Garden District and Lafayette Cemetery: Guided Walk or the Streetcar on Your Own?
4 min read
The answer first
The Garden District is easy to do alone: New Orleans & Company says to board the St. Charles streetcar at Canal and Carondelet, ride about 20 minutes and get off at Washington Avenue, and its self-guided route covers 1.5 to 2 miles in two to three hours. A guide adds the stories behind the houses. The most reviewed guided option is the Garden District Guided Walking Tour: 2 hours, up to 12 people, €31.40 per person, 4.9 / 5 from 649 reviews. GetYourGuide lists 106 city tours, from €13.46.
Four guided options
| Tour | What the booking page says | Length | Price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden District Guided Walking Tour | Mansions and gardens, a look through the gates of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1, ends near Magazine Street; up to 12 people | 2 h | €31.40 | 4.9 / 5 (649 reviews) |
| Garden District Home and History Tour | Starts with a visit inside the Women’s Opera Guild Home, 2504 Prytania St, then a walk; break at the Garden District Book Shop | 2 h | €25.12 | 4.7 / 5 (531 reviews) |
| Garden District & Lafayette Cemetery Gates Tour | Meets at 2727 Prytania St; the page lists the streetcar, the Benjamin Button house and the Buckner Mansion | 2 h | €26.91 | 3.6 / 5 (12 reviews) |
| City & Cemetery Tour + Garden District Stroll | Bus tour from 400 Toulouse St through 25 square miles, St. Louis Cemetery #3, free time at City Park, then a Garden District stroll | 2.5–3 h | €49.34 | 4.7 / 5 (130 reviews) |
Lafayette Cemetery No. 1
The city’s Division of Cemeteries says the cemetery is closed to the public while repairs and improvements take place, except for guided tours. Its page lists the hours as “TBD”. The booking pages are consistent with that: the first tour promises a peek inside the gates, the Home and History tour says the full cemetery is closed and takes you to the gates, and the gates tour says it shows the cemetery from the gates because the city closed it in 2019. If walking among the tombs is what you want, the city’s page points to guided tours inside run by the Preservation Resource Center, booked on its own website and not through GetYourGuide. For another historic cemetery, read our guide to St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 and the cemetery tours.
What distinguishes the tours
- Inside a house: only the Home and History tour includes a mansion visit. Its page says the interior is not wheelchair accessible because of the historic building, and that the rest of the tour is.
- Access on the first tour: it carries a wheelchair-accessible label, and its page recommends sturdy shoes because of uneven surfaces. Confirm with the operator what that means on your day.
- The bus option: the city tour is the only one that covers more than the Garden District. Its page says wheelchair reservations must be made 48 hours ahead and that the operator provides access for wheelchairs but not for scooters or walkers.
- On your own: the tourism site says nearly all of the homes are private and are to be viewed from the sidewalk, not the yard.
Our recommendation
For most visitors the Garden District Guided Walking Tour is the one to book: the most reviews of the four, a group of up to 12 and a look through the cemetery gates. Take the Home and History tour if going inside one of the mansions matters. Take the city tour if you have one morning and want the whole city, not just this district. If you prefer the free route, the streetcar and a pair of good shoes are enough. All four tours can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours in advance, according to their pages.
