queer history tour new orleans

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LGBT Queer History Tour

Quick Details

• Calendar Availability: Wednesday, Friday, & Saturday
• Clock Duration: 2 hours
• Hiking Distance: 1 mile
• Wheelchair Accessibility: Wheelchair Friendly

Explore the French Quarter’s LGBTQ History

Home to one of the first gay neighborhoods and first gay bars in the United States, the country’s queer history has deep roots in the French Quarter.

Whether a Gay Pride parade, our annual Southern Decadence festival, or an afternoon Drag Brunch, New Orleans is one of few places in the world where members of the LGBTQ community can truly embrace – and are applauded for – being their authentic selves. The French Quarter has long been a gathering place for LGBTQ writers, artists, chefs, and performers, so it’s no wonder we have gay bars and social clubs dating back to the 1930s. But the acceptance of LGBTQ people was not always with the open arms we see today.

The LGBT Queer History walking tour delves deep into the complicated past of gay New Orleans. You learn about the struggles faced by gay community members over the decades, such as brutal beatings, disowned sons and daughters, and the Upstairs Lounge fire that tragically killed over 30 people.

But with each struggle, you hear about hope. From gay Mardi Gras krewes to supportive clergy members to the creation of gay rights political groups, New Orleans now lets “you be you,” in all your glory!

This tour will take place rain or shine, so please dress for the weather. At least 2 people are required to run this tour, but they may be booked separately.

Where Do We Meet?

We’ll meet at the American Townhouse Restaurant & Bar at 1012 N Rampart Street, New Orleans, LA 70116. Pro tip: Get there early if you wish to order food or drinks as we’ll begin the tour promptly at the starting time.

• Chevron down Why use the word "queer?"

While there are many different opinions and debates around whether this word has been “reclaimed” by the community, it is used as part of the title of this tour primarily in a historical context; many of the first activist groups changed the word “queer” during marches and banded together under the word. In addition, the academic field of study related to the history of our community also calls itself “Queer Studies.” On a more personal note, the author and primary provider of the tour strongly and proudly identifies as queer, and she considers it a powerful, unifying identifier.

• Chevron down How comprehensive is this tour?

Because this is a French Quarter walking tour, much of the tour focuses on LGBTQ history as it relates to the French Quarter neighborhood and also during the 20th century where the documentation has been more readily available. However, because history is never so simple as to be confined to one place or time period, this tour often includes references to events outside of that scope as well. And of course, questions for more information about anything relating to the community’s history and gay pride in New Orleans are always welcome!

• Chevron down Is the focus more entertainment, or more education?

The history of the LGBTQ community in New Orleans is a mix of fun stories and important political events, and we endeavor to cover a good range of both on the tour. That said, the tour tends to lean more toward the informative side. (This isn’t a New Orleans gay bar crawl, but we can recommend some great gay clubs in New Orleans for you to enjoy after the tour!)

• Chevron down Is the tour appropriate for children?

While the tour deals with heavy themes and events at times (the arson of the Upstairs Lounge and the murder of Fernando Rios), there are no graphic forensic details of these events, and all stories are endeavored to be handled with respectful truth. Think of it as rated PG.

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Entries on This Tour

In the early 20th century, this address was the location of Wonder Bar, a New Orleans female impersonation club. Although Wonder Bar soon moved across town and changed its name several times, it remained a popular drag club for several decades, attracting both locals and tourists to its extravagant shows.

This street corner was once the location of the New Orleans International Trade Mart, which first opened its doors in 1947. The founder of the Trade Mart was a local gay businessman named Clay Shaw, who became the only person ever to be tried in connection with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

The deadliest fire in New Orleans history occurred at this location in 1973 when an arsonist set a fire with the intention of killing attendees of a social sponsored by the Metropolitan Community Church-an organization that served members of New Orleans gay community. The attack occurred at the UpStairs Lounge, a bar that doubled as a meeting place and sanctuary for the church and other organizations. The arsonist designed their attack to create an updraft of flame that prevented escape, trapping those who could not fit through a window in an inferno that claimed the lives of pastor Bill Larson and thirty others. The attack occurred on the final day of Pride Week and the 4th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising in New York.

Across the street from the Louisiana Supreme Court, Brennan’s restaurant has been a New Orleans staple since 1946. Pleasantly pink with the iron-framed balconies and the exterior window shutters so distinct to the city’s architecture, the dining establishment heralds itself for providing innovative Creole cuisine and charming meal service and ambiance. The restaurant also has an important place in New Orleans queer history, having hosted the original Fat Monday Luncheon, America's longest-running event to be continually hosted for and by members of the gay community.

This address was one of several places in New Orleans where renowned American playwright Tennessee Williams once lived. Although he only lived here a short time, it was in this apartment that Williams began to write his famous play A Streetcar Named Desire. The actual apartment that Williams lived in is no longer here, but the back staircase he used to access his living quarters still remains.

In 1958, a gay man named Fernando Rios was murdered in this alleyway. Although the three college students responsible for his murder were identified, they were all acquitted due to the homophobia surrounding the trial. This event stands out as an example of the past failure, and even refusal, of the New Orleans justice system to protect its LGBTQ citizens, which lead to protest and activism in the following decades.

This is the site of Cafe Lafitte in Exile, a very popular New Orleans gay bar and perhaps the oldest continuously operating gay bar in the United States. It is open 24 hours a day and has occupied this spot on Bourbon Street since 1953, after moving from 941 Bourbon St, where it originally opened in 1933.

Now home to a grocery store and deli eatery of the same name, Matassa’s Bar was the former establishment operated by a member of the same Matassa family. It also dually functioned as a recording studio for local musicians. This was the location of the second Southern Decadence festival, now a world-famous celebration put on by the LGBT community in New Orleans. The marketplace is located two blocks off North Rampart Street within the French Quarter.

Residing within the Louis Armstrong Park, the Municipal Auditorium is a large stone structure that can be found towards the center of the public grounds. The building is designed with an assortment of arch-shaped windows, multi-tiered stories, rectangular stone pillars, and engravings declaring its association to several facets of the humanities such as “music,” “poetry,” and “art.” The auditorium, which is now closed, was home in 1977 to a protest organized by the New Orleans gay community against anti-gay celebrity Anita Bryant.

This Tour is a Walking Tour .

New Orleans LGBTQ History Walking Tour

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Description

This walking tour delves into the queer history of New Orleans. This tour will take you through many New Orleans LGBTQ historical landmarks, from social spaces and bars (some of which still stand today) to the sites of important events that helped to shape and organize the New Orleans queer community. Total walking time is about 30 minutes.

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Queer History Done Right - History of the New Orleans Queer Underground Tour

• United States    
• Louisiana (LA)    
• New Orleans    
• New Orleans - Things to Do    
• History of the New Orleans Queer Underground Tour

Quinn was our tour-guide for this truly unique and amazing tour of New Orleans. It's clear that... read more

Quinn's NOLA Queer History tour was one of the highlights of our trip. She was extremely... read more

Queer History Done Right

Quinn leads a truly astonishing tour of the outer streets of the French Quarter. This is far from your ordinary “history tour” in which a guide points out landmarks and important dates. What Quinn offers is a people’s history of the present, showing how queer life, cultural innovation, and community building have shaped New Orleans. She is also a brilliant storyteller, weaving short, vivid anecdotes about individual lives into the broader story of the queer underground. The sources she draws on to tell the story (available as a book list) are incredibly rich, varied and multidisciplinary. This is tour that will do much more than teach you about the history of a place; it made me rethink my own relationship to place, pleasure, politics, travel, community, and culture. I can’t recommend it enough.

Quinn's NOLA Queer History tour was one of the highlights of our trip. She was extremely knowledgable and easy to understand. The tour was just the right length, too, and included a bathroom break and a chance to get some drinks. This is more of an oral history tour rather than a site seeing tour, but I came away with a bunch of new information on New Orleans. I highly recommend a tour with Quinn!

Quinn is great and her tour is really unique and fascinating! I did a tour with her 5 years ago and loved it so much I wanted to bring my partner this time. New Orleans has no shortage of off-kilter history, and the content she covers has evolved, but all of it is excellent and well researched. What a wonderful place to learn and be empowered by these stories!

I've joined Quinn's tour twice now, and it's been fantastic both times. Quinn's knowledge is impressive, and she makes the tour both fascinating and enjoyable. It's really interesting to learn about the queer history of the city and its impact on the culture. I'm grateful that Quinn is sharing these stories. The tour offers a deep dive into the New Orleans Queer Underground…We heard about sex worker street gangs, drag queens with mafia connections, jazz artists, and the modern queer community. It's eye-opening to see how this underground scene has influenced the city and its culture. Thanks to Quinn's insightful tour, I left with a deeper appreciation for New Orleans' rich tapestry and its enduring queer spirit. I'd gladly recommend again and again!

Quinn is awesome. The tour was interesting and fun. I love that she is keeping queer history alive. She does a great reenactment of a historic dance--it's lots of fun.

Quinn has incredible knowledge of the history of the gay community in NOLA. Also, how the sex trade deeply intersected and played an important role in gaining some respect which took decades to achieve. She really understands the black white issues and how the French influenced the history and culture of this city.

An LGBTQ Travel Guide to New Orleans

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Sorry Charleston , Atlanta , and Memphis , but there's only one city where a wild gay Labor Day party weekend called Southern Decadence can best live up to its name, and that's the ribald, 24/7 life's-a-celebration, ethnically diverse, and culturally one-of-a-kind melting pot, New Orleans, Louisiana .

In fact, Scissor Sisters' Jake Shears was so taken by the Crescent City's eccentricity, queerness, Cajun spice, Creole populace, nightlife, love of music, and endless creative inspiration that he permanently moved there in 2015 . His 2018 solo album track, the Elton John-esque romp "Good Friends ," is a tribute to his favorite gay French Quarter haunt, Good Friends Bar . And RuPaul's Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio is a Louisiana native who spent over a decade working in New Orleans' clubs and frequently returns to perform.

Of course, New Orleans, NOLA for short, keeps the fun going all year round and draws in growing numbers of tourists every year. Nearly 20 million revelry-ready visitors arrived in 2019 , and quite a few during winter's famed Mardi Gras , when the local Krewes parade in outrageous costumes (the 2022 edition is scheduled for March 1st) and host a slew of flamboyant balls, including LGBTQ-specific ones. Some of the LGBTQ Krewes and balls to look out for during Mardi Gras and its Carnival season, via their respective websites, including the 60-year-old Petronius , Armeinius , the largely POC Krewe of Mwindo , leather and fetish-centric Lords of Leather , and fresh-faced 4-year-old Krewe of Stars .

