Add dates

The Cabildo

The Cabildo: Our most recommended tours and activities

New Orleans: 2-Hour City Sightseeing Bus Tour

1. New Orleans: 2-Hour City Sightseeing Bus Tour

Experience the beauty and history of New Orleans at a walking pace with this 3-hour city sightseeing tour covering 25 square miles of iconic neighborhoods through three centuries. Board your bus at the Mississippi River in the French Quarter then follow the history of New Orleans’ expansion up Esplanade Avenue. Learn about the tradition of above-ground burial before you hop off to explore St. Louis Cemetery #3. C ross Bayou St. John into City Park, where you can purchase beignets at Café du Monde or set out to find your own “Instagrammable moment”. The park’s museums, attractions, and sculpture gardens are nestled among picturesque lagoons, bayous, and groves of ancient live oaks, some more than 800 years old. Hop on the bus to travel along the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, past a post-Katrina pumping station, seafood restaurants, marina, and a historic lighthouse with the 24-mile-long Causeway Bridge in the distance. Although called a lake, Lake Pontchartrain is actually one of the largest brackish estuaries in North America at 630 square miles (1600 km2) fed by freshwater rivers and connected to the Gulf of Mexico. Continue on to St. Charles Avenue, home to Audubon Park and lined with elegant mansions, churches, and schools, including Loyola and Tulane Universities. Follow the route of streetcars and Mardi Gras parades to the Garden District, one of the most well-preserved living neighborhoods in the United States. Come see why New Orleans is #MoreThanBourbonStreet. The tour departs daily at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. Please arrive at least 15 minutes prior to tour time.

New Orleans: Combo Cocktail and Food History Tour

2. New Orleans: Combo Cocktail and Food History Tour

Begin your walking tour at the award-winning Red Fish Grill in the French Quarter neighborhood of New Orleans. Begin with alligator sausage and seafood gumbo, with freshly-baked French bread and homemade butter as you learn a bit about the colonial period of Louisiana’s history. Move four blocks down and enter Pepper Palace to discuss the Cajun influence and sample an unlimited variety of hot sauces, BBQ sauces, Buffalo Wings sauces, salsas, dry rubs, and more. Receive a free bottle of Louisiana-style hot sauce when shopping there.  Afterward, visit Leah’s Pralines, a 3rd generation family-owned candy store. Sample traditional pralines and their unique Bacon Pecan Brittle. Then, visit the iconic Napoleon House restaurant for two of their specialties — muffuletta sandwiches and a refreshing Pimm’s Cup cocktail. Arrive at the award-winning Dickie Brennan’s Tableau to sip your next cocktail: the French 75, a combo of fresh lemon, brandy or gin, and bubbles. After Tableau, visit the Creole Cookery for their slow-cooked red beans and rice. From there you pass through famous Jackson Square towards Café du Monde, then along the French Market area, ultimately landing at the James Beard Award-nominated Cane & Table. Sample their unique curry pork skins and a classic daiquiri.

New Orleans: Five-in-One City Walking Tour

3. New Orleans: Five-in-One City Walking Tour

This five-in-one tour combines elements of the following tours: the St. Louis Cemetery Tour, the French Quarter Ghost and Vampire Tour, the New Orleans History Tour, the History and Architecture Tour and The "Dark Side" Voodoo, Mystery and Paranormal Tour.  This walking tour starts in the heart of the French Quarter. From there, explore Louisiana's complex culture, rich history and Voodoo, and experience the magical mystery that makes the city so irresistible! Notice the beautiful architecture throughout the French Quarter that makes it so unique. This tour will visit locations where Hollywood Stars have decided to call the French Quarter home along with locations where scenes from unforgettable movies have been filmed. But wait there is more! Have you ever wondered why New Orleans is considered the most haunted city in America? Explore the "Dark Side" of New Orleans history on this tour. This tour will visit multiple locations of unsolved murders and suicides. Hear real documented reports of vampires and ghosts roaming around the streets of the French Quarter and visit locations where vampires supposedly held their victims and fed off of them! Learn about New Orleans traditional burial practices and how they are different from most. The tour guide will explain to guests why New Orleans has above ground cemetery's and why by tradition for centuries the same vaults have been, and continue to be, recycled and re-used over and over again. This tour stops at many attractions and National Historic Landmarks that this city has offer! Visit over 15 locations during this tour such as The St Louis Cathedral, Cabildo, Presbytere, Ursuline Convent, Jackson Square, The Sultans Palace, and The Lalaurie Mansion known to be the most haunted house in New Orleans!

