The vibrant culture of the Crescent City, Acadian and Creole influences, and Stories by Ken Burns enrich Tauck's inspiring 8-day French Louisiana and New Orleans tour – filled with Tauck Exclusives like an authentic Cajun "Bal de Maison" house party; a private demonstration and lunch at the New Orleans School of Cooking; a private streetcar tour along Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue; environmental insights on a field trip to the Lower 9th Ward with community organizers; a private jazz experience at Preservation Hall; and a farewell jazz reception and dinner at Arnaud's! Ride a horse-drawn carriage through the French Quarter... stay at the Hotel Monteleone and The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans... dine at world-famous Brennan's... visit Mardi Gras World with a Carnival insider... explore New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park... immerse yourself in Acadian life at Vermilionville... dig into a traditional Cajun dinner in the "Crawfish Capital of the World" and much more!
Highlights:
Day 1: Welcome to the Big Easy!
Day 2: Cookin', lookin' and listenin' in the French Quarter
Day 3: New Orleans: naturally...and the hometown of jazz
Day 4: Acadiana...in the land of the "Cajuns"
Day 5: Cajun culture on the bayou, Jefferson Island & Breaux Bridge
Day 6: Travel through Atchafalaya Basin and back to the Big Easy
Day 7: A private streetcar, the National WWII Museum & more in New Orleans
Day 8: Goodbye, New Orleans
Day 1: Welcome to the Big Easy!
Tauck's New Orleans tour begins at 5:15 PM at Hotel Monteleone. Welcome to New Orleans and French Louisiana! A transfer is included from Louis Armstrong International Airport to the Hotel Monteleone. Please join us for this evening's welcome cocktail reception at your historic hotel at the foot of Royal Street in the heart of the French Quarter, followed by dinner at a classic New Orleans' restaurant in the French Quarter.
Lodging: Hotel Monteleone
Day 2: Cookin', lookin' and listenin' in the French Quarter
From the flavor of étouffée to the strains of jazz, experience New Orleans as an insider today with Tauck! Explore iconic Canal Street, the historic homes, boutiques and cafés of the Warehouse District, and the Mississippi River waterfront. Discover the French Quarter from venerable Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral and the Cabildo to the swirl of daily – and nightly – life along fabled Bourbon Street on a guided walking tour. Learn a few secrets of Cajun and Creole cuisine from the chefs of the New Orleans School of Cooking with a private cooking demonstration followed by a lunch you won't soon forget. A Mardi Gras insider takes you for a behind-the-scenes look at the city's traditional annual celebrations at Mardi Gras World, before you attend an exclusive-to-Tauck, private jazz experience at world-famous Preservation Hall... then strike out to explore and have dinner on your own this evening in the Big Easy!
Lodging: Hotel Monteleone
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 3: New Orleans: naturally...and the hometown of jazz
Today, you'll learn the role that New Orleans' low elevation – it's the only U.S. city that sits below sea level – and its relationship to the Mississippi, Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf of Mexico play in the destructive forces of nature, as well as those wrought by humankind, with an insightful presentation by an environmental expert. Then take a field trip with volunteers and community organizers to the city's Lower 9th Ward to observe its recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 – and learn the role you play in those efforts just by being a Tauck guest! In the city that many consider the birthplace of jazz and the hometown of prominent jazz greats from Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton and Sidney Bechet to Wynton Marsalis and Harry Connick, Jr., you'll check out this uniquely American music's key role in New Orleans' cultural mix – and vice versa – on a visit to the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park's performance center at the Old U.S. Mint in the French Quarter, where the focus is on jazz as an art form. And for dinner tonight, get a true taste of New Orleans' famous cuisine as you choose from among several historic restaurants in the French Quarter, including Tujague's and The Court of Two Sisters.
