New Orleans, Louisiana

At 800 Decatur Street, in the French Market on the edge of New Orleans' French Quarter, Cafe du Monde has been frying beignets and pouring chicory coffee since 1862 — making it the city's oldest coffee stand. It opened…

The reputed tomb of Marie Laveau, the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans, in the oldest cemetery in the city, established in 1789.

Before jazz, enslaved Africans and free people of color gathered at Congo Square to play music, dance, and preserve their cultural heritage. In the 19th century, enslaved Africans were allowed to gather here on Sundays.…

Once a site for public executions, this historic park is now a vibrant hub in the French Quarter. Jackson Square, originally called Place d'Armes, witnessed a pivotal moment in American history. In 1803, this square was…

This open-air coffee stand has served exactly three things since 1862: beignets, cafe au lait, and chicory coffee. That's it. No menu changes, no seasonal specials, no avocado toast. The beignets are squares of fried…

Ever wonder why Jackson Square is framed by those gorgeous red buildings? They're the Pontalba Buildings, and they're a testament to one woman's vision. Baroness Micaela Almonester Pontalba, a strong-willed…

Step back in time at one of the oldest houses in the French Quarter, completed in 1788. Madame John's Legacy, located at 632 Dumaine Street, represents the French colonial architectural style that was common in New…

The open space in what is now Louis Armstrong Park where enslaved Africans gathered on Sundays to play music, dance, and trade, creating the foundation of American popular music.

Step back in time to a place where pirates and secrets brewed: Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop. Most likely built as a house in the 1770s during the Spanish colonial period, this is one of the oldest surviving structures in…

Where Mardi Gras floats are built year-round. Walk through giant sculptures and try on costumes.

You're near a place that helped birth a movement: St. James AME Church. It's the first African Methodist Episcopal church established in the Deep South. Founded in 1844, St. James AME Church was established by free…

Imagine this unassuming hall filled with the sounds of early jazz. Dating back to 1819, Perseverance Hall is one of the oldest buildings in Louis Armstrong Park and a witness to New Orleans' vibrant musical history.…

Right here in New Orleans, you're standing near the birthplace of a sound that would change the world: jazz. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, African American musicians in this city blended blues, ragtime, and brass…

Imagine stepping back in time to witness the opulence of 19th-century New Orleans. That's precisely what you can do at the Gallier House. Constructed in 1857, this house was the residence of James Gallier Jr., a…

Willie Mae Seaton opened her Scotch House in New Orleans' Treme neighborhood in 1957. In 2005, the James Beard Foundation named it an America's Classic. Two months later, Hurricane Katrina destroyed it. Volunteers from…

Imagine holding history in your hand – coins worth millions, minted right here! This is the New Orleans Mint, a crucial financial engine for the U.S., and briefly, the Confederacy. From 1838 to 1861, and again from 1879…

Leah Chase — the Queen of Creole Cuisine — fed civil rights leaders in the back room when segregation made front dining illegal. Open since 1941.

Ever heard of a neighborhood being born out of spite? That's kind of the story of Faubourg Marigny. Bernard de Marigny, a wealthy Creole landowner, wasn't happy with the American influence creeping into the French…

Stop here and behold: St. Mary's Assumption Church, a testament to New Orleans' vibrant immigrant past. Built in 1860, this architectural gem was erected to serve the burgeoning German Catholic community in the Lower…

Parkway Bakery Domilise's or Mahony's — overstuffed fried seafood sandwiches on French bread.

Step back in time as you approach Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, a hauntingly beautiful city of the dead. Founded in 1833, this above-ground cemetery was the first planned cemetery in what was then the City of Lafayette,…

New Orleans' legendary Creole restaurant in the Garden District since 1893. 25-cent martini lunch.

Stroll through the Garden District, admiring the opulent mansions and lush gardens that define this historic neighborhood. Back in the mid-1800s, this area transformed from plantations into a showcase of wealth, as…

Marker at the corner of Press and Royal streets where Homer Plessy was arrested in 1892 for sitting in a whites-only railroad car, leading to the Supreme Court case that legalized segregation for 58 years.

