1. New Orleans: Garden District Walking Tour
Enjoy a totally unique walking tour through New Orleans' Garden District and marvel at the opulent 19th-century mansions that are so common in this area. With your experienced guide, you will learn about the history behind these magnificent homes, the former owners, visitors and about the city of New Orleans in general. Get to witness mansions that so often tell the story of wealth found and sometimes lost, during the second half of the 19th century. Marvel at the homes, designed with a love of Greek Revival and Italianate building styles, with some of them reminiscent of grand plantation mansions. Your leisurely walk starts by visiting two iconic mansions, the Bosworth-Haus and, the Burnside Mansion. The former owners, one a successful ice-magnate, the other a plantation owner lived in decadent homes with stunning architectural features, all of which you will get to admire during this tour. After a stop at the oldest municipal cemetery where you will learn about the city's above-ground burial traditions, you will get to visit Commander's Palace, one of New Orleans' most famous restaurants. Culinary stars such as Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse trained here under the watchful eyes of other master chefs and its owner, Ella Brennan. The tour's next stop is the Eustis-Haus, which was built for the daughter of a cotton factor and is now the home of Hollywood movie actress Sandra Bullock, who purchased it for $2.25 million. Nearby you will get the chance to see the Lonsdale house on Prytania Street. His house is the oldest in the Garden District and today belongs to a wealthy local tea and coffee importer. The walk ends at the Rink, a former skating rink that today houses a local coffee shop, an independent bookstore, and small boutiques.