Although New Orleans Pride's future remains in limbo at the moment—the organization dissolved in 2020—the five-year-old NOLA Black Pride takes place over the Thanksgiving weekend. There's also an annual Gay Easter Parade , an LGBT Halloween , and of course, Labor Day weekend's Southern Decadence —the next edition is scheduled for Sept. 2-6, 2021.

New Orleans' official tourism office is certainly happy to welcome LGBTQ visitors and features a wealth of relevant information, resources, and updates on its official website . Meanwhile, the website and smartphone app gayNOLA is jam-packed with up-to-date gay intel, including nightlife events and LGBTQ businesses. For other queer what's ons, including arts and entertainment, check out the local 40-year-old LGBTQ Ambush Magazine and OffBeat Magazine .

The Best Things To Do

For a tour of the city with a sassy, queer twist, Tennessee-born, NOLA-based drag queen and self-professed history buff Quinn Laroux's NOLA Drag Tours offers several themed walks (plus private bookings): NOLA's "History of Queer Nightlife," the deliciously seedy "Brothels and Burlesque," and, "Doomstroll: A History of Epidemics," the latter chronicling the many epidemics and illnesses—like syphilis—that have plagued yet never stopped the city. Laroux also performs at local bars and hosts the sex-and-vice-themed podcast, Loose . On Saturdays, gay historian and writer Glenn Louis DeVilliers leads "The Twirl, a Gay Heritage and Drinks Tour," through his namesake company , while tour company New Orleans Secrets also boasts a two-hour "Queer History Tour" walk of the French Quarter from Wednesdays-Sundays.

For more immersion in deeply unique, queer-inclusive elements of New Orleans culture, there are a decent number of museums to check out. Start with the Mardi Gras Museum of Costumes and Culture . Its collection included elaborate, sassy getups of Gay Carnival "Krewes" (Krewes are clubs, basically representing themselves in the Mardi Gras parade and organize balls/parties), their respective Kings & Queens, and Treme sidewalk steppers.

The Louisiana State Museum also boasts plenty of Mardi Gras-related items. Last year, it featured an exhibition titled "Grand Illusions: The History And Artistry of Gay Carnival in New Orleans," which you can enjoy a virtual video tour of with curator Wayne Phillips on YouTube . Albeit small, the nearly 50-year-old French Quarter's New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum takes a big dive into its rituals, culture, and of course, zombies.

The gay-owned Arthur Roger Gallery features contemporary art exhibitions by many local artists and group shows, and Roger himself is a major mover and shaker in Nola's art scene and LGBTQ-related philanthropy. Also contemporary-minded and gay-owned, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery represents a diverse roster of creators. If feeling the retail therapy urge, check out Bourbon Street's Bourbon Pride for an array totally queer NOLA-centric clothing accessories, campy cards, gifts, novelties, and some naughty adults-only stuff (it's the Big Easy, after all).

If wanting to relax, swim, soak in a hot tub, mingle with locals, or have some food, the Bywater district's 40-year-old The Country Club entails a fabulous, revamped 19th-century home turned gay favorite hangout.

Lenore Seal

The Best LGBTQ Bars & Clubs

The French Quarter is New Orleans' pulsing nightlife heart, with a zone dubbed the "Fruit Loop" entailing plenty of 24/7 LGBTQ bars and clubs for a boozy drink-always-in-hand crawl (the city's open container law specifies that alcoholic beverages can be enjoyed outdoors in a plastic cup, and local favorites include the Milk Punch and Sazerac). Before stepping out, you can consult the gay website and phone app gayNOLA for nightly events at bars, clubs, and other venues.

The country's oldest, continuously operating gay bar, since 1933 specifically, The Cafe Lafitte in Exile has welcomed and spiked the livers of gay luminaries including Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams over the decades. With two levels and, of course, balcony space, Opened during pre-Stonewall 1964, Golden Lantern Bar lays claim to being the birthplace of Southern Decadence and continues to be the kickoff point for its Grand Marshall Parade. A two-level Fruit Loop anchor for over 40 years with see and be seen balcony on the iconic Bourbon Street, Bourbon Pub Parade features plenty of space to drink, dance, watch go-go boys, and enjoy drag queen entertainment. Speaking of, keep an eye out for outrageous, provocative Queen Quan , a.k.a. Daquine J Herbert, a body-positive black queen who sports a beard.

Just across Bourbon Street, slick, pulsing modern dance club Oz New Orleans keeps things lively with weekly events including Tuesday's Bourbon Boylesque revue, Wednesday drag shows (Bianca Del Rio worked here for a decade!), Thursdays' sexy go-go boy competition ("Strip Off") and comedy cabaret, and drag queen bingo on Saturday and Sundays from 6 to 8 p.m. If you're a craft cocktail fan, Napoleon's Itch lounge will scratch that, well, itch, while it famously presents Southern Decadence's free annual Bourbon Street Extravaganza outdoor concert and street party. A black-owned LGBTQ bar, The Page NOLA is a relaxed, welcoming space with drag shows every other Thursday.

Keep an eye out for local resident Jake Shears at Good Friends Bar , which is open 24 hours, and he paid tribute to in a 2018 solo album track, "Good Friends." Also open 24 hours, The Corner Pocket features nightly go-go boy action with a Friday night "new meat" amateur dance contest (and celebrated its 39th anniversary in 2021).

Outside the French Quarter, the Faubourg Marigny district's AllWays Lounge & Theatre serves up drag, cabaret, and dancing, while the leather and bear communities converge at The Phoenix , which, open since 1983, was renovated in 2019. The bar's Jock Sundays and Wrestling Wednesdays see all-night happy hour prices for those wearing a jockstrap and wrestling singlet/athletic gear, respectively. The French Quarter's RawHide 2010 is another leather crowd favorite with an annual Mr. Rawhide Leather contest, the winner of which gets to compete at the International Mr. Leather competition.

Lesbians should try to time their visit to GrrlSpot , a monthly pop-up dance party at different NOLA venues, usually on third Saturdays.

The Best Places To Eat

James Beard Award-winning chef and owner Kelly Fields opened her casual yet sleek and modern restaurant and bakery Willa Jean , which opened in 2015. Here she showcases Lowcountry-Southern dishes like BBQ shrimp and grits and the divine baked goods that won her Outstanding Pastry Chef 2019, including a banana pudding and sweet and savory biscuits.

There are plenty of gay-owned and LGBTQ-friendly spots to take in everything from breakfast to dinner and drinks. Creole breakfast, brunch, lunch, and a full bar await at Who Dat Coffee Cafe , while modern Louisiana fare rules at Eat (which also spotlights delicious Wayne Jacobs barbecue).

Where To Stay

The 97-room W New Orleans - French Quarter blends the brand's clubby modern vibe with New Orleans' essence and iconography, including tarot-inspired graphics and jazz flourishes like bowtie-shaped pillows. Some rooms feature outdoor balconies, plus there's a lovely courtyard and outdoor pool for cooling off during sweltering, swampy weather days.

High-end hipster brand Ace Hotel opened its 234-room New Orleans property in March 2016. Located in downtown Nola's artsy Warehouse District, rooms feature plenty of light yet dark leather and wood deco, while the on-site restaurant Josephine Estelle fuses Italian and Southern flavors thanks to James Beard Award-nominated chefs Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman. In 2019, Ace's parent company, Atelier Ace, open a 67-room, stunningly design-centric high-end guesthouse styled, Maison de la Luz , in the same district.

For classic New Orleans accommodations, the Garden District's 106-room Pontchartrain Hotel dates back to the 1920s (initially as an apartment building) and has played host to Truman Capote, The Doors, Rita Hayworth, and Tennessee Williams. While history is embedded in its walls, 2016 saw the debut of a major renovation to add modern tech and amenities, including the city's first panoramic rooftop bar, Hot Tin, while other food and beverage outlets include the tavern-style Bayou Bar (where Capote imbibed), and morning coffee spot The Silver Whistle Cafe.

Meanwhile, those preferring a cozy and personable (and more budget-friendly) gay-owned B&B can opt for the Faubourg Marigny district's (about 20 minutes by foot to the French Quarter) five-room Mag's 940 Guesthouse , which features an in-house gay bar; six-suite Blue60 Guesthouse (which features a garden, sun deck, and hot tub for guests); four-room The Burgundy ; and LGBT-friendly Elysian Fields Inn .

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French Quarter Bed and Breakfasts in New Orleans

French Quarter Frank

LGBT+ New Orleans

New Orleans has a rich and vibrant LGBT+ history and it has been my pleasure for the last several years to not only preserve and document that history, but also to be a small part of it.  I’ve written several books and hundreds of articles on local queer history and I’m proud to be a co-founder of the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana .  In addition, I also founded and love conducting The Rainbow Fleur de Lis Walking Tour , which is a leisurely sashay the French Quarter’s rainbow history.

The tour grew out of the research I conducted while writing In Exile: The History and Lore Surrounding New Orleans Gay Culture and Its Oldest Gay Bar . The tour has evolved since then as I have written several more books and hundreds of articles. I generally try to customize the tour according to guests’ interests. There is so much ground to cover–bar culture, trans history, lesbian activism, gay Carnival, racial divisions, Southern Decadence, drag history, legendary bars, sex work, the queer literary scene, Pride, to say nothing of dozens of eccentric characters. We have such a rich LGBT+ history in New Orleans that it is challenging to fit it all into one tour. That’s a good problem!

To book The Rainbow Fleur de Lis Walking Tour or schedule a public speaking engagement, email me at [email protected] or call 504-941-1633.

Co-founder , LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana 

Member, Gulf Coast LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce

Member, New Orleans LGBT Hospitality Alliance

Gay Appreciation Award for Best Writer. 2022.

New Orleans Pride Grand Marshal.  2020.

Saints and Sinners Literary Festival Hall of Fame.  2019.

Gay Appreciation Award for Best Writer. 2019.

Southern Decadence Grand Marshal.  2018.

Gay Appreciation Award for Best LGBT Business.  2016.

Gay Appreciation Award for Best LGBT Business. 2014.

Political Animal: The Life and Times of Stewart Butler (Forthcoming from the University of Mississippi Press).

Southern Decadence in New Orleans .  (with Howard P. Smith) Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 2018.