Isidore Newman School (1903 Jefferson Ave., New Orleans, LA) is the small Uptown prep where both Peyton and Eli Manning played quarterback. Peyton, class of 1994, still owns school single-season records of 2,703 passing…

Imagine grand parties spilling onto the banks of Bayou St. John – that's the kind of history held within the walls of the Pitot House. Built in the 1790s, this Creole colonial home was eventually purchased by James…

Right here stood a bronze horse and rider, a statue that ignited a city-wide conversation. P.G.T. Beauregard, a Louisiana native and Confederate general, was honored with this equestrian statue unveiled in 1915. It…

On November 14, 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges became the first Black child to attend an all-white elementary school in the South, escorted by federal marshals past screaming crowds.

On the corner of Caffin Avenue and Marais Street at 1208 Caffin Avenue stands the longtime home of Antoine 'Fats' Domino, the New Orleans rock-and-roll pioneer behind 'Blueberry Hill' and 'Ain't That a Shame.' He bought…

Antoine Domino Jr. grew up in the Lower Ninth Ward, learned piano from his brother-in-law, and never left the neighborhood. By the mid-1950s, Fats Domino had sold more records than anyone in rock and roll except Elvis…

Tipitina's opened in January 1977 for one reason: to give Professor Longhair a place to play. Henry Roeland Byrd, better known as Fess, had invented the New Orleans piano style in the 1950s, a rhumba-meets-boogie-woogie…

Welcome to what some call a 'city of the dead,' Metairie Cemetery, where elaborate tombs tell silent stories. This wasn't always a final resting place. Originally, this land was home to the Metairie Race Course, a…

Ever heard of a pirate helping defend America? Here, at what is now Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, you're standing on land connected to that very story. Jean Lafitte and his Baratarians, a group of…

Step out of the car here, and you're walking on hallowed ground, the final resting place for generations of American soldiers. Chalmette National Cemetery was established in 1864, during the Civil War, to bury Union…

Ever wonder how New Orleans defended itself from invaders? You're driving right by a key piece of that history: Spanish Fort. This spot guarded the city's eastern approach for centuries. Originally built by the French…

On the morning of January 8, 1815, the finest army Britain had fielded since Waterloo marched across this sugar cane field in neat columns toward a mud rampart defended by Andrew Jackson's collection of frontiersmen,…

This Civil War fortification once stood guard just upriver from New Orleans. During the Civil War, both Confederate and Union forces recognized the strategic importance of the high ground at this bend in the Mississippi…

Here in Marrero, there's an old treasure story with a strange turn in it. Folklorist Barry Jean Ancelet put it in his essay on Louisiana French oral literature. A storyteller named Leonard Gauthreaux, from Cecelia, said…

Imagine New Orleans without easy access to Lake Pontchartrain. This lighthouse guided ships through the New Basin Canal, a vital waterway for New Orleans commerce. First established in 1838, the New Canal Light marked…

Airboat through Louisiana bayous with alligators and cypress knees. The real Cajun country.

Pull over here for a second; this is Promised Land. Once owned by one of the most powerful men in Louisiana, this spot whispers tales of political influence. Leander Perez, a dominant figure in Louisiana politics,…

The most famous pirate in American history ran his operation from these bayous. Jean Lafitte commanded a fleet of ships and a small army of smugglers from his base on Barataria Bay, south of New Orleans. He called…

Here in Jean Lafitte, you're in pirate treasure country, at least according to the old stories. In nineteen forty five, the Louisiana Writers' Project gathered old Louisiana stories into a book called Gumbo Ya-Ya.…

These grounds whisper stories of wealth built on the backs of enslaved people. Destrehan Plantation, one of the best-preserved examples of early Louisiana plantation life, offers a stark reminder of our nation's complex…

Stand on this land and imagine a time when the fate of New Orleans, and perhaps the nation, rested on the strength of this very fort. Construction on Fort Macomb began in 1822, intended to guard the Chef Menteur Pass, a…