
16. Robinson House- 1415 Third St.
Building on this property began in 1859 and did not end until 1865. It was for tobacco merchant Walter Robinson by architect Henry Howard
The property is one of the largest in the Garden District at 12,000 square feet.
The roof is flat, and rainwater is once gathered for the homes indoor plumbing and drinking water.
In 2016 the house was listed for sale for $6.45 million, but the owners had to settle for only $4.5 million when they finally got a buyer!
Continue along Coliseum until you reach the next blocks last building on the right.
17. Koch-Mays House - 2627 Coliseum St.
This Swiss Germanic Chalet, built in 1867, is one of only three homes of this style in New Orleans.
It is not a practical style of architecture in a part of the country that gets as warm as New Orleans does.
It was designed by architect William Freret for James Eustis, a one-time U.S. Senator.
Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock bought the home in late 2009, and as of 2021, she still owns the property (along with, allegedly, another 16 around the country!)
People flock to the home hoping for a sighting, but shes rarely here.
She does allow other celebrities to stay, though, so you never know who might enter through the front gate.
18. Benjamin Button House 2707 Coliseum St.
This house (Nolan House) was one of the central shooting locations for the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, featuring Brad Pitt and the one the film had to fight hardest to secure.
The director chose the house as the ideal setting for the retirement home where the title character has lived for many years.
However, the owner, who was evacuated to Houston at the time due to Hurricane Katrina, refused the request, as she had received many similar requests from film companies in the past.
It took the director personally convincing her that the film would portray New Orleans in a positive, hopeful light much needed after Hurricane Katrina to change her mind.
The house's design shows the broad array of visual styles the Americans living in this neighborhood drew from.
These include Ionic columns on the ground floor, Queen Anne reliefs on the second floor, and Gothic arches in Greek Revival dormers on a roof of part shingle, part Spanish tile.
Continue along Coliseum to the corner of Washington Ave.
19. Commander's Palace Restaurant- 1403 Washington Ave.
The bright turquoise-and-white building on the corner was erected in 1883 for Emil Commander to be run as a restaurant.
It is now considered one of the best restaurants in the United States and has been owned by the Brennan family, some of New Orleans foremost restauranteurs, since 1974.
Locals attend the weekday martini lunches twenty-five cents for a martini with an entre! but a weekend jazz brunch is also an excellent option.
Reservations are required, and there is a strict dress code.
And that concludes our self-guided walking tour of the Garden District in New Orleans.
If you are reading this in preparation for an in-person visit, consider joining other like-minded travelers on a guided tour with us, Free Tours by Foot!
TIPS FROM LOCALS AND TRAVELERS
Below we share some thoughts and tips from members of our popular New Orleans Travel Tips Facebook group about touring the Garden District, if they felt it was worth the time, and what is the best way to see it.
Our Facebook group has over 40,000 members and consists of locals, regular visitors, and newbies to the city.
After you've read this post, check our Facebook group for more tips from locals and tourists about visiting the Big Easy!
With so many amazing places to see in New Orleans, its hard to narrow down where to go and what to do. Sois the Garden District a must-see?
Heres what group members said about the district and what makes it so special.
Besides the history and houses, the plant life is beautiful, the restaurants are amazing and the shopping is excellent.
We saw lots of comments from members, like this one, who say the Garden District is so nice its worth visiting more than once.
We were hard-pressed to find any negative comments about it, the most negative being that what makes it special may not be to everyones liking.
The only comment we read that found said it wasn't worth visiting was this one, from someone who has the opportunity to see grand old mansions at home.
So if you are short on time in NOLA, and live in a part of the country where there are similar neighborhoods, then perhaps you might prefer to skip the Garden District.
(Call us biased, but we don't think it should be missed, no matter what you can see back home!)
Once you decide to explore the Garden District, the question is how you want to do so.
Many members felt that taking a guided tour was the best way to get to know the area.
Guides tell you about the history, the special architectural features, and what movies and celebrities are connected to the district.
And we are very pleased to see that these members took our tour and had a great time!
Some people felt that taking a self-guided tour was a good option, like the one contained in this post.
One of the most popular ways to see the Garden District, other than on foot, is to ride the St. Charles Streetcar.
A common question is which neighborhood should one take a tour of -- the French Quarter or the Garden District.
Plenty of our group members agree with us! Both!
But what if you are short of time? We say to do what this group member suggests!