My Gay New Orleans : 28 Personal Reminiscences on LGBT+ Life in New Orleans , Editor.  (with Jeffrey Palmquist) Bedford, TX: LL Publications, 2016.

Treasures of the Vieux Carre : Ten Self-Guided Walking Tours of the French Quarter .   Bedford, TX: LL Publications, 2014.

In Exile: The History and Lore Surrounding New Orleans Gay Culture and Its Oldest Gay Bar .  (with Jeffrey Palmquist) Bedford, TX: LL Publications, 2012.

“ Rainbow History .”  Regular column in French Quarter Journal .

“ Moments in Gay New Orleans History .”   Regular column in Ambush Magazine .  List of articles here.

“A Night to Remember: A Review of Upstairs Inferno.” In The Gay and Lesbian Review .  July, 2016.

“The LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana: A Community Organizing Success Story.” In Queering Education in the Deep South .  Kamden K. Strunk, Ed.  Charlette, NC: Information Age Publishing, 2018.

Presentations

“The Children of Yuga: A Brief History of the Birth of Gay Carnival.” Making Mardi Gras Symposium, The Historic New Orleans Collection, 2022.

“OUT Traveler’s Get Back OUT There with Will and James.” YouTube Video, 2021.

“The French Quarter’s Rainbow Heritage.” Gallier Gatherings, New Orleans, LA 2021.

“Southern Decadence.” Beyond Bourbon Street Podcast, 2021.

“Remembering the Double Play.” Listen to New Orleans Podcast, 2021.

“New Orleans Bars.” GayBarchives Podcast, 2021.

“Celebration and Change in LGBT+ New Orleans.” Panel Discussion, Louisiana State Museum, New Orleans, LA 2020.

“The History of Pride in New Orleans.” Panel Discussion, New Orleans, LA 2020.

“The Rainbow Fleur de Lis.”  National Park Service, New Orleans, LA 2019.

“Gay Carnival.”  American Alliance of Museums Conference, New Orleans, LA 2019.

Gay Carnival Panel Discussion.  “The Sons of Tennessee Williams” screening, Prytania Theatre, New Orleans, 2019.

“Queer History of the French Quarter.”  Tricentennial Lecture Series, VCPORA / Beauregard-Keyes House, New Orleans, LA 2018.

“Prejudice and Pride: Revisiting the Tragic Fire that Killed 32 in a New Orleans Bar.” ABC News Documentary, 2018.

Violence and Celebration in LGBTQ New Orleans Panel Discussion.  Literary Festival, New Orleans, 2018.

Queer New Orleans Panel Discussion.  Louisiana Book Festival.  Baton Rouge, 2018.

History of AIDS in New Orleans Panel Discussion.  New Orleans, LA, 2017.

“Police Hostility and the LGBT+ Community in New Orleans.”  U.S. Attorney’s Office, New Orleans, 2016.

“A Brief History of Gay New Orleans.” Society of American Archivists Conference.  New Orleans, 2013.

16 LGBTQ Walking Tours for LGBTQ History Month

Learning about queer history on LGBTQ walking tours is a great way to explore a new city, or even get a new perspective on the place you call home. In honor of LGBTQ history month, here are 16 LGBTQ walking tours in US cities to add to your queer travel bucket list.

Philadelphia LGBTQ History Walking Tour

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Philadelphia Beyond the Bell Gayborhood Tour

Beyond the Bell offers inclusive walking tours of Philadelphia that shine a light on underrepresented historical figures, from women to LGBTQ history.

Highlights on 90-minute walking tour of Philadephia’s gayborhood include:

• The city’s oldest gay bookstore
• Philadelphia LGBTQ rights pioneer Barbara Gittings, who organized the local chapter of lesbian organization Daughters of Bilitis
• A discussion of racism within the LGBTQ community and how queer folks can be better allies to BIPOC communities

Philadelphia LGBTQ walking tours are offered daily at 3 pm. The Philadelphia gayborhood tour covers 1 mile and lasts 90 minutes.

New York City LGBTQ History Walking Tours

All the queer history I ever learned took place in New York. That’s where Act Up AIDS activists fought for HIV/AIDS treatment and funding. That’s where BIPOC queer folks started the Stonewall riots and fought back against the police. That’s where the Harlem ball scene inspired the drag shows we love (more on drag in a minute).

New York City has six LGBTQ walking tours centered around the city’s queer travel hub, Greenwich Village. There is a lot of overlap in the city’s queer walking tours, but each offers something unique.

LGBTQ History Walking Tour of Greenwich Village

The LGBTQ History Walking Tour from Christ opher Street Tours brings our queer history to life with historic tours of:

• Stonewall Inn, the bar where it all happened
• NYC Aids Memorial
• NYC’s LGBT Community Center
• Christopher Park

In between LGBTQ history landmarks, you’ll learn about the personalities of activists and queer icons that shaped this queer travel hub.

“Wig Walk” Drag History Tour

This two hour, 1.5 mile LGBTQ walking tour gives into the history of drag divas. In between stops, tour guides dish the gossip on NYC drag queens and talk about drag as a queer art form and cultural touchstone. No matter how many bachelorette parties take over gay bars, drag is ours.

The drag history walking tour includes a drink, a snack, and visits to:

• Washington Square Park
• Stonewall Inn
• Ridiculous Theatrical Company, a legendary off-off-Broadway venue important to New York’s gay community
• Cowgirl NYC, a Texas BBQ restaurant that’s served as a gathering place for queer community since 1989(!)

Note, the drag history tour is upon request only at this time.

LGBTQ Pub Crawl

For decades, gay bars were the only safe places to build queer community.

This LGBTQ pub crawl takes you to three queer bars in New York, including Stonewall Inn where the LGBTQ rights movement started and the number one lesbian bar in the world (of only 27 remaining). Lesbian travelers deserve a place to socialize and unwind where we don’t have to worry about unwanted male attention. Visiting queer-owned bars on an LGBTQ walking tour helps them stay in business and support local queer communities!

Savor a pint while toasting to gay and lesbian history and a future full of queer joy. The walking part of this tour is one mile, and the LGBTQ bar crawl lasts 3 hours.

At present, the queer bar crawl is by request only so contact Christopher Street Tours to book.

Oscar Wilde Gay Walking Tours of New York City

If you’re looking for something a little different from the Stonewall LGBTQ walking tours, consider these LGBTQ history tours from Oscar Wilde, which runs several gay history and art tours .

• LGBTQ Artist walking tour: If you appreciate art and culture, and want to learn more about LGBTQ artists and celebrities throughout history, this is the LGBTQ walking tour for you. Learn about legendary gay and lesbian New Yorkers, from James Baldwin to Walt Whitman to Eleanor Roosevelt.
• East Village gay history walking tour: You might know of the East Village’s gay history some from the musical Rent, which is set in the East Village and chronicles thqimpact of AIDS in the gay community. This LGBTQ walking tour points out homes of LGBTQ luminaries from Allen Ginsberg to Jean-Michel Basquiat, local gay bars, and other important gay history sites. If you’ve already done the LGBTQ travel classics like a trip to the Stonewall Inn, give this one a try.
• West Village gay history walking tour: The West Village is New York City’s classic gayborhood, so why not tour it with an expert in LGBTQ history? Beginning at the historic Stonewall Inn, you’ll explore the West Village’s counterculture and gay history from the Beats to Andy Warhol.

New Orleans LGBTQ Walking Tours

New Orleans is one of the most LGBTQ inclusive cities in the South, so it’s no surprise the city has several LGBTQ walking tours !

NOLA Drag Tour

Hosted by local BIPOC drag queen Quinn Laroux, this NOLA drag tour spotlights the contributions of BIPOC, queer and trans people, and women to New Orleans’ queer culture. Pause at the famous 700 Club for a cocktail while Quinn schools you on New Orleans’ LGBTQ drag icons, trans history, and famous LGBTQ residents.

Rainbow Fleur de Lis Walking Tour

Led by the President of the Louisiana LGBT+ Archives Project, this LGBTQ walking tour focuses on the city’s history, including historic gay parties like Carnival and Decadence. If you’re a gay history buff, book this by-appointment-only tour.

Secret Queer History Tour

A must for first-timers to New Orleans, this French Quarter walking tour spotlights places with important LGBTQ history. See the gay Carnival exhibit at Presbytere, which includes amazing costumes from galas past, and learn about arson attack on historic New Orleans gay bar UpStairs Lounge fire, which killed 32.

Boston LGBTQ Walking Tours

In Boston LGBTQ walking tours are offered by The History Project, an LGBTQ archive, and The Gibson House , a historic house.

The Gibson House’s LGBTQ history tour takes place at 6 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month.

This tour focuses on Boston’s gay community in the early twentieth century. You’ll learn about Charlie Gibson, the Victoria era gay subculture which he belonged to, and Boston’s LGBTQ community from then to now. Charlie Gibson grew up in Boston’s wealthy Back Bay neighborhood and embraced a bohemian lifestyle – a term that was queer coded in the late Victorian era.

Gibson escaped conservative Boston society for France where he had a male lover he stayed in touch with throughout his life. Gibson eventually returned to Boston to care for his dying mother. He remained a bachelor, and opened his private family home for queer community gatherings.

The History Project offers three LGBTQ walking tours in downtown Boston. Tours take place from spring through fall. At present, tours are private run by appointment only, and limited to groups of twenty.

Choose from:

• LGBTQ Freedom Trail: Walk the route of Boston’s earliest Pride march and learn about LGBTQ activism in Boston.
• Queer Beacon Hill: It might surprise you to discover that posh Beacon Hill has a queer history. This walking tour focuses on Beacon Hill’s queer history in the bohemian era. You’ll learn about gay bars, queer life in a time when most gays and lesbians stayed in the closet, and bohemian-era LGBTQ icons like lesbian writers Sarah Orne Jewett and Annie Fields, who were partners, and Prescott Townsend, a gay rights activist whose ancestors came to America on the Mayflower.
• Public Lives: Stroll through Boston Common and the Public Gardens – some of the prettiest spots in Boston – while learning about LGBTQ rights, queer activism, protests, cruising spots, and Boston’s drag culture.

Detroit LGBTQ Walking Tours

Detroit Pride History Tour is a two hour LGBTQ walking tour of locations pivotal to Detroit’s gay rights history from pre-Stonewall up to the present day. See the gay bars and bathhouses where queer community was built, the joyful drag queen Halloween parades, and Detroit’s historic gayborhoods. Learn about Detroit LGBTQ rights pioneers, the Black queer community’s underground house parties, and the LGBTQ rights movement in Detroit.