New Orleans: Go City All-Inclusive Pass with 25+ Attractions

4. New Orleans: Go City All-Inclusive Pass with 25+ Attractions

No other New Orleans sightseeing package can compare to the incredible choice, convenience, and value of a Go City All-Inclusive Pass. Your New Orleans pass includes admission to a variety of the most popular things to do in New Orleans, including French Quarter attractions, as well as surrounding Louisiana attractions. When you visit each location with your All-Inclusive Pass, the admission has already been taken care of. You simply follow the instructions in the guide and present your pass to enter. You don’t have to wait and pay over and over again. The low price of the New Orleans All-Inclusive Pass includes savings off of the admission fees you’d pay if you purchased your New Orleans attraction tickets individually at each location. Activities, attractions, and tours included with the New Orleans All-Inclusive Pass: Tours and Cruises • Paddlewheeler Creole Queen • Adventures in New Orleans Bus Tour • Ghost & Vampire Combo Tour by French Quarter Phantoms • French Quarter Ghosts & Legends Tour by Haunted History Tour • Ultimate Swamp Adventures • Saints and Sinners by French Quarter Phantoms • Cajun Pride Swamp Tour by Boat • Garden District Tour by French Quarter Phantoms • Tremé Tour by French Quarter Phantoms • Cities of the Dead Cemetery History Tour by Haunted History Tour • French Quarter History / Voodoo Tour • Canal Street Cemeteries and Katrina Memorial Tour Museums and Places of Interest • The National WWII Museum • Mardi Gras World (with transportation) • Cooking Demonstration Class/New Orleans School of Cooking • Longue Vue House and Gardens • Edgar Degas House • Southern Food and Beverage Museum • The New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old US Mint • 1850 House / The Louisiana State Museum • Cabildo / The Louisiana State Museum • New Orleans Pharmacy Museum • Presbytère/The Louisiana State Museum Attractions and tours are subject to change. Check your included digital guide for an up-to-date attraction line-up including opening times and instructions on how to access each attraction with your pass before you go.

New Orleans: French Quarter Secrets and Bourbon Street Tour

5. New Orleans: French Quarter Secrets and Bourbon Street Tour

Your tour begins on Bourbon Street where you’ll meet your local expert guide. Set off to learn how this area developed from a seedy slum into one of the preeminent pleasure districts in the United States. You will also swing into a bar to learn about (and enjoy too if you wish) one of the many cocktails created in the French Quarter, before pausing on Royal Street to see some of the best street musicians in America and learn about the creation of Jazz music. From there, your guide will take you to Jackson Square where you’ll see landmark buildings like the Pontalba apartments (the oldest continually-occupied apartments in America), the St. Louis Cathedral, and the Cabildo (where the Louisiana Purchase was signed). You will then step inside the Presbytere for a guided tour of the interior, including exhibits on Mardi Gras and Hurricane Katrina. You can’t visit New Orleans without a close encounter with the supernatural, so your next stop is one of the most haunted buildings in the city, where you will take a tour of its interior which includes the infamous seance room. Whether you’re a skeptic or a believer, this is an experience not to be missed. After swinging through the old French Market and stopping at the best spot to take pictures of Jackson Square, you'll head down to the riverfront to watch the steamboats go up and down the mighty Mississippi River.

New Orleans: French Quarter Ghost and Legends Walking Tour

6. New Orleans: French Quarter Ghost and Legends Walking Tour

Descend into the dark history of New Orleans on a guided walking tour through the French Quarter. Feel a chill as you pass the sites of hauntings, including the Lalaurie Mansion. Hear the horrible tales behind each turn from your guide. Meet at Rev. Zombie’s Voodoo Shop and follow your guide to the darkest corners of the city. Delve deep into the terrible past of the French Quarter as you visit the locations of documented sightings. Pass historic buildings with dark roots, including the Napoleon House and the Lalaurie Mansion. Walk in the footsteps of sinister characters who call New Orleans home, and learn about the city's lesser-known history from your guide. Make a stop at a haunted bar and hear the story behind its chilling reputation.

