Nearby Places of Interest & Tours
TROLLEYS & TOURS: New Orleans Trolleys and Tours is offering the HPLC2014 Conference a 10% discount to individuals on any of their published tours. Separately, they can offer a special discount off private tours. Please call 504-522-3708 or book your tour online at http://www.neworleanstrolleysandtours.com/ To receive the 10% discount, please cite the Special Trip Code: HPLC2014.
RUNNING TOURS: New Orleans Jogging Tours is offering the HPLC2014 Conference a 50% discount to individuals off its healthy and fun running history tours led by licensed tour guides. Mention HPLC2014 to receive a 50% discount: www.neworleansjoggingtours.com
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
1 Canal Street (French Quarter)
(800) 774-7394
Tues-Sun 10am-5pm
http://www.auduboninstitute.org
More than 10,000 animals showcased in exhibits ranging from the Mississippi River wildlife to exotic species of the Amazon and Carribbean.
Audubon Insectarium
423 Canal Street
(800) 774-7394
http://www.auduboninstitute.org
Tues-Sun 10am-5pm
Featuring a butterfly garden where you can interact with hundreds of live, exotic butterflies in a Japanese-style setting and Bug Appetit, an insect cooking demonstration (with tastings!). The Insectorium was a highly deserving recipient of the 2009 Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Science Center.
Audubon Park
Front entrance at 6500 Saint Charles Avenue (Uptown); back entrance at 6500 Magazine Street
(504) 416-3218
http://www.auduboninstitute.org
Mon-Sun 5am-10pm
Once a staging area for Buffalo Soldiers, the World’s Fair in 1884, and more recently a field heliport during Hurricane Katrina, Audubon Park is better known today as one of the most pleasant walking, jogging, and biking parks in the city. A rookery on the park’s east side is a great birding spot.
Audubon Zoo
6500 Magazine Street (Uptown)
(504) 581-4629
http://www.auduboninstitute.org
Tues-Sun 10am-5pm
58 acres in Uptown New Orleans, just behind Audubon Park. This treasure of the city is consistently ranked among the nation’s Top 10 zoos.
City Park
At the intersection of South Carrollton and City Park Avenues (Mid-City)
(504) 483-9476
http://neworleanscitypark.com
Hours vary depending on attraction
This 1,300-acre green space (50% larger than New York’s Central Park) has sprawling moss-covered oak trees, lagoons, bike and boat rentals, walking trails through Couturie Forest, and plenty of opportunities to spot birds and wildlife. The park also houses the New Orleans Botanical Gardens, a lush urban sanctuary filled with blooming flowers and exotic plants.
National World War II Museum
945 Magazine Street (Warehouse District)
(504) 528-1944
http://nationalww2museum.org
Open daily 9am-5pm
Once known as the D-Day Museum, this fast-growing institution was designated by Congress in 2003 as the U.S.’s national museum to document the World War II experience. The museum is now affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution and the exhibits are equally sobering and inspiring.
New Orleans African American Museum
1418 Governor Nicholls Street (Treme)
(504) 566-1136
http://noaam.org
Wed-Sat 11am-4pm
The African American cultural heritage of New Orleans is on display in a variety of artistic forms in this small but powerful museum in the Treme neighborhood. Housed partly in an historic Creole mansion, the museum also holds an intriguing collection of original African art.
New Orleans Museum of Art
1 Collins Diboll Circle, City Park (Mid-City)
(504) 658-4100
Tues-Sun 10am-5pm, except for Fridays when the museum stays open until 9pm
The city’s premiere art museum. From Degas to Picasso, this cultural institution located in City Park showcases more than 40,000 pieces, as well as a beautifully landscaped sculpture garden for little ones to frolic in. Friday nights feature Where Y’Art festivities.
New Orleans Vintage Streetcars
Various locations
Outfitted with brass accents and mahogany wooden seats. The Saint Charles line is the world’s oldest continuously operating street railway and passes by notable areas such as Audubon Park and the mansions of the Garden District.