Charleston LGBTQ History Tour

Charleston, South Carolina offers a self-guided LGBTQ walking tour focused on seven historical sites with LGBTQ significance.

See the spots where notable lesbian and bisexual writers Gertrude Stein and Edna St. Vincent Millay hung out, the home of transgender woman writer Dawn Langley Simmons, and the home where a former Charleston Museum director lived in a Boston marriage, a historical term referring to lesbian couples who lived together, with her socialite wife.

The Lavender Landmarks tour is unique for centering the experiences of lesbians, bisexual women, and trans individuals. Grab your copy of the LGBTQ walking tour map and deepen your appreciation for queer roots!

Did I miss one of your favorite LGBTQ walking tours? Leave a link in the comments and I’ll update the post.

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• French Quarter Walking Tour: LGBTQ History, Literary History, and Voodoo

Because I am a long-term resident of the French Quarter, i can afford guests an insider's perspective of this unique neighborhood. My goal is to... Read More

• LGBTQ Small Group History Tour of the French Quarter

The history of the French Quarter is more LGBTQ than people know! It's also a very emotional one with many ups and downs. Because of... Read More

• Eat, Drink, and Be Dazzled: New Orleans Gay and Spirited Tour

Buckle up, come bedazzled and tour with us in New Orleans! Gay and lesbian pride runs deep! Enjoy a rainbow buffet of gay bars in... Read More

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Tales of the Cocktail Foundation

Tales of the Cocktail Foundation platform seeks to act as a catalyst to Educate, Advance, and Support the global drinks industry and communities we touch.

New Orleans Cocktail Tours

Tales of the Cocktail® 2024 New Orleans Cocktail Tour

In collaboration with Wayne Curtis, a series of 8 ed ucational walking tours will provide a wealth of knowledge and keen insight into the city’s history and cocktail scene. Enlisting special guests to help guide the tours, Wayne and his team will lead immersive experiences throughout the French Quarter. 

Cocktail Tour tickets cost $65 each.

2024 Cocktail Tour Schedule

Monday, July 22, 2024:

• The Big Gay Bar Tour, 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Hunting Down the Sazerac, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 23, 2024:

• Hunting Down the Sazerac, 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
• The Big Gay Bar Tour , 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

Wednesday, July 24, 2024: 

• Bourbon Street & How it Got That Way, 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Absinthe Tour, 2 p.m.-1:30 p.m.

Thursday, July 25, 2024:

• Absinthe Tour, 12 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
• Bourbon Street and How It Got That Way, 2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.

The Big Gay Bar Tour

New Orleans is where you fled to if you grew up in the South but your lifestyle didn’t fit into your hometown’s lifestyle. You’ll discover the long history of gay bars in New Orleans on this walking tour of the French Quarter. Learn what makes New Orleans queer history distinctive, from bars from the late 1930s that became a welcome home to a gay clientele, to the later rise of Gay Carnival and Southern Decadence. Cocktails are available for purchase.

Hunting Down the Sazerac

The Sazerac is the official drink of New Orleans — and arguably the most beloved cocktail in a city that loves its cocktails. Lore says it was invented on Royal Street by a pharmacist in the early 1800s. But… really? Join an exploration of where the drink first arose, and whether it was originally made with brandy or whiskey. The tour will visit several key sites of New Orleans’s cocktail history. Cocktails are available for purchase.

Bourbon Street & How it Got That Way

Bourbon Street is the most famous street in America and for all the wrong reasons. How did a run-of-the-mill urban thoroughfare become notorious for lurid cocktails, classic rock, and free-range drinking? This walking tour will explore the evolution of America’s drinking mall, and delve into the background of some of the iconic drinks, including the Hurricane, Hand Grenade, and Shark Attack. Cocktails are available for purchase.

Absinthe Tour

New Orleans’ historic trade connections to France meant the city enjoyed delights that were often scarce in other ports, including Bordeaux wines, brandies, and that most mysterious of drinks, absinthe. This tour will explore the ribald history of absinthe in New Orleans, from its arrival in the 1840s through its growing popularity in new drinks such as the absinthe frappe and obituary cocktail. The tour will delve into absinthe drinking rituals both actual and fabricated, and will tour several of the key absinthe destinations in the city. Cocktails are available for purchase.

Buy New Orleans Cocktail Tour Tickets

TOTC2024 Conference Agenda

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• Visit the Loyola University New Orleans page

LGBT+ History of New Orleans

Lgbt + history of new orleans, next course: may 1, 2024 - june 26, 2024.

This course explores New Orleans' rich LGBT+ history. Topics include: pre-colonial and colonial references, French Quarter Preservation efforts, Arts and Letters, Gay Carnival, Southern Decadence, the UpStairs Lounge fire, bar history, activists and activism, HIV / AIDS, organizational history, queer publications and journalism, trans activism, drag culture, notable characters, and more. The course will contextualize local queer history within a national context and highlights New Orleans' contributions to national LGBT+ historical narratives. The last class period is the instructor's signature Rainbow Fleur de Lis Walking tour, which is a leisurely sashay through the French Quarter.

Upon successful completion of this course, students will receive a Loyola University New Orleans Certificate of Completion and 1.6 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). 

Instructor: Frank Perez, B.S., M.A.

Join our email notification list  for the latest news, updates, and upcoming course registration for LGBT+ History of New Orleans.

Program Details

Tuition:  $250

Course Dates:  05/01/24 - 06/26/24

Day(s):  Wednesday

Time:  6PM - 8PM

Location:  Loyola Uptown Campus, Monroe Hall, Room 305

Contact Hours/CEUs:  16 contact hours/1.6 CEUs

Register Here

Scholarship Opportunity

The Office of Professional and Continuing Studies (PACS) received a grant from the  New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund  supporting professional development for aspiring and seasoned tour guides of New Orleans. PACS is offering a limited number of scholarships to eligible applicants to receive full tuition.

The mission of the  New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund  is to support cultural industries and culture bearers of the City of New Orleans through partnerships, grants, and programs to advance sustainable tourism.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Aspiring or Licensed Tour Guide of New Orleans
• Demonstrates financial need
• Must attend all sessions and ensure sign-in is completed
• Must complete the mid-point and final surveys emailed from [email protected]

APPLICATIONS WILL REOPEN IN FALL 2024.

APPLICATIONS CLOSED

Discounts & Additional Information

Discounts available for Loyola alumni, current Loyola students, Loyola faculty and staff, and active duty or retired military.

Must email qualifying ID to [email protected] upon registration.

Learn more about the Loyola Professional and Continuing Studies registration information, including parking, cancellations, and the refund policy. 

pacs registration policies

Related Courses

Professional Tour Guiding 1: History of New Orleans

Professional Tour Guiding 2: Research and Storytelling

French Quarter History

New Orleans African History & Culture

History of New Orleans Voodoo

How New Orleans Shaped Queer Hip-Hop For The Rest Of America

HuffPost Director of Voices

It’s a humid Thursday night in New Orleans and everyone in this cramped Uptown hookah lounge has caught the spirit, including my girlfriends and I. BJSoCole, a young local bounce artist, is performing his energetic single “Pump It Up” and nearly everyone in the room — and it’s mostly women and queer men — has abandoned their seat for a spot on the makeshift dance floor. In the famous words of Big Freedia, it’s ass everywhere. Here, twerking is not a mating call. It’s a sensual salute to the beat. We’re here for us.

Creating that space for women and nonbinary people has been an intentional effort by queer rappers such as BJSoCole. I gravitated toward these spaces almost immediately when I was living in New Orleans in the late 2010s. “There’s an energy to making women feel empowered and encouraging them to be who they are,” he says. “I’m not calling them out their name. I’m not trying to make them be hoes or nothing like that. I do it respectfully. Let’s dance. Let’s just be free.”

New Orleans has long been an oasis for freedom of sexual expression and gender fluidity, which is especially surprising when you consider the state it’s located in. “I’m not going to sit here and say, like, we don’t have incidents,” BJ tells me when we chat a few hours before his performance. “But here, it’s like it’s the norm. It’s not shocking to see a guy with a wig on. And also, being in bounce, we’re pretty respected in the city.”

Bounce music — a style of New Orleans hip-hop — has a historic fluidity with an origin that’s heavily debated. The genre’s earliest iteration, chant-based and reliant on one type of beat , was dominated mainly by straight men. Then, women got on . Then it became gloriously queer and hasn’t looked back. Today, New Orleans persists as the epicenter for queer rap as the city continues to churn out talent that somehow both perpetuates and challenges hip-hop’s foundational values.

“You know they call me ‘Baby Freedia,’” BJ says with a coy smile. “Freedia for the next generation — because of how hard I work.”

“BJSoCole has taken the classic bounce formula and leaned in on lyrics to create an energy that translates to TikTok for his Gen Z peers.”

Although Freedia’s music has recently evolved to appeal to a more mainstream sensibility, she’s still the same artist fans came to love early on. She still belongs to the streets and is exactly who you want to hear when you need your spirit jump-started or a shot of self-confidence. To put it plainly, listening to Big Freedia makes me feel purely unfuckwithable.

And so, I want nothing more than for BJ to live up to that nickname. He’s front and center in this next generation of queer New Orleans rappers — the ones who studied the bounce blueprint and remixed it. And he did not come to play. “I’m not cocky at all. I’m very sweet and humble,” he tells me. But when I get in the booth, I ‘Nicki Minaj’ this shit.” He’s taken the classic bounce formula and leaned in on lyrics to create an energy that translates to TikTok for his Gen Z peers.

Just a few months before chatting with BJSoCole, I sat down with Freedia back in New York to discuss the message she’s trying to convey in her most recent music. “I want people to know that if I did it, they could do it too,” she tells me. I’m a Black queen that comes from New Orleans, and you can go many places coming from out the hood.”

“It’s energy, and it’s culture,” BJ says when I ask him about the swagger that New Orleans drenches its own with. “It’s just something that’s deeply rooted in us. I feel like anybody could come here and want this, but it’ll never be authentically done like we do it.”

Big Freedia and her fellow bounce pioneers — Katey Red, Sissy Nobby and Vockah Redu — started a movement in the ’90s that burned slow and strong in New Orleans. In the mid-2000s, the post-Katrina displacement of musicians was instrumental to the early spread of bounce . But as of a few years ago, you can hear that Triggerman beat (a sampled one-bar drum loop that’s ubiquitous in bounce music) and Freedia’s infamous chants every-damn-where. I love that the genre is getting its shine, but I sometimes wonder how many listeners recognize the crucial cultural context.