New Orleans Sightseeing Tour by Air-Conditioned Minibus

7. New Orleans Sightseeing Tour by Air-Conditioned Minibus

Discover the highlights of New Orleans in comfort on a 3-hour sightseeing tour by air-conditioned minibus. Visit areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina, along with historical landmarks such as Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral and the former seat of the Spanish colonial city hall at The Cabildo. Get an overview of the famous French Quarter so that you can explore the district at your own pace later. View the 100-year old homes along Esplanade Avenue on the way to the Dueling Oaks in City Park. Explore one of the city's cemeteries on foot and learn why the dead are buried in reusable tombs above the ground. Venture down St. Charles Avenue to explore the American side of the city and see some of the homes of the elegant Garden District. Pass the residence of the Gothic fiction writer, Anne Rice. Discover where Hurricane Katrina broke the levee and swept away the houses in the Lower 9th ward. Learn how the residents are rebuilding their lives.

New Orleans: 1.5-Hour Vampire Tour of the French Quarter

8. New Orleans: 1.5-Hour Vampire Tour of the French Quarter

New Orleans has been the backdrop for famous writers such as Anne Rice, as well as others who have created blood-sucking fictional characters. This 1.5-hour tour takes you to the dark and mysterious world of the city’s undead and tells you chilling stories of scandalous acts pulled from city police reports, archives, diaries, and newspaper interviews. This is no vampire work of fiction; this is the real deal. As you walk through the streets you will visit various locations associated with these creatures of the night, including a trip to a noted vampire tavern. It is a thrilling and chilling, yet fun-packed, creep through the antebellum streets of the French Quarter by dusk. You can trust to your expert and theatrical guide to protect you from the bloodthirsty creatures of the night. But you might like to bring some garlic – just in case.

New Orleans: Voodoo, Mystery and Paranormal Tour

9. New Orleans: Voodoo, Mystery and Paranormal Tour

Experience one of the most haunted cities in America on a walking tour that explores the Big Easy’s infamous dark side. Explore and investigate areas like the French Quarter with paranormal equipment alongside licensed tour guides, historians, and professional storytellers. At the start of your tour, your guide will provide an EMF meter or ghost/paranormal detector during the tour. Visit over 15 different locations, including St. Louis Cathedral, St. Anthony's Garden, and The Cabildo, the former seat of the colonial government. Discover locations of unsolved murders and suicides and get the facts about real, documented reports of vampires and ghosts. See where vampires held their victims and learn about the traditional burial practices of New Orleans. Go to The Presbytere to admire one of the best examples of colonial Spanish architecture, see the Old Ursuline Convent, Jackson Square, and the Sultan's Palace, where legend has it a mass murder took place. Stop at many of the National Historic Landmarks that the city has to offer. See the most haunted house in New Orleans at the Lalaurie Mansion and learn about the so-called Mistress of Death. As you roam the streets of the French Quarter and other areas, make stops along the way to optionally buy drinks to enjoy during the tour (cost not included).

New Orleans: 2-Hour French Quarter History and Voodoo Tour

10. New Orleans: 2-Hour French Quarter History and Voodoo Tour

Follow your licensed guide, a master storyteller, through New Orleans' French Quarter. Learn about the neighborhood's interesting past and travel through its adventurous history as you discover what makes the French Quarter one of the most unique and friendliest places in the United States. Meet your guide and begin touring at Congo Square where you'll learn about the history of voodoo, the slave trade, and the indigenous peoples of New Orleans. Hear the story of the infamous Voodoo priestess, Marie Laveau, and visit the site of her former home. Afterward, stop at the historic Supreme Court building for tales about Louisiana politicians and court cases such as Huey P. Long, Edwin Edwards, and Plessy vs. Fergusson. During your tour learn about the city's music, food, architecture, culture, literary history, and Bourbon Street. Your tour ends at Jackson Square where you can admire even more of the city's architecture and see St. Louis Cathedral, the Presbytère, and the Cabildo.

12 activities found
Sort by:

Other Sightseeing Options in The Cabildo

Want to discover all there is to do in The Cabildo? Click here for a full list.

What people are saying about The Cabildo

Overall rating

4.5 / 5

based on 662 reviews

The tour was absolutely fantastic! Our guide Jim was so incredibly knowledgable. I can’t say enough about him. We stopped at a cemetery and just loved the knowledge behind it. Book this tour with Jim! You will not be disappointed.

Our guide, Jade I think, was a great guy who told us a lot about the history of French Quarter, took us to great places and wd truly enjoyed the time with him.

The GoCity card was happily accepted at the locations we went to. No problems, and well worth the money.

Cody was our tour guide and he was awesome. Very knowledgeable and we loved his “useless” information.

Stella, our tour guide, was amazing and had great stories and anecdotes.