Plantation Home Tours
Destrehan Plantation
13034 River Road
Destrehan, LA
(985) 764-9315
http://www.destrehanplantation.org
Open daily, 9am-4pm
The closest restored plantation home to New Orleans, just 8 miles from the New Orleans airport, the 1790 plantation house is the oldest home in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Displays include artwork relating to the 1811 German Coast slave revolt, the largest in American history, and the role of the Destrehans in suppressing the rebellion.
Houmas House Plantation and Gardens
40136 Hwy 942
Darrow, LA
(225) 473-9380
Mon-Tues 9am-5pm; Wed-Sun 9am-8pm
A little less than an hour from New Orleans by car, this restored plantation home was originally built in 1828 on a plantation that had been in operation since before the Louisiana Purchase. Preserved during the Civil War due to the owner’s status as a British subject, the tour features a view into the opulence of the plantation experience and an introduction to 19th century high society.
Laura: A Creole Plantation
2247 La Hwy. 18 (Great River Road)
Vacherie, LA
(225) 265-7690
http://www.lauraplantation.com
Open daily, 10am-4pm
Also about 50 minutes by car from New Orleans, this unique tour highlights the life and times of Laura Locoul Gore, a strong-willed, savvy Creole woman who inherited and ran the family sugar plantation until 1891. Plantation life through the 19th century is featured, including issues of culture, gender, and slavery. The tour includes a fascinating view of restored slave quarters, which stand in wrenching contrast to the mansion just a few hundred feet away.
Oak Alley Plantation
3645 Highway 18 (Great River Road)
Vacherie, LA
(225) 265-2151
http://oakalleyplantation.com
Open daily, 9:30am-5pm
Named after the iconic pathway of live oaks that lead to the plantation home, Oak Alley features guided tours as well as a self-guided walking tour through the house and grounds, which include slave quarters, a blacksmith shop, and a Confederate commanding officer’s tent. Located not far from Laura Plantation, touring this beautifully restored home provides the American plantation perspective in contrast to the Creole experience showcased at Laura.
San Francisco Plantation
2646 Hwy 44 (River Road)
Garyville, LA 70051
(985) 535-2341
Open daily, 9:30am-4:40pm
Billed as the “most opulent plantation house in North America,” the plantation the San Francisco was built on was purchased from a land speculator at inflated prices. Not sparing an expense on the house, which launched the architectural style called steamboat gothic, but neglecting technological advances in agriculture, the debt incurred inspired family members to say they were “sans fruscins,” or penniless. The phrase stuck and evolved into this home’s name. The San Francisco is about 40 minutes from New Orleans by car.
Haunted/ Voodoo/ Magic Tours
Bloody Mary’s
(504) 977-7774
Offering haunted pub tours and other voodoo/magic themes tours.
Haunted History Tours
723 St. Peter St.
(504) 861-2727/(888) 644-6787
http://www.hauntedhistorytours.com
Ghost, voodoo and vampire tours.
Brewery/ Distillery Tours
NOLA Brewing Company
3001 Tchoupitoulas Street (Uptown/ Irish Channel)
(504) 896-9996
http://www.nolabrewing.com/home
New Orleans’ only microbrewry located within the city. Tour schedule can be found on their website.
Old New Orleans Rum Distillery
2815 Frenchmen Street
(504) 945-9400
http://www.neworleansrum.com
Visit New Orleans’ own rum distillery. Tour schedule can be found on their website.
Miscellaneous Tours
Big Easy Bike Tours
3017 Chartres Street
(504) 377-0973
http://bigeasybiketours.com
See New Orleans like a local and take one of the three neighborhood tours offered by Big Easy.
Cajun Encounters
301 Canal Street
(504) 834-1770
Offering swamp tours, city/cemetery tours, and plantation tours.
Confederacy of Cruisers
1815 Elysian Fields
(504) 400-5468
http://confederacyofcruisers.com
Offering 9th Ward tours, culinary tours, kayaking on the bayou, and custom tours.
Free Tours by Foot
(504) 222-2967
Take these informative tours to explore the French Quarter and Garden District.
The Original New Orleans Movie Tours
http://www.nolamovies.com