Ah, New Orleans, there is nothing quite like the Crescent City.
Beyond the restaurants, shopping and music venues, the culturally diverse district offers a wide variety of museums, such as the Cabildo, The Presbytere, Historic New Orleans Collection and others, that help tell the story of New Orleans.
However, as you venture further into the French Quarter and surrounding neighborhoods, you'll discover various museums, small, medium and large, that provide insight into the city's personality, flavor and rich history.
French Quarter
The Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Visitors Center French Quarter's exhibits showcase the city's and region's varied and deep cultural influences. The facility hosts a history talk with a Ranger at 10 a.m., Tuesdays - Saturdays, excluding federal holidays and Mardi Gras.
In the 1800s, New Orleans resident Louis Joseph Dufilho, Jr. became the first licensed pharmacist in the country. His former residence and apothecary shop have been turned into the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum. The multi-level Creole townhouse highlights pharmaceutical and medical practices from the 19th century.
The extensive collection on the first floor includes tonics, elixirs, leech jars, voodoo potions and crude surgical instruments. Be sure to check out the 1885 soda fountain. Enjoy the courtyard before heading up to the second floor.
Once upstairs, check out the sick room and a physician study. Dr. J. William Rosenthal's Spectacles Collection and other medical items are also on view.
The Germaine Cazenave Wells Mardi Gras Museum, located on the second floor of Arnaud's Restaurant, highlights the pageantry of Mardi Gras.
Named after the daughter of Count Arnaud, the museum features over two dozen elaborate costumes, including 13 of Mrs. Wells' queen costumes and some of her family's outfits. Vintage photographs, Carnival masks, Krewe invitations, and more are also displayed.
If you aren't paying attention, it's easy to walk past the Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights Museum. However, if you don't stop in, you're missing out.
For over 70 years, the family-owned business has hand-crafted gas lights and fixtures, many of which decorate buildings throughout the French Quarter. The museum-slash-workshop provides panels detailing the company's evolution, and you can chat with and watch coppersmiths at work.
Voodoo is entwined in New Orleans' culture, much like jazz music. The New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum delves into the mystique that surrounds the practice.
In this intimate venue, learn about those who practiced and their influences. Step into the gris-gris room to view authentic altars, including Marie Laveau's and more.
Step into the colorful world of Carnival costumes, including those worn by walking clubs, krewe royalty and more, inside the Mardi Gras Museum of Costumes and Culture. The museum is fashioned (pun intended) around costumer and entertainer Carl Mack's vast collection.
Take your time going through the exhibits to appreciate the detailed craftsmanship of the various pieces.
End the experience with a visit to the Costume Closet to try on some Mardi Gras garb.
On the smaller side, the Irish Cultural Museum highlights Irish immigrants who made New Orleans what it is today. The museum also houses St. Patrick's Coffee House, a coffee and whiskey bar.
The Old Ursuline Convent Museum, dating back to the mid-1700s, is the oldest building in the Mississippi Valley and the oldest surviving example of the French colonial period in the United States. It served as a home to the French Ursuline Nuns, an orphanage, and a school for girls.
Today, it is part of the Archdiocese of New Orleans Catholic Cultural Heritage Center and houses the Archdiocesan archives. Beyond the formal gardens, the museum features paintings and statues of religious figures, a hand-crafted cypress staircase, and exhibits on the convent's history. Don't miss the courtyard and herb garden in the back.
Like many homes in New Orleans, Beauregard-Keyes House and Garden Museum, across the street from the Old Ursuline Convent Museum, has its share of stories, including being a site of a mafia shoot-out in the early 1900s.
The dwelling, completed in 1826, is named after two of its more notable residents, New Orleans native Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant (P.G.T.) Beauregard, who ordered the first shots of the Civil War fired on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, in April 1861, rented the house after the Civil War, 1866-68; and author Frances Parkinson Keyes used it as her winter home from the 1950s - 70s and was instrumental in its renovation. She completed some works here, including Dinner at Antoine's.
The interior reflects the period when the General and his family lived here, with some furnishings and pieces acquired from the Beauregard family. Also on display are various collections, like antique dolls, of Keyes. Finally, forget to visit the garden, which reflects its 1865 design.
Central Business District
Located inside the American Italian Cultural Center, the American Italian Museum explores the history and culture of Italian-Americans who immigrated to New Orleans and the Southeast.
Learn about their contributions to jazz, the local culinary scene (Angelo Brocato's and Central Grocery), the medical field and more. Plenty of photographs and new articles complement the exhibits. See the St. Joseph altar display and read up on the tradition.
Warehouse District
Learn what it takes to construct the elaborate and larger-than-life Mardi Gras floats and props at Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World. Go behind the scenes on a self-guided tour to see how artists turn concepts into creations.
The experience at Mardi Gras World begins with a short video about the celebration's history and a sample of a King Cake.
Faubourg-Marigny/Bywater
Described as New Orleans' first experiential pop-up, JAMNOLA celebrates Crescent City's vibrant art, music, food and cultural scenes through colorful interactive exhibits crafted by 20 local lead artists.
The 5,400-square-foot space features 12 rooms for exploration. Most rooms offer fun photo opportunities for guests to share with friends and on social media.
Okay, the Music Box Village isn't technically a museum, but it's still worth visiting. The flagship project of New Orleans Airlift, an artist-driven non-profit organization, encourages you to explore and challenge your creativity through sound through the village of artist-made interactive "musical houses."
The site also hosts artist residencies, performances and more.
Esplanade
The year was 1872, and Edgar Degas, living in Paris, needed a change. Fascinated with America, he visited his mother's birthplace and French Creole relatives. Given that New Orleans was in the throes of Reconstruction, he couldn't have chosen a more interesting time in the city.
The city's exotic beauty, atmosphere, and bright light (Degas's sight was failing) catalyzed his new painting style. During his nearly five-month stint, he produced 18 paintings that would become known as the "New Orleans Collection."
And this all took place at the Musson home on Esplanade Avenue.
Known as the Degas House, it's the only home of Degas in the world opened to the public. The historic house museum and inn has the "Edgar Degas House Creole Impressionist Tour." It presents an intimate look at Degas, his French-Creole family, the neighborhood, and how his short time in New Orleans became a turning point in his work.
New Orleans and south Louisiana were home to one of the oldest and largest populations of gens de couleur libres or free people of color (f.p.c.), terms used to refer to Blacks born free or set free before the Civil War. Le Musée de f.p.c./Free People of Color Museum is one of the few museums in the country dedicated to preserving the material culture and telling the story of free people of color.
The house museum introduces you to artisans, entrepreneurs, educators, physicians, and more who played integral roles in New Orleans' history.
Magazine Street
Among the restaurants, boutiques and stores populating Magazine Street is The Great American Alligator Museum. This whimsical museum pays tribute to the American Alligators. Displays include American Alligator in folk art, movies, souvenirs and more.
Don't forget to browse the gift shop for that much-needed alligator tee shirt or other alligator-related merchandise.
Comments