Lodging: Hotel Monteleone
Breakfast, Dinner
Day 4: Acadiana...in the land of the "Cajuns"
After the French-speaking Acadian people were expelled from what would become Canada's Maritime Provinces in the 1750s and 60s, many of them settled in what we now know as Louisiana... where they became known as "Cajuns." Become immersed in their rich Acadian culture firsthand today when you leave New Orleans for the heart of French Lousiana and a private, traditional "Bal de Maison" (house party) porch lunch – a Tauck Exclusive complete with great home-cooked Cajun food, songs and storytelling. Go back a few hundred years at Vermilionville, a recreation of an Acadian village of centuries ago, where costumed interpreters reveal what life was like for the original Cajuns through their folkways, crafts and music – and learn to dance the Cajun two-step! Have dinner at your hotel tonight as you begin a two-night stay in Lafayette in the heart of Cajun country.
Lodging: Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Lafayette
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5: Cajun culture on the bayou, Jefferson Island & Breaux Bridge
We've lined up more discoveries in the heart of Cajun country today, starting with a visit to the Acadian Cultural Center in Lafayette – part of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve – where National Park Service multi-media programs, exhibits and staff interpret Cajun cultural traditions and stories of the origins, migration and settlement of the Acadian people in Louisiana. Continue on to New Iberia for a tour of Shadows-on-the-Teche, a historic pre-Civil War home on the banks of Bayou Teche, once part of a sugar cane plantation and now maintained by the National Trust for Historic Preservation; gain insights on the family that called it home between the 1830s and 1920s... as well as some of the mysteries of the bayou. Head out across the wetlands to discover the unique environment of the region's unusual salt-dome "islands." On one of them, Jefferson Island, enjoy lunch and a guided tour of the Rip Van Winkle Gardens and the Joseph Jefferson Mansion – the former estate of the 19th-century actor Joseph Jefferson, who gained fame and fortune playing Washington Irving's character Rip Van Winkle. Dig into more tasty traditional Acadian cuisine for dinner tonight (complete with live traditional music) at an authentic Cajun restaurant in Breaux Bridge, the "Crawfish Capital of the World".
Lodging: Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Lafayette
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6: Travel through Atchafalaya Basin and back to the Big Easy
Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin is among the largest wetland environments in the United States; its vast marshes, cypress swamps and bayous provide homes for many species of waterfowl and other wildlife... and their mysterious environs have given rise to many a tall tale and legend over the years. Depart from Breaux Bridge with a local guide for a boat tour of these remarkable wetlands to observe the bird and wildlife that reside there – and maybe pick up a little local lore along the way. Continue your New Orleans tour by traveling back to the Crescent City via a stretch of scenic highway for two more nights in the Big Easy... this time in stylish accommodations at The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans on Canal Street in the French Quarter.
Lodging: The Ritz Carlton, New Orleans
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 7: A private streetcar, the National WWII Museum & more in New Orleans
Visit more iconic destinations on your New Orleans tour; begin by hopping aboard an authentic New Orleans streetcar for another Tauck Exclusive – a streetcar tour along Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue with a local guide. Check out the Garden District, whose National Historic Landmark district preserves historic mansions dating from the 1830s to about 1900, reflecting the prosperity of their wealthy builders prior to and following the Civil War, as well as the city's antiques district. Your ride ends near the National World War II Museum, honoring millions of Americans who fought overseas and on the home front, set in the neighborhood where the famous Higgins landing boats were built. Enjoy its state-of-the-art exhibits and included, immersive 4-D experience, Beyond All Boundaries (produced and narrated by Tom Hanks). Explore more on your own or return to the hotel. Tonight, experience the best of the Cresent City... beginning with a horse-drawn carriage ride to celebrated Arnaud's Restaurant, where you'll bid adieu to the Big Easy with a Tauck Exclusive farewell jazz reception, followed by dinner at this French Quarter institution.
Lodging: The Ritz Carlton, New Orleans
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 8: Goodbye, New Orleans
Fly home anytime. A transfer is included from The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans to Louis Armstrong International Airport. Please allow a minimum of two hours for flight check-in.
Meal: Breakfast
