80 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 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

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

Museum of Death

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

New Orleans, Louisiana

Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1

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

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.

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Unique Food & Drink in New Orleans

Louisiana Russian Cake

Recycling comes to dessert, with delicious outcomes.

Yakamein

Mixing soy sauce, Creole spices, and spaghetti, this hybrid soup is the embodiment of New Orleans' melting pot.

Roman Candy

This century-old New Orleans treat is still sold from a mule-drawn cart.

Café Brûlot

The New Orleans cocktail is part pick-me-up, part pyrotechnics show.

See all 15 things to eat in New Orleans See all 15 things to eat in New Orleans

Atlas Obscura Trips

Beyond the Quarter: Music and Reinvention in New Orleans

Explore the rich soundscape of New Orleans, tracing the social, political, and spiritual roles these traditions have played throughout history and in contemporary culture.

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What would you do on a time crunch in DC?	19 December 9, 2019	2706	December 9, 2019
Carolina House with a Natural Cavern underneath	10 March 4, 2020	4953	March 4, 2020
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Off the beaten path / hidden gems near Nashville?	9 November 20, 2019	2548	November 20, 2019
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Stories About New Orleans

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

While most frozen Charlottes were fairly small, some were more than a foot long.

The Haunting History of 'Frozen Charlotte' Dolls

They were baked into cakes and dropped into baths.

Early 20th-century postcard of the "Sunset Express" train passing through Yuma, Arizona.

How the 'Sunset Route' Railroad Helped Diversify California

The connection between New Orleans to Los Angeles can still be felt today.

by Evan Nicole Brown

February 14, 2019

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