Yes, a bunch of straight men (and Mia X ) from No Limit and Cash Money deserve their props for popularizing bounce in New Orleans, but it swiftly and seamlessly became the soundtrack of revolution for queer people. By the early 2000s, songs such as Freedia’s “ Gin In My System ” were raunchy, effervescent emblems of sexual freedom and gender fluidity. And New Orleans was arguably the only place on planet Earth that could hold space for this movement.

“New Orleans is kinktopia,” says $leaze EZ, a young nonbinary rapper creating a buzz in the city’s hip-hop scene and beyond . “You kind of see people for who they are beyond how we identify them in society… As long you don’t fuck over nobody in this circle, you’re good.”

$leaze’s style of hip-hop deviates pretty far from bounce but still clings to its tenets of confidence, sexual bravado and thirst. And they ($leaze uses all pronouns, same as Big Freedia) are spot on about the city’s unique perspective. Since as far back as the late 19th century, New Orleans has been a haven for LGBTQIA+ people but has never been advertised publicly as such in the same ways as San Francisco or New York. Even when crossdressing was outlawed in the city in the mid-1900s, it was allowed during Mardi Gras .

New Orleans, from its very origins, has been known for its “alternative sexual economy and spaces,” says Alix Chapman, a Black queer studies scholar and professor of African American studies at Emory University.

Chapman explores this concept in his forthcoming book, “Raising the Bottom: Bounce Music and Black Queer Performance in New Orleans,” where he’ll also provide context on queerness and cosplay. “The increased visibility of Black queer people in New Orleans is in part due to various traditions of public performance,” he tells me. “Carnival and practices of masking have been used to challenge gendered and sexual norms that make room for queerness.”

Chapman explains that New Orleans has also informed trends in global pop culture for centuries across genres. “I argue that this can be traced to the influence of Congo Square, a primary site of African diasporic performance in the Western world. There’s also a long history of music and parading as a means of resistance to various forms of oppression.”

Today in New Orleans, some of that oppression takes form in anti-queer and -trans legislation , an overall lack of resources, and a notorious crime rate that was exacerbated by the pandemic . “I feel like since New Orleans is so low on everybody’s totem pole from education, to politics, to infrastructure to money in general,” $leaze says. “We’re all kind of just in this cesspool of whatever this is, together.”

She’s found both security and motivation, however, in GLBL WRMNG, an artist collective composed of New Orleans-based singers, emcees, and activists of color. In that vein, Chapman points to contemporary Black queer performance, locally and internationally, as products of these radical challenges to the status quo.

“Here in New Orleans, your sexual and gender identities are not your whole existence; they’re simply a visible and unapologetic part of who you are.”

Still, no one is out here being like, “Queer as fuck? Move to New Orleans!” But every queer rapper I spoke to for this story said some version of the same thing: Here, your sexual and gender identities are not your whole existence; they’re simply a visible and unapologetic part of who you are. And when you’re an emcee, all that matters is that you bring that heat. And as BJSoCole so accurately points out, “We bring the women out.”

The new generation of bounce rappers has clearly inherited their talent for inciting twerk tornadoes from Big Freedia and Sissy Nobby. In fact, Sissy Nobby, who I spent an afternoon chatting with over tequila sodas and crawfish pies, still hosts twerking contests on his (also an all-pronouns kind of girl) Instagram page.

Sissy Nobby’s whole vibe rests on his distinctly raspy voice (“DJs didn’t play my music at first because they couldn’t understand what I was saying,” he tells me) and an emotional rollercoaster of a catalog that rolls from confrontational, chantable hooks to romantic storytelling. “Consequences,” for example, dropped over a decade ago but is still a barroom staple, as well as a local Sweet 16 pick, apparently; Nobby just got asked to perform at one recently. The kids are clearly all right in New Orleans.

“We’re a party city. So when we’re on the mic, they’re hyping us. It’s the energy from the crowd,” he says. And the crowds at first were mostly women. Now, they’re everyone. “Male fans claim they want to see the females dance — but I know they’re fans,” he adds.

Hip-hop has always been called out for harboring homophobia, but let’s be real, that shit permeates every genre of music. Hip-hop, in many ways, has been a hall pass for queer rappers in the city. When bounce was becoming more queer in the early 2000s, though, there was only room for a few, causing some tension, Nobby claims.

“I think the beef was about being accepted by the straight community,” they tell me. “In bounce, we beefed with each other because we wanted to be the only one that was accepted. That’s how we got accepted — through bounce. Before that, these dudes out here would beat the shit out of us.”

And right therein lies the complexity of being a Black, queer rapper in New Orleans. The practice of creating art as your most authentic self runs alongside the thick, impenetrable reality that your body makes you a target.

This friction between Black queer rappers is a symptom of the hip-hop industry at large, Chapman tells me. “In terms of the music business, there are always issues of individualism and competitiveness. For women, people of color, queer, and trans people — when anything negative occurs, their otherness and individual failings are seen as the reason for why there is a problem,” he says, pointing out that systemic heteronormativity, racism and capitalism make any sense of community hard to realize.

All of this becomes evident to me when I reflect on how some queer rappers ascend to the “mainstream” while others do not. Sissy Nobby tells me how much he loves Lil Nas X and the way he’s able to move between musical styles in his work. As the single most influential queer rapper out now, he’s showing a younger LGBTQ+ audience that they can live outside of straight white America’s expectations. And while Lil Nas X has no known connection to New Orleans, he’s sitting on a throne built in this city.

New Orleans is where queer hip-hop got its wings, and it’s still a hub for queer expression in the genre. Tracing that line from the pioneers to the newbies reinforces the belief that this port city has always been one of the most quietly progressive spaces in America.

“New Orleans is kind of crazy because — I really shouldn’t say this but — if I was to turn my internet off I wouldn’t know certain problems exist for queer and people of color… I will be living my daily life like not experiencing it here,” $leaze tells me after exhaling a plume of smoke.

It’s a wild, fascinating claim to make but I believe her. Times are a little different than when Nobby was first taking the stage in the late ’90s. And if you’ve ever met $leaze, seen her perform, or observed the people she keeps around her constantly, you’d get it. In 2023 New Orleans, your squad can serve as blackout drapes. And you’ll sleep well.

All of this historical and cultural context of how queer rappers survive and thrive in New Orleans informs the content of their music: It’s raw, energizing, and undeniably empowering, especially for women and femmes. $leaze’s music is like Hennessy for a soul sobered by the patriarchy. Clearly a student of Kendrick Lamar in both flow and intellectuality, her style is cerebral and playful when it comes to gender fluidity and relationships.

“I grew up around a lot of straight cis men. That’s kind of where I learned romance and presentation… when I finally met queer people, I noticed my experiences were the polar opposite from them,” she tells me. “As queer person now, I’m finding the balance and making sure things I do aren’t just part of some heteronormative shit. I make that heteronormative shit super queer.”

Making heteronormative shit queer feels like exactly what the world needs right now. And it’s all here in New Orleans. Take note of the potential new slogan, tourism board.

That constant shapeshifting of gender and sexual expression is a legacy. And Freedia wants nothing more than for the next generation to continue to disrupt the system. “I hope the work that we’ve put in — and especially the work that I’ve put in — allows them to be able to have a better chance at everything,” she says. “A smoother ride, an easier door to walk into when it comes to music, just getting themselves out there.”

Back at the hookah bar, I’m tucked into a blue couch a few feet away from the stage area, watching BJ work the room. He’s confident without pretension, and we feel safe with him. It’s just us, the triggerman beat and the emotional release of the twerk.

“Did you have fun?” he asks, his face aglow after his performance. I nod and tell him he’s doing God’s work. He laughs.

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The Best Things to Do in New Orleans with Kids: A Guide

Ready to experience the best things to do in New Orleans with kids?

This complete guide will introduce your family to the fun, food, and flair that defines the Big Easy, one of my favorite cities in the world.

Below, you’ll get tips on what tours to take, where to stay, how to navigate the city, and which restaurants are kid-friendly.

Each of these things to do in New Orleans will help your kids understand the culture and history of the city, even if you only have a day or two.

As a general note, all of the stops on this New Orleans itinerary are in, or can easily be accessed from, the French Quarter.

So, let the good times roll as we explore New Orleans with the entire family!

This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase through one of the following links, I will get a small commission at no additional charge to you.

The Best Things to Do with Kids in New Orleans

NOLA with Kids, At-A-Glance

Best Hotel : Dauphine Orleans . Quiet location, great saltwater pool in the courtyard, and steps away from Bourbon Street and Jackson Square.

Best Sightseeing Tour : City Sightseeing Hop on Hop off Bus Tour . Convenient stops, live audio commentary, and double decker seating.

Best Place to Eat : Cafe du Monde. Cold chocolate milk and hot, fluffy beignets doused in confectioner’s sugar.

Take a kid friendly walking tour of the French Quarter.

While New Orleans is a great place to visit for families, parts of it can be, let’s say, uneven.

I’m looking at you, Bourbon Street.

Still, a trip to New Orleans without visiting the French Quarter just isn’t a trip to New Orleans.

If you’ve never been to New Orleans before, it can be difficult to determine which parts of the French Quarter are kid-friendly and which are best left to the bachelorette parties and revelers.

That’s where a family friendly tour of this iconic area comes in handy.

Get your kids excited about the incredible history and culture in this part of the Crescent City while being assured that everything will be shared in a way they will be able to digest.

Taking a kid-friendly tour of New Orleans means that everyone in the family will be able to enjoy learning about this incredible city.

You’ll learn about art, history, food, and more!

Visit Jackson Square.

Those spires of the St. Louis Cathedral are some of the most photographed architectural elements in all of New Orleans!

The 2.5 acre square has served many purposes over the years, including an execution area, an arsenal, a painters' hangout, and (more recently) a place to have your fortune told. Kids will love the wide paths to run around on.

The bells of the Cathedral ring out every 15 minutes on the quarter hour, which is also a fun way to spend a few minutes.

If you’re using this as your starting point into New Orleans, you’re nicely set up to enjoy many of the essential New Orleans kids activities in this post.

Today, it's a great place to start your exploration of the French Quarter or see a few street performers. Around the edges of the square are local artists where you can grab a quick sketch of your family as a souvenir.

