Urban Adventures
From French Quarter Food to Garden District Tour
Ready for the ultimate day out in New Orleans? This tour combines two of our favorite New Orleans experiences (French Quarter Food Tour and the New Orleans Garden District Tour) for one epic New Orleans adventure!
Your culinary tour of New Orleans starts where it all began — the banks of the Mississippi River. From here, you’ll witness the lifeblood of this region which brought new cultures, new influences and new ingredients to the USA through its ports.
As they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. To wake up your taste buds, we’ll indulge in New Orleans’ most iconic breakfast pastry, the beignet. While it looks hard to pronounce, it’s definitely not hard to love. Just make sure you watch the direction of the wind or else you might find yourself covered in powdered, sugary goodness!
Next we will head to The French Market, the site of America’s oldest public market. Historically a place of diversity with products and people from all walks of life, today The French Market is a modern yet unique culinary space. We’ll be sure to stop for a local bite and get to know some of the colorful personalities who call this city home.
From the French Market, you’ll embark on the picturesque streets of the French Quarter where your guide will take you to some of their favorite palate-pleasing spots. You’ll sample both a classic New Orleans dish, as well as a delicacy that you’ve probably never seen outside Cajun country. With an abundance of seafood, a fertile eco-system within the bayou and a history of spice trading, you’ll begin to realize why everything here tastes so good.
Do you have an affinity for the spicier side? Then adopt the ‘when-in-Rome’ attitude and unleash some of Louisiana's hottest and tastiest sauces on your taste buds. This is the birthplace of Tabasco, after all.
On this half of your tour, you’ll have the chance to try a dish that sparks more controversy amongst chefs than any other in New Orleans: gumbo. Learn how hundreds of years of history has shaped this recipe and how it can vary from restaurant to restaurant.
You’ll finish off your food tour with a sweet treat made from locally grown sugarcane and the region’s abundant pecans. No room for more? Don’t worry, they don’t call it the Big Easy for nothing. You can take your praline to-go and indulge when your sweet tooth kicks in.
Your guide will then walk with you to the streetcar line and take you to the starting point for the second half of your tour, in the picturesque Garden District. You’ll have some time to rest your feet as you ride along on this iconic New Orleans trolley, before you continue on the rest of your tour.
The second half of your tour begins in the heart of the New Orleans Garden District - considered by many to be one of the best preserved collections of historic mansions in the United States. Originally a family plantation, this area was divided into smaller (but still very large!) lots for private homes with beautiful gardens in the mid-1800’s, giving the district its name. The amazing Antebellum architecture in the Garden District continues to draw the eye making the area a favorite of locals and visitors alike.
We quickly arrive to the home to one of New Orleans’ oldest cemeteries - Lafayette Cemetery. Continually popular with travelers, New Orleans cemeteries have a unique approach to burials: namely, the above-ground, multiple-burial techniques. Explore the grounds with your local guide, hear why these types of burials are iconic to New Orleans and learn about some of the families buried in this particular square.
We then continue on for a view of one of the most striking buildings in all of New Orleans: Commander’s Palace. Host to myriad wedding receptions and dinners throughout the year, this eye-catching, turreted Victorian building is one of the most well-respected upscale restaurants in the entire country. We’ll admire from the outside, unless you want to treat your guide to a meal of a lifetime.
Next, we’ll take stroll, past more gorgeous homes, some with famous Hollywood connections. New Orleans is always a popular filming location for the movie industry and the homes in the Garden District have had starring roles in several films, as well as famous musicians, provoking the City Council to introduce new anti-noise ordinances.
To reflect the full story of The Garden District, your guide will highlight the real history and the people and the true backbone of this historic neighborhood. Across Magazine Street, we’ll find the working class area known as the Irish Channel. Predominantly settled by Irish immigrants, this neighborhood developed in the early 1800’s when the city’s shipping, alcohol, and brewing industries drew workers from all over the world, especially from Ireland. In contrast to the palatial homes we saw earlier, your guide will take you past some of the iconic shotgun-style homes of New Orleans.
Next, we’ll take you to a local institution located in the heart of the Irish Channel. Here, we’ll sample one of New Orleans’ most famous foods: the po-boy sandwich. With many variations possible, this sandwich has its roots deep in the Gulf Coast seafood industry - typically including fried shrimp and oysters served on a French-style baguette. A New Orleans taste not to be missed!
Then we’ll head to try another favorite in New Orleans: local beer! Your guide will lead you to one of the most popular watering hole for locals in the Irish Channel. Enjoy a beer with your new friends, hear some stories, and imagine the madness for the annual St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and festivities.
Finally, after you’ve sampled your local brew, we’ll take one final stroll past several more picturesque antebellum homes, making our way back close to the streetcar line. When the tour ends, you’re sure to have a newfound appreciation for the deep and complex history and dynamic neighborhood behind the postcard-perfect properties of the Garden District. Before you head on your way, your guide will be able give you any recommendations you need for more beautiful sights to see, restaurants or bars to try, or other favorite spots of theirs throughout the city.
Inclusions: Local, English-speaking guide, food samples, streetcar fare, 1 beer, 1 po-boy sandwich (split). Please note: food options and portion sizes will vary depending on the season and where we stop that day but the total amount of food included will be equal to a full meal.
Exclusions: Additional food and drinks, souvenirs and personal shopping, tips/gratuities for your guide.
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