96 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in New Orleans - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans Historic Voodoo Museum

A snapshot of the city's fascinating voodoo culture.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Abandoned Jazzland

A theme park that suffered massive flooding during Katrina, abandoned and proving irresistible to trespassing explorers.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Museum of Death

A collection of oddities including Dr. Kevorkian's suicide device, the Thanatron.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Marie Laveau's Tomb

The final resting place of New Orleans' most famous voodoo priestess.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Jean Lafitte's Old Absinthe House

A 200-year-old bar in the historic French Quarter refuses to give up its place in history, nor its role in securing ours.

New Orleans, Louisiana

The Singing Oak

This New Orleans tree is filled with hidden chimes that produce a carefully tuned melody.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo

A museum and shop on Bourbon Street located in the former home of the second Voodoo Queen of New Orleans.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1

The oldest cemetery in New Orleans, resting peacefully for over 200 years now.

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Cool Places to Eat & Drink in New Orleans

New Orleans, Louisiana

Jean Lafitte's Old Absinthe House

A 200-year-old bar in the historic French Quarter refuses to give up its place in history, nor its role in securing ours.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Carousel Bar

The only rotating bar in New Orleans has been slowly spinning since 1949.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop

The second oldest continuously operating bar in Louisiana.

New Orleans, Louisiana

Séance Room at Muriel's Jackson Square

The restaurant keeps a hidden séance room on the second floor and reserves a table for the spirit of the former owner each night.

See all 11 places to eat in New Orleans See all 11 places to eat in New Orleans

Itinerary Sponsored by Louisiana Office of Tourism

Restless Spirits of Louisiana

If ghost stories help us confront a harrowing past, it’s no surprise that Louisiana is filled to the brim. From the swamplands to the pine forests, the state reverberates with tales of fortunes won and lost, untimely demises, and some of the darkest chapters of early American history. Whether you believe in the paranormal or not, the stories below reveal the hidden histories behind this mystifying state—place by place, spirit by restless spirit.

St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans

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Stories About New Orleans

The first house float in the Krewe of Red Beans' Hire a Mardi Artist program is "The Night Tripper."

With No Parade This Year, New Orleans Is Festooned With Mardi Gras 'House Floats'

They’re uplifting spirits and local artists alike.

by Victoria Stapley-Brown

January 27, 2021

The Alaska box often includes indigenous food, ingredients, and art.

These 7 Local Food Boxes Offer a Taste of Travel

Get New Orleans pralines, Jersey Shore sea salt, and other iconic treats delivered to your door.

by Laura Kiniry

Common foods on St. Joseph altars include <em>cucidati</em>, or fig cookies, and <em>pignolata</em>, or "honey ball" cookies.

How New Orleans Made a Medieval Sicilian Tradition Its Own

St. Joseph protects communities during times of sickness and famine.

by Reina Gattuso

The Wonderful World of Selling Your Haunted House

Depending on the ghosts, it might fetch a premium.

by Dan Nosowitz

October 30, 2019

One of Carla Jenkins’s towboats, the “Bettye M. Jenkins,” sits at her dock in Vidalia, Louisiana on Oct. 6, 2019. Jenkins’s father, who built the boat, named it after Jenkins’s mother.

The Triumphs and Tribulations of Towboats on the Mississippi River

“You ride the river and just hope you’re in the right spot when you need to be.”

by Kerry Graning

October 14, 2019

Jennie Wilde designed the “I Came, I Saw, I Conquered" float for the the 1911 "Familiar Quotations"-themed Mardi Gras parade.

The Forgotten Female Artist Whose Mardi Gras Fantasias Warped Reality

If only Jennie Wilde could have transformed society too.

October 11, 2019

Many sno-balls. Many colors.

The Family Dynasty That Pursues Perfection in Shaved Ice

For three generations, the Hansens have made summer sno-ball season in New Orleans.

by R. Blakeslee Gilpin

August 21, 2019

James Boudreaux under his mirliton trellis.

After Hurricane Katrina, Home Gardeners Saved New Orleans' Iconic Squash

The Louisiana mirliton has survived revolution, industrial competition, and floods.

by Reina Gattuso

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