Address : 701 Decatur Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

FREE New Orleans Scavenger Hunt + Learning Resources

Make your visit to New Orleans fun and educational with a full-color scavenger hunt around the city. You’ll also love the recommended NOLA book lists divided according to age!

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Have a jazzy brunch at Cafe du Monde.

After you’ve taken your photo at Jackson Square, head across the street to the famous Cafe Du Monde .

It’s an open air restaurant that serves a limited menu of beignets, milk, and coffee.

So, what is a beignet?

Beignets are essentially square doughnuts without the hole. If you’ve ever had an elephant ear or a funnel cake at the fair, they have that same consistency.

The beignet dough is cut and then thrown into hot oil, where they’re quickly fried. As they’re brought out, they’re tossed in powdered sugar.

Go ahead and plan for your kids to eat their weight in beignets. Each order of beignets comes in threes, and they’re each fairly small.

Plan accordingly so there’s not any fighting between the kids! On our last trip to Cafe du Monde, we just got an order of 3 beignets for everyone, so that everyone could eat their fill.

The cafe is really casual with lots of foot traffic, so your kids will feel right at home.

If the parents in your group like coffee, try a cup of their brew; it's mixed with chicory in a throwback to when the French Revolution occurred.

Coffee was scarce, so people mixed in chicory to make it go further.

Turns out, it adds a unique taste to the coffee, and French settlers loved it so much that they continued to make the blend well after they'd made their home in New Orleans.

The original Cafe Du Monde is located across Decatur Street from Jackson Square: you can’t miss the open air building with the green and white striped awning.

You can grab a seat anywhere you can find one, or you can order at the small window towards the back of the covered area. (It’s cash only if you’re doing a takeout order.)

There’s usually a jazz band playing outside on the sidewalk for extra ambiance.

There are several other locations throughout New Orleans, including at the City Park (read more about that in the off the beaten path New Orleans post).

Phone : (504) 587-0833

Address : 800 Decatur Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

Hours : 7:30AM-11PM Monday-Sunday

Cruise the town on a hop-on, hop-off bus tour.

While I love a good walking tour, New Orleans is too big to truly cover on foot—especially when you have kids in tow.

On our most recent trip to the Big Easy, we opted for a hop-on, hop off bus tour with City Sightseeing. You’ll see these big red buses all over the city, and they were a great choice to orient the kids to the city.

The ticket office is just across from Jackson Square (and down the street from Cafe du Monde). The first stop is less than a block away, which makes getting your ticket and then hopping on the next bus super easy.

On this trip, we didn’t want to drive into downtown NOLA, so we parked over in Algiers Point and road the ferry across. (See my notes on the ferry and Jazzy pass below as this is THE best value in New Orleans.)

From the Canal Street ferry dock, the City Sightseeing office is less than 2 blocks by foot.

We loved this approach as we didn’t have to fight traffic but still got to see everything that we wanted to in New Orleans.

Once you’re on the bus, you’ll have 17 different stops to choose from. If you were to take the entire route without getting off, it would take about 90 minutes.

Nearly everything on my list of the best things to do in New Orleans with kids can be accessed by this bus route, including the World War II Museum, Magazine Street, Mardi Gras World, and the Garden District.

You’ll need to take a streetcar to the City Park and the Children’s Museum, but that’s an easy transfer from the bus’ Canal Street stops.

As you’re driving around, there is a live guide on board to answer questions and provide an in-real-time commentary. My kids wanted to sit on the upper deck of the bus where the guides were, and all of them were so good about answering the kids’ questions and sharing fun facts for them.

The upper deck is covered, making it a great place to see the city on a sunny day. If you’d prefer to sit on the lower floor, there is air conditioning. When it rained, the bus drive and guide were quick with free ponchos for us.

I think that a 1 day hop on hop off bus ticket is a good amount of time, but 2 and 3 day tickets come with a discount.

Overall, I had a great time on this bus tour: the stops were well placed, the commentary was interesting, and the experience was well worth the cost.

Check availability and buy your tickets ahead of time (so you can just hop on a bus as soon as you get to town!):

Dive into history at the National WWII Museum.

History buffs, plan to visit here immediately . The National World War II Museum in the Central Business District of New Orleans is incredible, and offers exhibits on multiple floors across 2 buildings.

You’ll learn about the build up to the war, the war efforts at home, and both the Pacific and European theatres.

>> Get your National WWII Museum tickets here. <<

I did my M.A. thesis on London during World War II, so you know I had to read everything. Both of the Cosmos Mariners kids, who were 7 and 10 year old at the time of our visit, loved this place, too.

Many of the exhibits were interactive: they got to explore a replica of a kitchen from the early 1940s, complete a scavenger hunt for different types of planes, and listen to veterans’ audio interviews.

While the larger topic of the war is difficult, the museum presents everything in a way that anyone—regardless of their previous knowledge of the conflict—will be able to take away valuable insights.

The curators also did a great job of balancing topics like the Holocaust with the sensitivity of viewers, meaning I was comfortable letting my kids explore pretty much everything in the museum. (There was one video in the European theatre section that showed the Holocaust survivors being liberated. I had my sensitive 7-year-old skip that one.)

We spend about 5 hours here, and could’ve come back a second time. Highly recommended!

Check availability for your travel dates:

Take a riverboat cruise.

My kids love an activity where they get to try something new, and a riverboat is something they definitely don’t get to ride everyday!

The Natchez riverboat makes daily family-friendly tours of the Mississippi River , and guests can move freely around the 3-story boat for the best views of Louisiana.

Along the way, your tour guide shares bits of information about the city, river trading, and the history of steamboats on the Mississippi River, making this one of the best fun educational things to do in New Orleans.

This would be a great time to chat with your kid about Samuel Clemens, whose pen name (Mark Twain) was literally a measuring device from his time working on a Mississippi River boat.

The sailor would call “mark twain” if the river was at least 12 feet deep, and another person would note (or mark) that the water had come up to the second line on the measuring pole.

Even without the history and literature lesson, this boat ride will please any kid who loves boats, transportation, and adventure.

>> Get your family’s riverboat tickets here . <<

Wander down Bourbon Street.

Despite popular opinion, you don't have to drink your way down Bourbon Street to have a great time.

This famous street in the French Quarter runs much further than the typical tourist would want to explore, so I’d stay between Canal Street and St. Ann Street for the most accessible jaunt.

I could spend days people watching on this boulevard of bars, shops, restaurants, and hotels.

In terms of family activities here, there’s not a lot specifically to do other than get a picture and duck into a couple of the gift shops.

I love all of the fun masks and Mardi Gras-themed souvenirs everywhere, and you’ll find plenty of those around Bourbon Street.

While you'd be mistaken to think that Bourbon Street is all that New Orleans has to offer, skipping this part of town all together would leave your trip with a serious gap.

Grab a photo of your family on Bourbon Street (probably not next to the Huge Ass Beers sign!), and then head elsewhere in the city.

Explore the mausoleums at one of the cemeteries.

While many people think that the mausoleums are used because of New Orleans' high water table, they're more likely used because of tradition and space issues.

Above ground burials date back to the Old World and the idea came to Louisiana with the first French and Spanish settlers.

Interestingly enough, the first burials in New Orleans were in-ground, but a huge fire in 1788 that left so many people dead that burials had to take place in a swamp.

This lack of space led city officials to build the St. Louis cemeteries--and the mausoleums which we now associate with New Orleans.

Entire families could be buried in a space just larger than an in-ground grave. What was once old was new again!

Did you know that the phrase “getting the shaft” comes from New Orleans cemeteries? The vaults were rented, not bought, and when families didn’t pay, the remains of their loved one would be swept into the shaft that ran at the back of the vaults. Gross, but true.

There is SO much interesting lore and history that comes out of the funerary practices here, so a cemetery tour is a must do.

If you have older children or teens, I’d recommend taking a formal cemetery tour as this is a great way to hear about some of the local lore, ghost stories, and fun facts.

If you have smaller kids, I’d still visit, but I would skip the tour and walk around the cemetery on my own. They will like the spooky atmosphere and the beautiful trees.

Lafayette Cemetery #1

Lafayette Cemetary #1 is the closest to the French Quarter, but it is in the Garden District, which is more than walking distance away. You’ll need to take the St. Charles Streetcar (see below) to get to this area.

Address : 1427 Washington Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana

Best tour of Lafayette Cemetery #1 : Get tickets here .

St. Louis Cemetery #1

Lafayette Cemetery #2 is also a good distance from the French Quarter and will require a taxi or bus ride. Located in Iberville, near Louis Armstrong Park, this cemetery is the final resting place of Marie Laveau, New Orleans’ famed voodoo queen.

Best Tour of St. Louis Cemetery #1 : Get tickets here.

Address : 425 Basin Street, New Orleans, Louisiana

NOTE: As a word of caution, the above cemeteries are fine to visit during the day if you’re with a tour group, but I would avoid going into the grounds after dark.

There are other cemeteries around NOLA with the iconic marble vaults and mausoleums, but I don’t recommend the average tourist wandering into these. Places like Louis Cemeteries 2 and 3 are known for pickpockets and petty crime, day or night.

Celebrate Mardi Gras all year long.

New Orleans is Mardi Gras. This incredible festival is held once a year in the 2 weeks leading into the Lenten season, which starts 40 days before Easter.

Once a last hurrah before devout Catholics had to abstain from meat during Lent, today’s Mardi Gras (French for “Fat Tuesday”) is a spectacle of floats, marching bands, custom throws, and parties.

And, despite popular belief, Mardi Gras isn’t just for drunken adults. There are many parades—both day and nighttime—that cater to families!

Learn more about Mardi Gras at the best place in the city: Mardi Gras World.

>> Grab your Mardi Gras World tickets here. <<

This working studio is the brain and brawn behind the iconic floats that many of the city’s Krewes fund and show off each year.

You’ll get to sample some King Cake, a cinnamon and sugar pastry that’s essential to any Mardi Gras Celebration, while you watch a video about the history of NOLA parade floats.

If you’re lucky, you might get the baby hidden in one slice of the cake like my son did during our visit. Tradition says that the person who gets the baby has to host the first Mardi Gras party the following year, so I guess it’s a party at our place next year!

After that intro, you’ll go on a guided tour of the workshop, where you’ll learn about how the float designers create and recreate pieces from year to year. I found it fascinating that some of the acrylic and styrofoam pieces could be reworked to save money for the Krewes!

Along the way, you’ll see dozens of creative floats and float props that have been used in past parades, and will make an appearance in future parades once they get their new themes.

