A Stay in New Orleans: History, Music, and Cuisine in the Big Easy

Arrive in New Orleans and settle in at your hotel in the heart of the French Quarter. In the afternoon, meet the group for a short walking tour to get acquainted with the neighborhood. This evening, kick off your Big Easy sojourn at a welcome reception and dinner at a restaurant in town. (R,D)

After breakfast, begin the day with a guided walk in the French Quarter, discovering the stories and characters that make up the district’s colorful past. Stroll through Jackson Square, and see St. Louis Cathedral, which dates back to the 1700s. Next, stop in at the New Orleans School of Cooking for a Cajun and Creole cooking class followed by a delicious lunch. Tour the Cabildo, once a Spanish colonial city hall and now home to the Louisiana State Museum. End the day relaxing to the sounds of traditional New Orleans jazz at Fritzel’s Jazz Bar, a fixture on Bourbon Street since 1969. Enjoy an evening at leisure to explore the city’s culinary and cultural offerings. (B,L)

Pay a visit to the Le Musee de f.p.c., one of the only museums in the country dedicated to the history and culture of free people of color in the United States. Then soak up the community spirit of the French Market on a guided tour before free time to browse the flea market and produce stalls on your own. In the afternoon, board the Creole Queen paddle wheeler for a cruise down the Mississippi River, listening to a historian recount tales from New Orleans’ 300-year history. Along the way, meet park rangers at Chalmette Battlefield for a tour and a talk about the Battle of New Orleans, which took place here in 1815. The remainder of the day is yours to pursue your own interests. (B)

Head uptown to the Garden District for a morning tour of its grand mansions, lavish gardens, and leafy avenues. View the storied New Orleans Opera Guild Home, and see the lively cafés and boutiques of Magazine Street. Later, venture to the Warehouse District for a self-guided tour of the National World War II Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate Museum where you’ll find an extensive collection of wartime artifacts, from original planes and tanks to newsreels from the era. Gather in the evening for an informal conversation with fellow travelers and your expert in the Smithsonian Journeys Travelers Corner. (B,L)

Set off on a guided walking tour through Tremé, the oldest African American neighborhood in the U.S. Stroll through Congo Square in Armstrong Park, where enslaved people gathered to sing, dance, drum, and perpetuate their traditions in the 18th and 19th centuries. At the Backstreet Cultural Museum, view costumes, artifacts, memorabilia, photographs, and films that showcase New Orleans’ African American culture. Savor a lunch of Creole and African American favorites at the legendary Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, an 80-year-old institution on the city’s dining scene that has welcomed famous musicians, writers, and politicians.

This afternoon, explore the Bywater neighborhood, making a stop at the Plessy vs. Ferguson Historical Marker, where Homer Adolph Plessy was arrested in 1892. Learn about a flourishing arts training program for high school students at NOCCA, the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and continue to the New Orleans Jazz Museum to explore the evolution of jazz from its origins on the streets of the Big Easy. (B,L)

Journey into the Bayou to the small town of Donaldsville, perched on the banks of the Mississippi River. Here, take a guided tour of the River Road African American Museum, which offers an intimate look at the lives of the enslaved and freed people in the region before the Civil War. After lunch, visit the Whitney Plantation, a sugar, rice, and indigo plantation that dates back to 1752. On a guided walking tour, gain a unique insight into the lives of the 350 people who were held in bondage here for over 100 years. Toast New Orleans and new friends at a farewell dinner at Mulate’s, a historic Cajun restaurant that celebrates the culture of the Bayou. (B,L,D)

After breakfast, depart for home. (B)