My family was surprised at how much we loved this place. It was part art museum, part New Orleans tradition, and part working art workshop.

Head into the swamp on a boat tour.

The first time I did this tour was I went to New Orleans as a teenager, and I thought it was so much fun! We’ve done a couple more since then, and they never get old.

Your trip to the Big Easy isn’t complete without a swamp tour in Jean Lafitte National Park! It’s fascinating to see just how close the swamp is to the hustle and bustle of the French Quarter.

You can add on a transportation option from your hotel, which makes the process of getting to the boat super convenient for those without a rental car. (If you want a rental car for your stay in New Orleans, book one here.)

You’re guaranteed to see at least a few alligators on your trip along with old growth cypress trees, possums, deer, snakes, and wild pigs.

The boat allows kids of all ages, but preschoolers and up will get the most out of this tour. Keep in mind that the total time on the boat is about an hour and half, but you can get up and move around if your child gets antsy.

>> Get your Jean Lafitte National Park excursion tickets here . <<

Eat your way through New Orleans.

Trying new food is a fun (and delicious) way to introduce your kids to an unfamiliar culture, and New Orleans has some fantastic food!

Before visiting New Orleans for the first time in my teens, I'd never tried a muffaletta (also spelled muffuletta)--or even heard of it.

But then I read a small line in our guidebook about the tastiness that awaited me at the Central Grocery at 923 Decatur Dtreet, and I was a fan for life.

This cold sandwich has an olive tapenade, salami, Provolone, mozzarella, mortadella, and prosciutto piled high on a crispy piece of french bread.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

2024 Note : Central Grocery was damaged in 2021’s Hurricane Ida and hasn’t reopend yet. You can still order muffalettas through the mail, though! The convenience store next door also sells them in person until the grocery is back up and running.

I’ve since introduced my kids to the muffaletta, and they both like it as well.

I'm horribly allergic to shrimp, so I’ve never had the chance to try that time-honored New Orleans favorite, the shrimp po' boy .

However, I have it on good authority (aka the rest of my family) that they are delicious.

Thankfully, po’ boys do come in a variety of other, less traditional flavors, like roast beef, fried chicken, and fried fish. I have had those, and they make for a great, but not overly heavy, lunch.

Another must try food in New Orleans is red beans and rice , which is comfort food at its finest. Fluffy white rice is served alongside a rich, creamy, and salty bean stew.

You can get boudin in restaurants all over the state, but some of the best ones come from corner groceries and convenience stores.

These fried balls are made of a rice and sausage mixture. If a hush puppy married Cajun sausage, you’d get boudin.

After introducing beignets to your kids, maybe they’ll be more likely to try more New Orleans staples like these.

Our Favorite Kid-Friendly NOLA Restaurants

While there is an ever changing list of best places to eat in New Orleans, I can’t say I’ve ever been disappointed with a meal in the city.

I would recommend getting off the main streets of the city as you’re more likely to find authentic food where you’re eating alongside the locals here.

We love Joey K’s on Magazine Street for classic New Orleans food in an artsy, laid back atmosphere. The burgers are big and juicy, while the red beans and rice are classic and filling.

Johnny’s Po Boys in the French Quarter on St. Louis Street is an eclectic dive, but it’s been serving up hot, freshly fried sandwiches for over 70 years. We’ve tried the shrimp po’ boy and the roast beef po’ boy here, and both were great.

Dat Dog in the Marigny on Chartes Street is kid-friendly food in a super fun, colorful environment. There are classic beef hot dogs served alongside more creative fare like alligator sausage dogs and beer-battered cod dogs!

The Chicory House in the Garden District has coffee, freshly made cookies, and sandwiches with laidback, covered outdoor seating. It’s the perfect place to people watch on Prytania Street.

>> Explore more of the state with stops at the best plantations in Louisiana . <<

Ride the St. Charles streetcar.

Need a little literary inspiration to help you along on your New Orleans family vacation?

Then, jump on the St. Charles line, and you'll be screaming, "STELLA!" before you know it. (Your kids will be super embarrassed, but having a weird parent builds character.)

This streetcar is identical to the one that used to run on the now-defunct Desire line--which was the inspiration behind Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire . If you want more literary fun in New Orleans , I've got some great suggestions.

Even if your kids have no clue who Tennessee Williams is, they will love riding the streetcar.

My younger kid is obsessed with all things transportation and would gladly ride the streetcar all day long.

We’d never even have to do anything else!

The St. Charles line starts at Canal Street and Carondolet Street, and runs down Carondolet through the Central Business District, Garden District and all the way past Loyola University and Audobon Park Golf Course.

Bring exactly $1.25 per person as the driver won’t make change. You have to pay per person per ride, but the city transportation does offer discounts on multi-day Jazzy passes .

Play at the Louisiana Children’s Museum.

This museum is worth at least half a day of your New Orleans family vacation. Located in City Park, the museum has plenty to keep your kids busy for hours, and, hands down, it is one of the best things to do in New Orleans with kids.

Your kids will love the water play as they learn about the Mississippi River (just make sure they don one of the bright blue smocks!).

There’s also a music-themed interactive space that pays homage to the NOLA musical heritage, and series of areas where they can learn about fresh produce, cooking, and grocery shopping.

On a nice day, head to the outdoor portion, where kids can check out the lagoon, walk the paved path around the property, and play the outdoor instruments.

Check with the front desk to see the daily activity schedule, which includes baby-centric play time, storytime, art programs, and more.

If you have extra time, the City Park area outside of the museum can easily fill the rest of your day. There's paddle boats, picnic tables, walking paths, and more.

To get there , you can drive your rental car or take the #48 Canal Street streetcar route. In the latter case, look for the streetcar stop outside Harrah’s Casino on Canal Street, then take the streetcar 25 stops to the terminus. You’ll be able to look at Canal Street along the way, which is super wide and pretty all the way down.

Phone : (504) 523-1357

Address : 15 Henry Thomas Drive, New Orleans, Louisiana

Hours : 9:30 AM-4:30 PM Wednesday-Saturday, 11:30 AM-4:30 PM Sunday (closed Monday and Tuesday)

Admission : $14/person, $12/seniors and military, free for kids under 12 months

>> Explore elsewhere in Louisiana with a trip to do the best things in Natchitoches ! <<

Take a ghost tour.

The city of New Orleans definitely capitalizes on its spooky side, and several tour companies offer jaunts around the French Quarter at night.

Having taken a couple of them, I can tell you that there are some seriously creepy tales and legends associated with that area from Marie Leveau (an actual Voodoo priestess) to Delphine LaLaurie (a high society woman who supposedly performed horrible experiments on her slaves).

You'll also learn fun tidbits like the fact that Nicholas Cage used to own the LaLaurie mansion, but spent exactly one night in it before he sold it, purportedly because he was terrified.

Now, I know that some kids will be able to hand all of that—and more—but most parents don’t want their kids to be so terrified that they’re up all night afterwards.

The traditional ghost tours are good for ages 12 and up, but what if you have younger kids who want to experience a ghost tour, too?

I’ve got the perfect solution for you: a family-friendly spooky ghost tour of New Orleans. Going on one of these will allow your kids to get that thrill without being overly scared.

The tour guides know their audience and will balance along that fine line well for your family during this walking tour.

>> Get tickets for this fun and spooky tour here . <<

Tips for Visiting New Orleans with Kids

New orleans can get hot..

You’d think that a city situated between the Mississippi River and the massive Lake Pontchatrain would get a healthy breeze during the spring and summer, but you would be wrong.

Visiting during the summer means high temperatures, often into the mid to upper ‘90s, with nearly 100% humidity.

New Orleans doesn’t slow down during these warmer months, but you’ll need to take some extra steps to enjoy your time.

Make sure your kids drink plenty of water, and not just as meal times. It’s easy to get overheated when the humidity is as high as it gets in the South—your body just can’t properly cool itself down through sweat alone.

Get ice water in an insulated bottle and encourage your kids to sip consistently.

Balance outdoor activities like walking through the Shops of the Colonnade with air conditioned activities like the World War II Museum.

If possible, schedule walking tours so that you’re done no later than 11 AM. Overheated kids on a history tour is going to elicit plenty of whining, which is fun for no one.

The best time to go to New Orleans is in the late fall, around October or November. You won’t be competing with any major events (see below), and the weather is going to be perfect for walking around.

Check the calendar.

There’s always something going on in New Orleans, but there are a couple of times each year where the social calendar is super packed.

The Mardi Gras season is huge in New Orleans—and not just in the French Quarter. You’ll find parade routes everywhere from Metairie to Tulane, which can put a damper on exploring the city normally.

The season changes every year as it is based on the lead up to the Lenten season and Easter, the dates of which also change every year.

Roughly, the Mardi Gras season runs through February every year, though it can start a little earlier some years.

Jazz Fest is another huge draw to this area, and I’d avoid visiting during this time unless you’re specifically planning to attend the festival.

Jazz Fest usually starts in the last week of April and runs for 2 weeks. The dates do change each year, so check the official website .

You’ll want to avoid these times as hotels, tours, campgrounds, and restaurants are packed, and everything’s going to be more expensive.

In the case of Mardi Gras, you’ll likely have to navigate around parade routes, which means altered traffic patterns, detoured tour buses, and more general congestion if you’re trying to drive.

Be street smart.

Despite what you’ve probably read in the news, you’re not going to get murdered the minute you set foot in New Orleans. It’s a big city, and—surprise!—big cities have crime.

Now, I won’t sit here and tell you that you’re okay to wander wherever and whenever you want as that would be terrible advice.

New Orleans is uneven when it comes to safety, and you should do a little research before you get there. The places that you’re likely to find yourself, like all of the places on the list above, are going to be fine during the day.

Most are going to be fine at night, too, though some areas, like Bourbon Street, can get rowdy the later it gets.

However, there are places that I would advise not venturing into unless you’re with a local (and even then, not at night). The area of Tremé around Louis Armstrong Park can get tough at night. Parts of North Rampart Street and Basin Streets, particularly the area between Bienville Street and Canal Street, isn’t somewhere that tourists need to be at any time. There are a lot of abandoned buildings and high crime in this area—and there just aren’t any must-do’s here anyway.

All of that being said, I’ve traipsed all over the French Quarter, the Central Business District, the Garden District, Algiers Point and everything in between with my kids in tow.

Use regular big city safety, including:

not looking lost (duck into a shop to check your maps app),

carrying your wallet in your front pocket, not the back,

using a crossbody purse instead of a backpack, clutch, or shoulder strap,

being firm with anyone who asks you for something (a simple but strong, “no, thank you” as you continue walking is sufficient), and

having a plan on where you’re going before you actually set out.

Doing all of that, along with your pre-trip research, will mean you’re just as safe in NOLA as you’d be in any other big city.

Grab the Jazzy Pass.

Even if you’re only in town for a couple of days, you will need the Jazzy Pass!

The RTA Le Pass app is your ticket to the entire New Orleans area transit system, including city buses, streetcars, and ferries.

Put the Le Pass app on your phone, and you’ll be able to show your digital Jazzy Pass any time you get onto transportation.

The passes are cheap and can be used all day as many times as you’d like. As of the writing of this post, the adult Jazzy Pass was $3 for a 1 day pass, and $8 for a 3 day pass (or $2.60 a day). The children’s 1 day pass is just a dollar, while a 3 day pass is also $8.

To show you what a great deal it is, let’s look at just one day of our most recent trip.

We look the Algiers Point ferry to Canal Street (normally $4 round trip for an adult), then took the St. Charles streetcar to Magazine Street (normally $2.50 round trip for an adult). We also rode the Canal Street streetcar to get to City Park (another $2.50 round trip).

In total, we should’ve spent $9 for each adult, but got all of that for only $3. It’s not a ton of money saved, but the difference bought me a muffaletta!

Have you taken your family to the Big Easy? Which of these New Orleans kids activities would they enjoy the most?

New Orleans is owed $135 million in traffic cam tickets and is struggling to collect

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) -- The City of New Orleans is owed $135,002,518.56 in traffic camera ticket fees, money that could go to addressing the city’s needs.

A Fox 8 investigation found that money is spread across 994,323 collectable tickets dating back to late 2010.

The city uses traffic cameras to enforce speed limits in school zones and catch drivers running red lights. The license plates of alleged violators are caught on camera, then used to issue traffic tickets and fees.

The fees, if paid, flow into the city’s general fund. That money could be used for any number of issues facing the city.

New Orleans’ Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montaño told Fox 8 the city is limited in its ability to collect the ticket fees. He said the city relies on booting the offending vehicles when citations are not paid and sending the tickets to collections.

If drivers can dodge both, he said there’s not much more to be done.

“I can’t anticipate money coming from these people that have chosen a whole different path in life and in their financial world,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll ever see that money and that’s called a sunk cost.”

A Fox 8 analysis of city records shows only 63 percent of the traffic tickets issued from 2019-23 have been paid. That’s just over a million tickets.

The city used boots on vehicles just over 10,000 times during those years. It’s unclear how many of the boot uses are connected to traffic camera tickets.

Fees from traffic cameras represent a significant portion of the city’s annual budget. The Fiscal Year 2024 budget reported traffic camera tickets, along with other fines and fees, helped generate $23.1 million for the city.

Fox 8 asked Montaño if the collections service for the traffic cameras contacts drivers for each uncollected ticket.

“So, in all my years of doing this work, I’ve learned to never speak in an absolute. So, my assumption and my information is, yes,” he said. “Now, would there be exceptions? Who knows? Probably.”

The city contracts with Verra Mobility to run the traffic camera program. A 2020 New Orleans Inspector General report said Verra subcontracts with Duncan Solutions to collect on the tickets.

A spokesperson for Duncan deferred to Verra. A spokesperson for Verra deferred to the city.

The holes in the city’s collections process have allowed some drivers to rack up tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid tickets.

A couple living on Filmore Avenue owes more than $116,000 across 700 tickets. The woman spoke with Fox 8 Chief Investigative Reporter Lee Zurik in 2019 .

“What do they want me to do, sell my house and pay tickets?” she asked Zurik in 2019, after she admitted to speeding regularly.

Zurik found the city was owed $146 million in traffic camera tickets in his investigation. Fox 8 has asked how much money the city has collected since then, but the records have not been provided.

A West Bank couple on Laurel Avenue owes more than $85,000 on almost 390 tickets.

Fox 8 asked Montaño why the offenders would pay if the city’s follow-up can be dodged.

“I think a normal, I would hope, rational person ... does not want to have a creditor after them,” he said. “I think it’s a certain type of mindset or decision you have to have not to care.”

Fox 8 obtained the names of those who still owe on tickets as of February 2024, and a number of public figures and elected leaders are named.

• Office did not respond to request for comment
• Office said it was unaware of the ticket and has not provided a response
• Provided no records and threatened to sue Fox 8
• Office provided receipts showing the tickets have since been paid
• Illg said he is investigating the tickets

District A Councilman Joe Giarrusso advocated for the city to take a more aggressive approach in pursuing the worst offenders.

“Person who has one ticket, two tickets, we have to be sensitive to that,” he said. “When you have $90,000 of tickets, you’re cheating the system.”

He said even getting a percentage of that money would be a significant boon for the city.

“We could make sure that we get those catch basins clean. We could make sure that we’re changing lights faster. We can deliver services faster to people and then we’re really not trying to do it through property taxes, through raising sales tax,” he said.

Fox 8 spoke to New Orleans residents who had several ideas about where the money could be used.

Cleo Bartholomew pointed to driving visibility.

“There’s no lights, we can hardly see,” she said.

Magon Washington raised concern about resources for youth.

“Make it a welcoming place. Let them feel safe, let’s be honest,” she said.

Chris Sharkey pointed to the regular flooding in the city.

“Cars flooding, parts of houses flooding. It’s just ridiculous,” he said.

It’s unclear if New Orleans will ever see the $135 million.

State lawmakers are debating a bill which would prevent governments from collecting on tickets if images of the driver aren’t captured. It would also limit how the money could be spent.

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CAMPUS NEWS: MAY 10, 2024

Commencement 2024, college sports executive kiki baker barnes tells uno graduates be ‘ready to embrace the unexpected’.

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College sports executive and University of New Orleans alumna Kiki Baker Barnes gave the commencement address at the University’s spring 2024 commencement ceremony held Thursday, May 9.

College sports executive and University of New Orleans alumna Kiki Baker Barnes, who holds both a bachelor’s degree and doctorate from UNO, knew without a doubt that she was a spectacular shooting guard. She’d excelled at the position all through high school, which is why she balked when her junior college basketball coach suggested she move to point guard.

The move felt like a setup for failure because handling the ball under pressure wasn’t her strength, Baker Barnes said Thursday at UNO’s Lakefront Arena where she delivered the keynote address during the spring commencement ceremony.

“This wasn’t just a change in position,” Baker Barnes said. “It was a transformation in role and mindset.”

She resisted—despite her coach’s insistence that her height and quickness would make her a formidable point guard and could help get her to the next level of the game.

She complained—repeatedly—to herself, said Baker Barnes who, in 2022, became the first African American woman commissioner in the history of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and in any conference in the history of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, an association founded in 1937 that includes more than 250-member institutions.

Her recurring complaint: “I don’t see why he’s making me do all of this. It’s not like there is a professional basketball league for women in the United States,” Baker Barnes recalled.

When Baker Barnes graduated high school in 1993, the WNBA did not exist. Her coach relented and moved her back to her more comfortable post of shooting guard.

Fast forward to 1997 when Baker Barnes had just completed her undergraduate degree at UNO, as well as a stellar collegiate basketball and track career. She was offered a tryout with the WNBA, the new women’s professional basketball league that would debut that year.

“I was ecstatic,” Baker Barnes said. “I made it through the first round of cuts. I was playing some of my best ball!”

She was cut in the second round and was devastated. Her college coach would tell her later that the scouts thought she was skilled, quick and athletic. However, they were looking for a point guard, Baker Barnes said.

She encouraged graduates to take three pivotal lessons from her story.

“First, understand that just because an opportunity isn’t visible right now, doesn’t mean it won’t emerge,” Baker Barnes said. “Let this inspire you to pursue your dream with an open heart and an eager mind, always ready to embrace the unexpected.”

Second, remember that preparation is your most reliable guide through the unknown, Baker Barnes said.

“Equip yourself not just for the paths you anticipate, but also for the unforeseen challenges that may arise,” she said.

Lastly, she urged graduates to embrace failure as a necessary chapter in their success story.

“The true test is not in avoiding failure but in how you respond to it … How you choose to move forward from these moments will shape your journey and define your legacy,” Baker Barnes said.

“Graduates … step boldly into the future, prepared for the unknown, resilient in the face of setbacks and always eager to turn hidden opportunities into triumphs.”

The 2024 graduating class hailed from 32 U.S. states and territories and 32 areas abroad.

During the commencement, UNO President Kathy Johnson presented Baker Barnes with a medallion as a symbol of the University’s gratitude and applauded the graduates for their perseverance.

“My deepest hope is that your education at the University of New Orleans will enable you to help change our world for the better as you enter into this next phase of your life, whether that entails a career, more school or public service,” Johnson said.

The next step for music studies major Kalif Brown is going on tour with entertainer Robin Barnes and the Fiya Birds, he said.

“I play drums, piano and I sing,” Brown said.

But first, he had to keep a promise to his mother and collect his college diploma, said Brown, who carried a mortar board decorated with family photos.

“This is everybody who has helped me get to this point so far. You see a lot of pictures of my mom on here, that’s because my mom had me at 16 years old and I know I made (her life) a little more complicated,” Brown said. “One thing she always said is that she wanted to see me walk across the stage, and I promised her that I would do that.”

Meanwhile, Julia Mai plans to parlay her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences to become a physician assistant. Mai, who started a pre-PA club at UNO, is headed to graduate school to pursue a Master of Physician Assistant Studies.

Mai said she’s excited for what the future holds for her and for the future of the career support organization she helped to start.

“I want to express my gratitude to Dr. Michael Doosey for not only being the best club adviser ever, but for also being a huge advocate for the club since the start,” Mai said. “I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the UNO Pre-PA Club!”

English major Whittinee Cox’s mortar board perhaps proclaimed a sentiment held by many of the graduates as they laughed and posed for selfies in groups, in front of their college banners and solo. The glittery mortar board stated: “There ain’t nothing gonna stop me NOW!”

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Álvaro Enciso places crosses at sites where migrants are known to have died in the borderland, this cross represents the death of Nolberto Torres-Zayas just east of Arivaca, Arizona on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. Torres-Zayas died of hyperthermia in 2009, not far from a Humane Borders water cache that had been vandalized and drained. Ash Ponders for NPR hide caption

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